Low yield for SMIC-Huawei Nvidia knockoff? So what? – Asia Times

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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp ( SMIC ), the world’s third largest chip- foundry after Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung, is reportedly struggling to increase the production yield of an artificial intelligence ( AI ) chip for Huawei Technologies. &nbsp,

Since last year, SMIC has been making Huawei’s Ascend 910B, a 7 nm device which is said to be equal to 80 % of Nvidia’s A100 in terms of AI- training performance. Chinese media accounts said earlier this year that Huawei could make about 400, 000 to 500, 000 models of Ascend 910B in 2024.

Since the United States Department of Commerce urged chip-making products manufacturers and suppliers to stop shipping products to SMIC, Huawei has faced obstacles in the production of the Ascend 910B device, according to The Information, a San Francisco-based technology information website. &nbsp,

It stated that Huawei will have to halt Huawei’s sale of the AI device to Taiwanese businesses like Tencent, Baidu, ByteDance, and Alibaba. &nbsp,

According to a follow-up article from the Chosun Daily in South Korea on June 27, the production of Ascend 910B is estimated to be around 20 %. &nbsp,

SMIC claimed to have been mass-producing the device for more than six weeks, but four out of five of the chips are also inoperable. On June 28, tech platforms and Chinese media widely quoted the two studies. &nbsp,

But, a calculation made by Asia Times with open statistics showed another picture: Despite a 20 % offer, Huawei can still accomplish its goal of making 400, 000 to 500, 000 Ascend 910B cards with comfortable this year. &nbsp,

Since 2019, SMIC has relied on Semiconductor Manufacturing South China Corp ( SMSC), its 38.52 %- owned, to produce 14nm or below chips.

SMSC has two fabs in Shanghai, known as SN1 and SN2, each with maximum monthly production capacity of 35, 000 12- inch wafers. &nbsp,

According to public information, SN1 focuses primarily on producing 14nm chips, while SN2 produces 10nm and 7nm chips. &nbsp,

It’s unclear whether SN2 reached its maximum capacity by the end of 2023 as scheduled. SMIC has n’t released SMSC’s financial and operational data since 2021, which is why. &nbsp,

A technology columnist at Taiwan’s Anue news website said SN2 can produce 20, 000 12- inch wafers per month for 7nm chips. &nbsp,

If SMSC only sets aside a 2, 000- wafer capacity for Ascend, it can already make 262, 000 chips per month or 3.14 million chips per year, given that each wafer can be split into 131 units of 910B chips. &nbsp,

The actual yield of SMSC’s 7nm process is also unknown. Last September, Reuters estimated the figure at below 50 %. It may be around 30 %, according to a research note published by a Chinese website in March 2023.

But even if the yield is more like the Chosun Daily’s estimation, which is only 20 %, SMSC can still make 628, 800 Ascend 910B chips annually, meeting the target of 500, 000 units. &nbsp,

In case there is any hiccup, Huawei can reduce the production of its HiSilicon Kirin 9010 chips to ensure the stable supply of Ascend 910B, which is priced at 120, 000 yuan ( US$ 16, 512 ) each in China. &nbsp,

Because they are larger than typical processors, each wafer can only yield dozens of Ascend 910- series chips. In an article published on June 21, a Guangdong-based columnist with the pen name” Realistic Idealist” states that because AI chips have much higher social and market values, they should always be given more attention when there is a conflict between smartphone processors and them. &nbsp,

He claims that while US sanctions will undoubtedly shorten China’s chip industry, they will also help it develop Chinese substitute goods over time. Once Ascend chips are widely available in China, he says, Nvidia’s downgraded products will have no market in the country. &nbsp,

In March, Nvidia’s H20 chip, a downgrade model that fulfills US export rules, was ready for pre- ordering in China for about 100, 000 yuan each. Alibaba reportedly ordered over 30, 000 H20 chips. &nbsp,

Sanctions against SMSC

SMIC currently holds four of the board‘s seats. The Big Fund’s National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase II and the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Phase II, which both have a 23.08 % stake, are the other shareholders of SMSC.

Due to” China’s military-civil fusion (MCF ) doctrine and evidence of activities between SMIC and entities of concern in the Chinese military industrial complex,” the US Department of Commerce added SMIC, SMSC, and nine other units, to its Entity List in December 2020.

According to the US Commerce Department, US products that are specifically required to produce semiconductors at advanced nodes 10 nanometers or below are subject to a presumption of denial to stop China’s military modernization efforts. &nbsp,

SMIC and SMSC could continue to expand their production by purchasing ASML’s most advanced deep ultraviolet ( DUV) lithography equipment until 2023, including the 2050i and 2100i. They can still currently find used DUV lithography equipment in China while ASML must still offer them maintenance services. &nbsp,

Reuters reported that the US Commerce Department sent dozens of letters to US suppliers to SMIC in February of this year, suspending the sale to SMSC, in February of that year. Entegris was forced to stop millions of dollars worth of shipments of its chipmaking materials and parts to China from US suppliers.

Nazak Nikakhtar, a former assistant secretary for industry and analysis at the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration ( ITA ), stated in a recent interview that the US government’s analysis of China’s technological capabilities is a little superficial, leading to ineffective sanctions and chip export controls.

Read: Yield and cost in doubt if Huawei revives 5G chips

Follow Jeff Pao on X at&nbsp, @jeffpao3

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Supremes, 6-3, make Trump obstruction charge harder – Asia Times

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Due to a decision from the US Supreme Court on June 28, 2024, hundreds of people charged with participating in the mob at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, will have to be re-indicted and perhaps dropped. Former US President Donald Trump is one of the defendants who allegedly violated the obstruction law in a broad sense, according to the higher court.

The Supreme Court ruled in Fischer v. United States that three plaintiffs who were accused of participating in the mob at the US Capitol could not be subject to a federal law prohibiting obstructing an official proceeding. Trump is hardly a plaintiff in the case; however, Jack Smith has charged him with violating the same act differently.

