Author: Johanna Ross

The UK’s publication of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development, and Foreign Policy this week marks a significant turning point in British foreign policy, possibly one of the most important since the second world war. For it represents a new, proactive approach, the likes of which we did not see while the country was a member of the European Union. With language such as "projecting power" and "shape the international order of the future" it is clear that the UK intends to extend its influence beyond what we have seen in recent years and promote its "values" in an imperialist fashion. This effectively means more meddling in the affairs of other states.

The 114-page document makes no apology for this "change of approach," citing the reality of the current geopolitical landscape: “Over the last decade, UK policy has been focused on preserving the post-Cold War "rules-based international system" which has greatly benefited the UK and other nations. Today, however, the international order is more fragmented, characterized by intensifying competition between states over interests, norms and values.”

However, it’s not clear how Britain throwing its weight around the international arena is going to preserve peace. On the other hand, it looks very much like Boris Johnson is wanting to reinvent the British Empire post-Brexit, using the "fragmented" international order as an excuse. We know for example, that Johnson has long been an admirer of the time when "Britannia ruled the waves." He was once quoted as saying regarding British colonialism in Africa that "the problem is not that we were once in charge, but that we are not in charge any more." The British Prime Minister has also previously expressed regret at the "self-recrimination and general wetness" over the British Empire. Is he now wanting to revert the "cringing embarrassment about our history" which he so detests? Is this Boris’ Empire take 2?

Continue reading “The Return of ‘Britannia Rules the Waves’?”

Any doubts as to whether Joe Biden will continue Donald Trump’s opposition to Nord Stream 2 should now be laid to rest. With 18 companies quitting the gas pipeline project this week following threats of US sanctions, there has never been so much pressure on Angela Merkel to ditch the scheme, which would see Russian gas transported to Germany directly.

Merkel has done well to stand her ground to date. For even her European partners aren’t backing her. The Director General of the European Commission’s energy department, Ditte Juul Jorgensen said on Tuesday that "For the European Union as a whole, Nord Stream does not contribute to security of supply’, emphasizing that it was a decision for the German state, not the EU as to whether the project should be completed. Given the fact that European demand for Russian gas has increased, not decreased of late, however, one might think that it is in the EU’s interest to support Nord Stream 2.

Not if the US has anything to do with it. Citing concern at Russia’s increased influence over Europe if the pipeline goes ahead, Joe Biden has proclaimed Nord Stream 2 a "bad deal" for Europe, which America will continue to oppose. The US claims that Russia would have more leverage over the EU politically as a result. What it really means, though, is that the US would have less leverage over Europe, and a reduced demand for its fracked gas. EU countries imported as much as 36% of American natural gas in 2019 – an increase of around 5 billion cubic meters from the previous year – a considerable amount given Russia is just on its doorstep, and also bearing in mind the EU’s environmental pledges (fracking produces heavy amounts of methane gas, responsible for global warming).

Continue reading “Why Joe Biden Will Continue the US War on Nord Stream 2 Till the Bitter End”

An interview was recently given by UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, to Republik on Julian Assange. The headline reads "A murderous system is being created before our very eyes". During the interview, Melzer details just why he has got so involved in Assange’s case and what the implications of it are for the future of humanity.

Just to recap, Julian Assange, the former WikiLeaks editor, was arrested last year after spending years incarcerated in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he sought asylum for fear of being deported to the US to face charges relating to his publication of leaked documents. It was back in 2010 that WikiLeaks published damning evidence of torture and unlawful killings carried out by the US army, provided for by Chelsea Manning. He subsequently was wanted by Sweden on charges of rape, charges which have since been dropped, and which it has been suggested were part of a set-up to engineer Assange’s deportation to the US. Ecuador finally gave him up to the UK authorities last April, by inviting them into the embassy to extract Assange, after seven years of interment within the embassy walls.

The WikiLeaks founder’s ordeal is set to continue however, it seems. The 48-year old is currently wasting away inside Belmarsh prison, where he was kept for months in solitary confinement, before incredibly, prisoners themselves protested and asked that he be allowed to mingle with the others. The authorities recently agreed to this concession, but it all too little too late it seems for a man who has been destroyed by the US and British governments, for essentially trying to tell the truth.

Continue reading “Assange’s Case Represents ‘Failure of Western Law,’ says UN’s Nils Melzer”