Tensions are surging between Ethiopia and Somalia following what the Somali government views as a severe breach of its sovereignty. The conflict stems from Ethiopia signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Somali breakaway region of Somaliland. As part of the deal, Ethiopia will gain military and commercial access to the Red Sea through […]
Tag: World Politics
Three Presidents, Two Entities, One Dilemma
You may think that one president is enough to deal with, but imagine having three. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a Western Balkan country with a population of three million, has an unparalleled tripartite presidential system. Yet even three presidents cannot resolve Bosnia’s dilemma of ethnic division, nor promote significant economic development. Historical Background Bosnia’s turbulent […]
Reworking Rocky Relations: What Burkina Faso’s New Alliances Mean for the Region
Last month, Burkina Faso rocked global news when it announced the termination of its military agreement with France. The ex-colonial European power had been occupying the jihadist-hit West African state since 2014. It has dispersed around 400 special troops in efforts to expand its presence in the Sahel region. Burkina Faso is still combatting an […]
AI (Part I): Anew Infrastructure
“Artificial intelligence” (AI) is sometimes jokingly used to label tasks that computers cannot yet do. Among these is possessing a sense of humor, which “requires self-awareness, spontaneity, linguistic sophistication, and empathy,” and extends beyond the wonky errors of Google Translate and auto-generated YouTube captions. However, in spite of its apparent shortcomings, AI has silently yet […]
Nobels and Whistles in Beijing
Tu Youyou was labeled with “three noes”: no medical degree, no doctorate, and no work overseas. And yet, she became not only the first Chinese woman to win a Nobel Prize, but also the first Chinese citizen to earn a Nobel Prize in science. Tu was honored as one of 2015’s three Nobel laureates in […]