I’ll reveal what the judge’s decision means for the plaintiffs on January 6 and for Smith’s case against Trump as a law professor who teaches and writes in the areas of legal rules and federal authorities.

Costs against Capitol rioters

According to their prosecutions, Joseph Fischer, Edward Lang and Garret Miller were present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. During the mob, police allege that all three people allegedly assaulted police officers inside the Capitol building. One of the people, Lang, brandished a pitcher and a stolen police weapon, and another, Miller, afterwards, on social media, called for the death of US Representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez.

The three gentlemen were accused of a number of acts, including assault on a federal officer, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and obstructing a legislative hearing by federal prosecutors. The Supreme Court charm is addressing that next command.

The accused argued before the trial that the barrier charge against them was solely based on the tampering with the proof, not the violent disturbance of a congressional hearing. The DC Circuit US Court of Appeals overturned the district court’s decision and ordered the situation to go back to test.

The Supreme Court finally consented to hear the case, putting the test on hold while it considered the barrier law’s range.

Defining a get- all expression

The Supreme Court agreed with the plaintiffs and held that the legislation just forbids data tampering in a 6 to 3 judgment from Chief Justice John Roberts. The defendants then appealed the case to the appeals court to determine whether the plaintiffs had broken the law in accordance with that narrower reading by attempting to stop Congress from confirming the state ‘ true electoral votes.

The jury began with the blockage law’s text. The law penalizes people who “alters, damages, mutilates, or conceals a history, file, or other thing” or who “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any formal proceeding”. The defendants ‘ lawsuits in Congress to formally announce the election results would have otherwise obstruct (ed ) by the government.

But the judge rejected that argument, holding that the word “otherwise obstructs” refers only to restriction that – like changing, destroying, mutilating or concealing a report, document or image – impairs the availability or integrity of evidence for use in an official proceeding. The government’s catch- both for “otherwise obstructing” an established proceeding may be read in popular with the list of actions that precedes it, the court explained. Otherwise, the list would be redundant.

The court also pointed to the law’s historical background. Congress, the court explained, enacted this specific obstruction law in 2002 in the wake of the Enron accounting fraud scandal. Its goal was to fill a void in the country’s existing obstruction laws, which at the time prohibited ordering a third party to destroy incriminating evidence but did not do so by destroying the evidence oneself.

The government’s reading of the law, the court explained, would stretch it far beyond that purpose, prohibiting forms of obstruction that had nothing to do with evidence and that Congress never intended to criminalize.

What this means for Jan. 6 defendants– and for Trump

The Fischer defendants ‘ case is still ongoing despite the Supreme Court’s decision, who are likely to go on trial for assault and disorderly conduct charges.

But it may lead to the dismissal of obstruction charges, or reversal of obstruction convictions, for other January 6 defendants. According to an NPR database, federal prosecutors have charged at least 250 other defendants with obstruction of an official proceeding, and 128 have been convicted.

The decision may also undermine former president Donald Trump’s case against him, who Smith has charged with obstructing the same statute. The former president is likely to ask for dismissal of that charge if that case survives a separate pending Supreme Court appeal.

Trump may not be successful, though, as the obstruction charge against him is largely motivated by the claim that he organized slates of electors to report false election results to Congress. That could result in compromising the validity of the evidence presented in the certification hearing.

The former president is also facing charges of obstruction on numerous other counts. However, the decision may narrow the case and make it more difficult for the special counsel to give evidence to the jury regarding the January 6 incident. Under this new ruling, that violence alone may not count as obstruction.

The Fischer case also demonstrates how occasionally, especially in high-stakes cases, justices can use legal reasoning strategies that they are quick to criticize in other contexts. Members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority cited the obstruction law’s legislative history in the opinion, which conservative jurists like the late Justice Antonin Scalia frequently called unreliable.

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Fischer case may have a significant impact on the special counsel’s long-awaited prosecution of former president Trump.

But even if it does not, it still sheds important light on the court’s inner workings and the federal government’s power to safeguard the integrity of its proceedings.

The University of Richmond’s assistant professor of law is Riley T. Keenan.

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Okinawa rape revives opposition to American bases – Asia Times

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Fear of China appears to have combined with a phenomenon known as “base weakness” to quiet popular anger, despite another American service member being charged with sexual assault in Okinawa, which sparked anger among the local community and brought the island’s big and contentious US military appearance back in the spotlight.

As reported by the Japanese press, airman Brennon Washington, age 25, found a teenage girl in a park on the night of December 24, 2023, convinced her to get into his car and then drove back to his residence, where he raped her. The girl was under the age of 16 when it was raised from 13 to the age of consent in Japan.

Following the incident, a girl’s family member called the police. Washington was captured on security camera images. The US Air Force confirmed the identification and stated that he was not on duty at the time. On suspicion of nonconsensual sexual behavior and kidnapping, Washington was indicted on March 27.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry received a formal complaint to US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel the same day as the indictment. The Okinawa prefectural government did not learn about the incident until June 25 and the news media did not make a report about it.

The Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) candidate for prime minister Fumio Kishida won the majority of seats in the Okinawa prefectural assembly on June 16. A coalition of leftist parties supported Governor Denny Tamaki, whose career has been based on opposition to US military installations in Okinawa.

On June 23, Kishida was present at the ceremony held at the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman, which was located at the southern end of the island where the fighting ended, to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa.

In his address, Kishida, who also represents Hiroshima in the Japanese Diet, said that the dreadful reality of the Battle of Okinawa must not be forgotten. He declared his desire to keep things calm. Kishida was born in Tokyo, but his family is from Hiroshima.

Governor Tamaki told the audience that the “people of Okinawa are deeply anxious due to the ongoing rapid expansion of the Self-Defense Forces ‘ deployment, in addition to the memories of the tragic Battle of Okinawa.” Protestors in the audience jeered Kishida, but did not disrupt the event.

Governor Tamaki filed a formal complaint with the US Air Force’s 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base on June 27. Brigadier General Nicholas Evans received the message from vice governor Takekuni Ikeda, asking for an apology and compensation.

The meeting lasted about 15 minutes and ended without Evans apologizing or explaining why it had taken so long to inform Okinawa prefectural officials, according to Japan’s left-leaning Asahi Shimbun.

According to Evans, the crime claim “does not reflect most of the US service members that work for the Japan-U.S. alliance,” according to the US military’s daily Stars and Stripes. It is regrettable that Okinawa’s citizens are concerned.

Washington has been released on bail while the trial is pending, but he is still housed at Kadena Air Base. On July 12 at Naha District Court, a hearing is scheduled. Naha is the capital of Okinawa Prefecture.

Governor Tamaki warned the public that “untiling this kind of crime will raise mistrust.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, speaking in Tokyo, did not explain why Tamaki was not informed of the indictment, but did state that “incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel cause great concern to local residents and must not be allowed to happen.” We will continue to ask the US side to take steps to prevent these mishaps and accidents whenever possible.

The Japanese government has been making these requests for a very long time. In 1995, three US servicemen kidnapped and raped a 12- year- old girl in Okinawa. In 2016, there were two high- profile incidents. In the first, a US Marine Corps Camp Schwab seaman sexually assaulted a Japanese woman at a hotel in Naha.

A former Marine who worked as a civilian employee at Kadena Air Base in the second incident raped and murdered a 20-year-old Japanese woman who had gone for a walk. She was then stabbed in the head, choked, and dumping her body in the bushes where it was later discovered severely decomposed. Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force, visited the prefecture’s then- Governor Onaga Takeshi to express his “deepest regret and remorse at the incident”. The accused, Kenneth Franklin Gadson, was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor in 2017.

The local Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper recalled the 1955 rape-murder of a 6-year-old Japanese girl by an American soldier and wrote,” The U.S. and Japanese governments have a heavy responsibility for not being able to prevent these recurring incidents.”

According to Stars and Stripes,” the reality that one cannot safely go for a walk in a private community even 72 years since the Battle of Okinawa” contributed to the crime.

Suzuyo Takazato, a founder of Okinawan Women Against Military Violence, notes that statistics show about 120 rapes committed by US military personnel in Okinawa since 1972, but since most rapes are not reported, that is just” the tip of an iceberg”.

In 1972, Okinawa reverted from US military occupation to Japanese rule. No official documents were kept prior to that time, but a booklet titled” Postwar U.S. Military Crimes Against Women in Okinawa,” compiled from newspaper reports and other local sources, lists about 350 sex crimes committed by US troops since 1945.

More than half of the 54, 000 US military personnel in Japan – about 30, 000, of whom 18, 000 are Marines – are stationed in Okinawa, which has a population of less than 1.5 million and accounts for only 0.6 % of Japan’s total land area. The Okinawa Times stated in 2017 that” The fundamental issue is that [ US ground forces are too concentrated on Okinawa” in accordance with a widely accepted statement.

If the details of the most recent kidnapping and rape incident had been made known before the election for the Okinawa prefectural assembly, there is no way to know how the voters would have felt. Before the election, each side held 24 seats. The pro-base faction currently held by the LDP is 27; the anti-base forces of Governor Tamaki are 20; and one is held by an independent.

How the assembly members will vote now that the incident has become a major international event is also uncertain, but public opinion appears to be shifting from an idealistic pacifism that seeks to remove US bases to one that recognizes the dangers posed by China’s assertiveness and the disputes over Taiwan, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.

What might be called base fatigue has also been a result of Tamaki’s long campaign to stop the US Marine Corps ‘ Futenma Air Station from moving to a new location in Henoko, which was constructed in a coastal landfill. Tamaki, an IT engineer who voted for change, claimed that the base issue and other things are not being done are what a person in Naha is too preoccupied with. Those other things include child- care, healthcare and job creation. Perhaps even worse for Tamaki, voter turnout was only 45.3 percent, the lowest ever.

The pace of history is continuing. The US-Japanese military alliance will not be brought on trial, but Benjamin Washington will have a hearing in court.

The Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper’s editor stated to the Voice of America last year that “young people believe that there is nothing we can do about the US military bases, since they already exist, and that they are also necessary for the defense of Japan.”

Follow this writer on&nbsp, X: @ScottFo83517667

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Calls for withdrawal after Biden’s humiliating defeat – Asia Times

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The double success I had hoped for on Thursday, which was Trump defeating Biden in the CNN conversation and the US soccer team beating Panama in the Copa America, was never realized because both Biden and the football team both suffered humiliating loses.

In reality, both bombed, and their fall was heard loud and clear across this country. Biden had no solution to a robust Trump, who got ahead with a lengthy series of his typical lies but who seemed much younger, energetic, nicely- spoken and disciplined. And a good triumph over an inferior team turned into a 1- 2 defeat for the US soccer team, which was reduced to ten players after Timothy Weah received a fatal red card earlier in the match. If the Americans do n’t defeat Uruguay next week, they now run the risk of being eliminated from the competition. &nbsp, It was an awkward fight.

For the leader it was a “painful evening”, writes Robert Reich, teacher and a leading progressive words.

According to renowned critic Andrew Sullivan, Biden should presently “withdraw from the culture.”

Their thoughts are echoed by some, as the Democrat Party and its followers are reeling from what Steven Schmidt, an pro- Trump past Republican, calls” a crisis of the first scale” for Biden. &nbsp,

The&nbsp, Democrat Party may have a Chernobyl- stage panic, and there will be calls for Biden to move away in the&nbsp, 2024 election for younger, rising stars in the party. No one’s desire for an election came out tonight. Joe Biden’s continued support on the campaign trail would be ineffective, leaving the Democratic Party in a likely catastrophic defeat, giving the nation its greatest democracy threat since the Confederacy.

Biden’s performance, writes veteran journalist Joe Klein, was “worse than disastrous. It was sad, it was humiliating. ” Biden appeared to be a hospice patient who lost himself on the way to the bathroom.”

Klein joins all those who believe that things need to change right away:

Joe Biden has had an honorable career and, I believe, he’s been a very good President. It’s tragic to see it end in this manner. But end it must. He cannot win this election. He would not be able to serve as president for the next four years, based on the evidence from last night. He needs to stand down, as soon as possible. He needs to give his convention delegates more room to run for business and allow the Democrats to elect a new leader.

So my hunch that Biden would come through, as he so often had done in big moments, turned out to be wrong, completely wrong. Biden, 81, did show his age, and although it had been much discussed, many were surprised, some even shocked.

Leading Democrats and members of the grass-roots party were in a state of panic. What do we do now? This cannot continue, right? But how and what can we accomplish?

In CNN’s flash poll shortly after the debate, 67 percent of the debate watchers surveyed, around 565 registered voters, said that Trump had won the debate – a debate that Biden and his team had wanted but which they now, surely, regret having proposed. &nbsp,

In the upcoming days, we’ll see how this panic turns out. It might eventually all settle. There is little the party can do to alter Biden’s intended and official nomination as the party’s presidential nominee at the Democratic convention in August unless he decides to withdraw.

Journalist Klas Bergman has reported from Europe, the Middle East, Central America, Canada and the United States, primarily&nbsp, for&nbsp, the Swedish daily&nbsp, Dagens&nbsp, Nyheter&nbsp, and the&nbsp, Christian Science Monitor. He is the author of Minnesota Politics: How Nordic Immigrants Shaped Minnesotans. This article first appeared on his Substack blog Notes on America, which he writes from his current Los Angeles residence. It is republished with permission. Follow this author on X @ksbergman

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Populism is on the rise and it can degrade democracy – Asia Times

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Democracy is on the increase, according to a lot of people, from the United States and Turkey to India and Hungary.

What is fueling this action?

Democracy is a political theory that views” the people” as a morally upright, good team in community, in contrast to those who are arrogant and out of contact with society. Former president Donald Trump and other politicians have relied on this common framework to maintain their standing among their supporters.

For instance, in a speech at a convention in Budapest in April 2024, Trump referred to the “pic fight to rescue our countries from all of the sinister makes who want to kill them” that he and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán were engaged in. These” frightening forces” usually include everyone from the media and global organizations to the general public and refugees.

Since 2010, Hungary’s populist prime minister Orbán has frequently attributed international organizations like international organizations to stifling Hungarian politics and defying its own interests. Hungary was no longer be regarded as a republic, according to the European Parliament’s decision in 2022.

In its most dramatic, authoritarian form, democracy poses a danger to democracy. It polarizes cultures and causes distrust in authorities.

Political leaders continue to appeal because they pledge to give back strength to the electorate. They frequently deliver something that is wildly diverse from what they say. Without addressing the disparity between the rich and the poor, they frequently make issues like gender and racial injustice worse.

I have spent a lot of my career studying nationalist actions, both as a politician who was in opposition to Orbán’s program and now as a researcher.

One thing I’ve learned from this particular situation is that to stop democracy, politics must first be protected from it.

What’s behind democracy

Democracy is viewed by many journalists and political researchers as a” cultural pushback” against conservative white males who fear the loss of opportunity in a changing world.

Emigration, race and religion are three problems that are often key to some populists ‘ politics. Some experts believe that democracy is also a result of economic factors like a weak market, global commerce, industrial drones, and artificial intelligence.

This is because the development of artificial knowledge, for instance, has led to the reduction of steady jobs in sectors such as manufacturing, which again gave working- class people a pathway to cultural mobility.

Numerous experts and academics continue to question whether democracy is related to the business. This discussion takes different forms, but it usually boils down to statements like this one, made by a popular social scientist about the 2016 U. S. political election:” Status threat, no financial hardship, explains the 2016 political vote”.

In other words, at least according to this argument, white voters ‘ concerns about losing their social standing were a factor in the 2016 presidential election.

It’s the economy

A different source of worry, according to my recent research, is driving populism in Europe, North America, and Latin America: people’s worries about economic insecurity are a key driver.

For instance, Americans who lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector in the 2010s were most likely to turn down the Democratic Party and support Trump in 2016.

People’s anti-immigration attitudes are reportedly fueled by their concern for their own jobs, according to research.

Research also reveals that Europeans who lost their jobs or had their earnings slashed as a result of competition with low-wage immigrant workers, were more likely to feel threatened by globalization. They were also more likely to support nationalism and support populist right-wing candidates throughout Western Europe.

Populist voters in the US

However, research indicates that not all populist voters can be grouped under the same umbrella. Populist voters are a diverse demographic with a variety of goals and concerns.

For instance, artificial intelligence poses a greater threat to jobs in the US and western Europe than it does in eastern Europe, making Americans and Western Europeans more concerned about this issue than eastern Europeans.

Race is another factor. Some white voters who are facing financial difficulties may believe that immigrants and people of color are to blame for the lack of employment and are to blame for their economic problems.

Despite the widespread backing Trump enjoys from many in this group, populism is not just about conservative white men, though. For instance, Democratic politicians in the US have been having a harder time convincing black voters.

Black voters still generally vote for Democrats. However, between 2020 and 2024, the Democratic Party saw a 28 percentage point decrease in black voters. The majority of those who left the party converted to Republican politics.

Since 2008, this voter realignment has taken place. Trump won the election of Trump by four percentage points, beating Republican nominee Mitt Romney by two percentage points, and he also won the same amount of votes from black working-class voters. This shift suggests that the Democrats have a working-class issue rather than a problem involving white working-class members. Economic factors, rather than just racial identity, are a major factor driving voters away from the Democratic Party.

Not all populist voters are extremists

Many media outlets tend to concentrate on the core populist voters, who are masters of outrage with what one populism scholar refers to as “bad manners.” In this context, that means using inflammatory language or making politically incorrect statements, among other tactics, to draw attention to their cause.

However, the most popular populist political movements in countries like Italy and Poland have grown as a result of appealing to voters who are concerned about bread and butter issues. They bring together a core group of voters who are primarily motivated by racism and culture with an additional group of voters who are not primarily driven by these issues.

Finally, voters ‘ support for populist leaders also depends on how nonpopulist, mainstream politicians appeal to them. Inclusive socioeconomic policies, such as expanding unemployment insurance, for example, can help stave off a populist surge.

The way ahead

There is no one- size- fits- all answer to the challenge of populism. Job guarantee programs, for instance, help to reduce the degree of economic insecurity that frequently fuels populist sentiment.

Portable benefits that employees carry from job to job, giving them constant access to health care, retirement savings, and other benefits, may help lessen the anxieties that motivate populists in an economy characterized by gig work and people frequently moving from one job to another.

Increasingly affordable housing and limiting rents can also lead to more stable living conditions.

I believe that a concerted effort must be made to combat the economic insecurity that fuels this global phenomenon in order to counteract right-wing populism. The path forward may be challenging, but the alternative, a world where democracy is eroded and societies are polarized, is even more frightening.

Comparative politics professor at Georgetown University, Gábor Scheiring.

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Southeast Asia has its reasons for pivoting to BRICS – Asia Times

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The sudden reversal of Southeast Asia toward the BRICS countries is a major game-changer that some in Washington anticipated.

In recent days, Malaysia extensive its interests to visit Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Thailand and Vietnam are even interested in joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is a group of nations.

In Indonesia, there’s growing recognition that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and another” International South” countries have a place in vying to join this burgeoning international business.

Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister, made the declaration in an interview with Chinese media prior to Li Qiang’s attend to Malaysia, announcing his intention to re-join the union, which has grown by a whopping 2 % in the last year. That dynamic is luring the Global South countries, primarily because it provides access to funding and a political movement that is unconstrained by Washington’s influence. &nbsp,

Joe Biden, the US senator, might find the South Asian stumbling block particularly troubling. Since the Biden time, a provincial shield has been built to counteract China’s growing influence and attempts to replace the US dollars in trade and finance.

Relationships between the US and some ASEAN people are clearly deteriorating. This, at a time when&nbsp, Saudi Arabia&nbsp, is looking to step out the “petrodollar”. As China, Russia, and Iran square off against old partnerships, Riyadh is intensifying de-dollarization work.

” A gradual reform of the international financial environment may be afoot, giving way to a planet in which more local economies can be used for international purchases“, says analyst&nbsp, Hung Tran at the Atlantic Council’s Geoeconomics Center. The money would continue to be important but without its enormous influence, which would be complemented by currencies like the Taiwanese renminbi, the euros, and the Chinese yen in a way that’s proportionate to the global footprint of their economies.

Tran points out that “in this environment, how Saudi Arabia approaches the consists continues to be a significant predictor of the economic coming.”

Malaysia’s excursion tells the story. Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister, made a world impact by supporting Western finance. That was in the late 1990s, when Anwar’s liberal tendencies clashed with Mahathir Mohamad’s stances.

Mahathir shut Anwar down. The door was opened to Deputy Premier Anwar, who was afterwards imprisoned. Anwar’s efforts to improve competition and establish equal using fields were even reversed. Capital controls were imposed by Mahathir and Malaysia Inc. were circling the vehicles.

Then it’s Anwar who’s turning away from the Adam Smith- encouraged guidelines he once championed — and toward the&nbsp, BRICS.

” We have made our plan apparent and we have made our choice”, Anwar tells Chinese internet outlet&nbsp, Guancha. The proper process will begin immediately, according to the statement. As far as the Global South is concerned, we are totally supportive”.

Anwar gave a shoutout to Argentine President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is determined to end the economy’s dominance.

” Last month, Malaysia had the highest expenditure ever, but the money was also attacked”, Anwar explains. ” Well, it has eased in the past few months. But it does n’t make sense, it goes against basic economic principles”.

Anwar documents that the question is: Why? He claims that” a coin that is completely outside the two nations ‘ business structure and useless in terms of economic activities in the country has become prominent merely because it is used as an international money.”

Among the many reasons for Anwar’s ideological reversal is China’s emergence on the global scene, providing a regional growth engine. Another: the” Western narrative” surrounding events like Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

After their meeting in Beijing on March 31, 2023, Malaysian leader Anwar Ibrahim addressed Chinese President Xi Jinping in positive terms. Image: Facebook / Anwar Ibrahim

” People keep talking about October 7, which annoys me”, Anwar says. Do you want to obliterate 70 years of history by repeating one event? This is the Western narrative. You see, this is the problem with the West. They want to control the conversation, but because they are no longer a colonial power and independent nations should be free to express themselves, we can no longer accept it.

In late May, Thailand announced it’s applying for&nbsp, BRICS&nbsp, inclusion in part to boost its presence on the world stage. If approved, Bangkok would likely become the first ASEAN economy added.

According to Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for the foreign ministry,” Thailand believes that BRICS has an important role to play in strengthening the multilateral system and economic cooperation between countries in the Global South, which aligns with our national interests.” ” As for economic and political benefits, joining BRICS would reinforce Thailand’s role on the global stage, and strengthen its international cooperation with emerging economies, especially in trade, investment and food and energy security”.

Thailand’s bid, according to Soumya Bhowmick, an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, supports Beijing’s wider strategic objectives of boosting its economic influence in Southeast Asia.

” For China”, Bhowmick notes,” Thailand’s membership represents an extension of its regional influence, complementing its Belt and Road Initiative. This is in line with China’s strategic goals of fostering stronger economic ties and the creation of new infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

The first BRIC grouping was created in 2001 by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill. The members formally joined forces in 2009; A year later, they added the” S” when South Africa joined. In 2023, the BRICS doubled in size by luring more&nbsp, Global South&nbsp, nations.

Today, BRICS nations account for half the world’s population and two- fifths of trade, including top energy producers and importers. &nbsp, BRICS nations also account for 38 % of global petroleum imports, led by China and India. &nbsp,

The grouping could give the Global South a greater voice in international affairs and challenge the domination of existing institutions, according to Daniel Azevedo, an analyst at Boston Consulting Group.

BRICS , Azevedo adds,” creates a forum that, at minimum, gives&nbsp, emerging markets&nbsp, the opportunity to align on global topics and new opportunities to promote mutual&nbsp, economic development &nbsp, and growth. And it’s evolving steadily”.

Azevedo notes that as the BRICS build political and&nbsp, financial institutions&nbsp, and a payment mechanism for executing transactions,” there are important potential implications for the future of&nbsp, energy&nbsp, trade, international finance, global supply chains, monetary policy and technological research”.

Global companies will need to take these new geopolitical and economic realities into their investment strategies, according to Azevedo. They ought to also improve their ability to take advantage of opportunities and reduce risk.

The BRICS have n’t always demonstrated their viability as a bloc. Five core nations are present, with nothing else in common besides some economists ‘ imagination. The BRICS frequently seem to be focused solely on improving access to China’s rapidly expanding economy and doing little else.

Paul McNamara, investment director at GAM&nbsp, Investments, speaks for many when he observes that the&nbsp, BRICS&nbsp, is still an acronym in search of cohesive economic argument. Would most current global elites care about the BRICS without China at the core, asks McNamara?

As such, says Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, the “impotence of&nbsp, BRICS”&nbsp, makes joining the group” a low- stakes gambit with some potential upside. It may help Thailand, which is its biggest trading partner and most worrying military threat, win over China. But, if not, what has Bangkok really lost”?

Vietnam traveled to Russia earlier this month to take part in the BRICS summit. According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang, Hanoi is eager to collaborate with like-minded developing nations.

At a time when political dysfunction is at its worst, and all this is happening amid deteriorating American finances. As the national debt approaches US$ 35 trillion – on the way to&nbsp, US$ 50 trillion&nbsp, – Biden’s Democrats and Donald Trump’s Republicans are barely on speaking terms.

This is not appropriate for either investing in government funding in the short run or making necessary upgrades to promote innovation and productivity over the long run. Additionally, it implies the threat of a second Capitol Hill insurrection similar to the one that occurred on January 6, 2021.

That event played a direct role in the August 2023 move by Fitch Ratings to revoke Washington’s AAA credit grade. Extreme polarization, explains Fitch analyst Richard Francis, “was something that we highlighted because it just is a reflection of the deterioration in governance, it’s one of many”.

The key is now how Moody’s Investors Service, which still assigns Washington AAA, responds to the chaos caused by Trump’s campaign promises to win back control. And as Biden attempts to overthrow Trump, Biden uses new trade sanctions.

This puts US Treasury securities in a high degree of risk. Japan and China alone have US government debt totaling$ 2 trillion. Any sudden run on the dollar could trigger a fire sale, sending US yields skyrocketing.

The Federal Reserve’s reluctance to lower interest rates as was widely anticipated increases the chance of a policy error in this regard. One of the most well-known Fed errors in history was missing the subprime crisis ‘ level of distress in credit markets in 2007.

As Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s team prolongs the “higher for longer” era for yields, developing economies are increasingly in harm’s way. That’s especially so as the dollar’s surge hoovers up global capital.

These worries fall under the umbrella of the broader BRICS’s plan to pool more than US$ 100 billion in foreign currency to absorb financial shocks. Members can use the funds in emergencies, preventing them from visiting the International Monetary Fund. Since 2015, the bank that the BRICS created has approved tens of billions of dollars of loans for infrastructure, transportation and water.

The&nbsp, BRICS currency &nbsp, project has been gaining traction since mid- 2022, when the 14th BRICS Summit was held in Beijing. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, stated there that the BRICS were developing a “new global reserve currency” and were willing to expand its use.

Brazil’s Lula&nbsp, also has thrown his support behind a BRICS monetary unit. Why ca n’t a bank like the BRICS bank use a currency to finance trade between Brazil and China, as well as Brazil and all other BRICS nations? he asks. Who made the decision to use the dollar as the reserve currency following the end of gold parity?

President of Brazil, Lula da Silva. Photo: Editora Brasil 247

Fernando Haddad, Lula’s finance minister, has been making a point about the more prevalent use of local currencies in bilateral trade instruments like credit receipts. The focus, he says, must be phasing out the use of a third currency.

The benefit is that trade transactions are resolved in the currency of a non-membership-based nation, he claims.

Economist Vikram Rai of TD Bank points out that” there is great potential for regionally dominant currencies and a multipolar international regime to emerge,” with the roles being “filled now by the dollar shared with the euro, a more open yuan, future central bank digital currencies, and possibly other options we have yet to see” within the next ten or two.

Analysts at Moody’s warn that the Americans going overboard on tariffs, concerns about default and weakening institutions are threatening the dollar ‘s&nbsp, reserve currency status.

” The greatest near- term danger to the dollar’s position stems from the risk of confidence- sapping policy mistakes by the US authorities themselves, like a US default on its debt for example”, Moody’s argues. The dollar’s global role is threatened by weak institutions and a political pivot toward protectionism.

It’s difficult to believe that America could lose much more than just the economic plot as Southeast Asia increasingly leans toward the BRICS.

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Why did Pentagon chief phone Russian counterpart? – Asia Times

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Russian Defense Minister Andrew Belousov received a phone call from US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, on June 25. It was started by Austin and was the first interaction between the US and Russian defence leaders in more than a year. &nbsp, Was the conversation important?

Very little is known about the call’s material. The Pentagon and the Russian Ministry of Defense have both provided small accounts, but they differ from one another in terms of their reporting.

US display

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ( left ). Image: RFE / RL

According to the Pentagon Austin emphasized the “importance of maintaining lines of communication” .&nbsp, This came after a US ATACMS missile hit a beach in Sevastopol, Crimea.

In the midst of the harm the US Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry. &nbsp, According to news reports the Russians&nbsp, fully warned the ambassador&nbsp, that retribution would follow from the Crimea harm.

Russian military bloggers reported that the Russians shot over a US Global Hawk helicopter over the Black Sea after that. However, the US said that its drone supposedly&nbsp, involved in the targeting, identified as an RQ- 4 Global Hawk, had returned safely to Sigonella ( Sicily ). &nbsp,

Russia has only had a very limited amount of communication with the US, with the exception of possible marketplaces of social prisoners. The National position has generally been to remove Russia and to engage in no dialogue about Ukraine or other security issues.

Ukraine launched two aircraft attacks on Russian tactical early warning radar channels prior to the Crimea attack. Such attacks would have necessitated US/NATO targeting, including avoidance strategies, to deter Russian air threats. The Russians rely on land-based radars to warn air defenses designed to capture ballistic missiles, in contrast to the US, which has dish early alert capabilities. &nbsp, &nbsp,

Antennas of the Pluton deep-space communications difficult close to Yevpatoria on the Crimean Peninsula in the year 1980.

On the same day as the assault on the Sevastopol Beach ( June 23 ) four ATACMS rockets were fired at the NIP- 16&nbsp, Center for Long- Range Space Communications&nbsp, sensor base, in Vitino, Crimea. &nbsp, According to russianspaceweb.com,

The Pluton deep-space communications complex, which was communicate with spacecraft up to a staggering 300 million meters, was intended to house NIP- 16. Such a potential would be sufficient to guide operations out of Mars ‘ trajectory. The Pluton antennas were created to get and interpret monitoring from spacecraft, monitor trajectories, and give commands. The similar complex could also be employed to eject radio waves from Mars and Venus ‘ faces.

The Russian Ministry of Defense is in charge of NIP- 16 at Vitino. It’s not known whether it participates in the conflict in Ukraine or whether it is a part of Russia’s early warning system. &nbsp, According to satellite pictures, the Vitino basic appears to have survived the Russian invasion.

Destroyed energy monitoring place. Photo: Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant’s Telegram network

The Russian military shelled a radioactivity monitoring place close to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest service in Europe, on June 26, the day after the Austin visit. &nbsp, The attack targeted a tracking depot in Velikaya Znamenka, a community around 15 km north of the atomic facility​. &nbsp, The surveillance place was destroyed in the assault. &nbsp, The Velikaya Znamenka&nbsp, place is one of a group of like stations used to screen possible radiation leaks. Ukraine has threatened the nuclear power station for some time.

Russian display

The Russian display is not about maintaining communications. The Russians reported that Belousov and Austin “exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine.”

​Belousov, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, &nbsp, ​”pointed to the danger of further escalation of the situation in connection with the ongoing supply of US weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine ​” .&nbsp, The Ministry added:” Other issues were also discussed”.

​Discussing the” situation&nbsp, around &nbsp, Ukraine” could be a reference to US Black Sea operations supporting Ukraine’s attacks on Crimea and on Russian territory, although that is only speculation. &nbsp,

It is obvious that the Soviet emphasis in the conversation&nbsp, was on increase and a potentially bigger battle. &nbsp, Austin’s focus on “maintaining ranges of communications” is evidently ironical, as there are no major lines of communications and the US Defense Department, along with the rest of the US state, has maintained a plan of isolating Russia and not engaging in any helpful speech.

Time will tell whether this was just a igniting exercise by Austin in response to Russian threats of retaliation or a serious attempt to make more valuable contacts with Russia.

Stephen Bryen served as the Near East Subcommittee of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee&nbsp and as the assistant undersecretary of security for coverage. &nbsp,

This&nbsp, post was first published on his&nbsp, Weapons and Strategy&nbsp, Substack and is republished with authority.

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A space quad: Russia, China, North Korea and Iran – Asia Times

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A growing risk to global surveillance has been identified by the US as a growing threat by the four-way authoritarian plane quasi-alliance that is approving of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

This month, Air &amp, Space Forces Magazine reports that General Stephen Whiting, chief of the United States Space Command ( USSPACECOM), expressed concern over those four states’ increasing cooperation in place.

Whiting emphasized in particular the effectiveness of diplomatic ties between Russia and each of the different three countries as Russia seeks support for its conflict in Ukraine, according to the newspaper.

In this image released on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, the Soyuz- 2.1b jet blows off at the Vostochny Cosmodrome outside the town of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers ( 125 miles ) from the town of Blagoveshchensk in the far northeast Amur place, Russia. An Egyptian dish and 18 Russian satellites were placed in orbit by the Russian Soyuz jet. Photo: Roscosmos Space Corporation

Air &amp, Space Forces notes numerous examples of area participation among the four, citing

  • a Russian jet launching an Egyptian dish,
  • ideas for a Russo- Foreign solar nuclear power plant, and
  • a defence alliance between Russia and North Korea, which may benefit North Korea’s area and missile features.

The newspaper mentions that US authorities have also noticed that China has supported Russia’s increase in arms production by producing Egyptian and North Korean weapons in Ukraine. It points out that this expanding partnership complicates the now contentious space debate, where the US has reported Russia deploying a counter-space weapon co-planar to a US national security satellite, which hints at functional intent.

According to Air & Space Forces, the US has compared Soviet actions to “nesting mannequin” satellites that can launch dynamic arms. Meanwhile, it says, US Space Force ( USSF ) leaders have described China’s rapid expansion in space capabilities – including counter- space technologies and support for terrestrial forces – as “breathtakingly fast”.

Space participation adds another factor to a powerful four- way logical relationship connecting Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, a relationshiop that presently covers weapons sales, energy, and finance.

Despite having greatly different systems of government, Russia and Iran are both in the same boat as Iran when it comes to imposing sanctions, creating a convenient alliance between the two monarchies.

Iran’s use of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to launch the Khayyam telescope from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in August 2022, according to Asia Times, is a major development in its space-based military abilities and strengthens its strategic relationship with Russia.

Khayyam can be used for martial purposes, such as monitoring and surveillance, which may increase Iran’s deterrent against enemies like the US and Israel.

The build is a result of Iran’s growing self-sufficientness in place systems and its cooperation with Russia, which is looking for new clients for its storage system in the face of American sanctions.

Russia is looking to Iran for weapons sales to boost its combative work. Iran also sees this condition as a chance to win support from a leading strength and nuclear technology company.

Iran does had seized a unique prospect from the Ukraine War to become a key component of Russia’s war effort. This advantage could increase Iran’s influence over Russia, which might allow it to ask for funding for its nuclear and missile programs, modernize its military, and secure Russian support for the International North-South Transport Corridor ( INSTC ), a multi-mode freight-moving network that is thought to be a way for Iran and Russia to avoid sanctions.

Also, the Ukraine War has brought Russia and North Korea closer in a logical relationship. In January 2024, the Asia Times reported that Russia had targeted Ukraine with North Vietnamese nuclear weapons.

Declassified US intelligence indicates that Russia plans to use North Korean short-range ballistic missiles ( SRBM ) and launched them in December 2023 and January 2024. The weapons in question, possibly the KN- 23 and KN- 24, are similar to Russia’s Iskander- M and the US MGM- 140 Army Tactical Missile System ( ATACMS ).

North Korea may be backing Russia’s war efforts because it thinks that a Russian victory in Ukraine had laid a precedent for the relief of US sanctions on its sluggish economy. Russia’s reliance on China for both economic and political aid may be lessened.

Likewise, Russia and North Korea have revived a Cold War- time common security agreement. Both countries are expected to provide military support to one another in the event of war, according to the agreement, which was made public during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attend to North Korea this month.

During a drafting meeting, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, change documents. They came to an agreement at a summit that included a pledge of mutual support if either land was attacked as both countries were dealing with growing hostilities with the West. Photo: Kremlin share / Kristina Kormilitsyna, Sputnik

The New York Times ‘ article mentions that the agreement has detrimental effects on global efforts to stop North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons plans. According to the news, the agreement between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen as a tactical clash with the US, South Korea, and Japan‘s political partnership. Additionally, it is noted that the pact raises the possibility that South Korea and Japan does get nuclear weapons.

In addition, extremely heavy ties with Russia can allow Iran and North Korea’s to enhance their missile technologies separately.

While the earth had been focusing on North Korean and Iranian aid for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iran’s involvement in the region had slipped under the radar, according to Asia Times in January 2024.

A secret UN report in 2020 revealed that North Korea and Iran had resumed their long-range missile growth work. According to the report, the exchange of crucial components from that year was a part of this renewed assistance.

Iran’s Khorramshahr weapon, initially launched in 2017, is similar to North Korea’s weapon known otherwise as Musudan or Hwasong- 10. Iran’s purchase of those weapons was reported in 2005. Iran’s search for a high-performance North Vietnamese propulsion system has been under US surveillance since 2010.

Also, Iran’s Shahab- 3 weapon may get based on North Korea’s Nodong weapon, and Iran’s place launch vehicles show similarities with North Korea’s Hwasong- 14 missiles.

China’s economic and industrial power has played a key role in keeping Russia upright in the conflict in Ukraine and maintaining the heavily regulated Russian economy, but its support for Moscow is more complex, perhaps not because it wants to discover Russia win or lose.

A circumstance in which Russia wins and prompts the decline of American support for Ukraine was reported in September 2023, which could result in a package that reopens Russian power exports to Europe. Withdrawing American sanctions would open Russia from relying on China for both economic and diplomatic help.

If Ukraine were to defeat Russia and reclaim a sizable percentage of its occupied territories while causing significant losses to the Russian army, it would highlight the effects of American military support and sanctions, setting a precedence that China may find unpleasant in the case of Taiwan.

The most advantageous scenario for China would probably be a Korean War-style armistice to end the Ukraine War. By continuing to rely on China, it would ensure its continued influence over Russia. In this scenario, China would have a greater influence over Russia’s energy exports, disputed territories in the Russian Far East, competition for influence in Central Asia, and weapons sales.

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Will next Iran president make nicer with the West? – Asia Times

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Tehran does have a chance to hit reset on foreign policy issues following years of growing hawkishness. In fact, the degree to which the candidates does pivot to a greater engagement with the West has been a crucial strategy problem.

The country’s highest religious and political authority, the supreme leader, is the final arbitrator of disputes with global powers, but the president of Iran has influence in a political system with multiple political centers.

The presidential election comes as Iran grapple with significant interconnected local, regional, and global issues, which was forced by President Ebrahim Raisi’s dying in a May 2024 plane accident. The UA and UK’s most recent round of sanctions were levied by the government’s market in April 2024 after Iran launched a clear strike against Israel.

Sanctions are n’t the West’s only way to apply pressure on Tehran. Cyber war, soft power and martial could are also at countries ‘ disposal. However, Iran’s activities have continued uninterrupted in recent years, including funding proxy extremist groups, avoiding restrictions through China and Russia, and advancing its regional nuclear and missile plans.

As specialists on US international policy and Iran, we think this raises a crucial issue: Are the efforts of the US and its allies to deter Iran having any impact? And could the West have the chance to alter its position in the political business?

The boundaries of politics

The US and Iran have n’t established diplomatic relations since 1979, when the Islamic Revolution occurred. But that does n’t mean that there are no diplomatic efforts. In reality, there are illegal programs, such as the US working through the Swiss state.

However, at the best days, US diplomatic relations with Iran are tense. They are prone to disturbance when the US or Iran assume management, and their situation has only become worse as Iran’s ties to China and Russia have improved.

The end result has been a discordant political approach when it comes to how the US and the West frequently handle Iran.

This is a byproduct, in element, of China expanding its economic and geopolitical relations to Tehran and increasing its influence in the Middle East. Likewise, Russia has strengthened military, political and economic links with Iran.

Iran does n’t feel compelled to agree with the US and its allies regarding security interests because of this, which has lessened the impact of Western diplomacy.

The Trump administration abandoned the nuclear disarmament deal in 2018, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as a perfect case. European rulers have tried to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but they were unsuccessful in obtaining Iranian assistance after President Donald Trump resigned from the deal.

Despite this lack of progress, the US and Iran also have lines of communication. In an evident effort to halt US interests in the region, the US made clear to Tehran that it had not been involved in the operation following Israel’s attack on an Iranian Embassy substance in Syria.

Yet, Iran has little opportunity to discuss given the inconsistent, unexpected policies of US leadership.

A pending US-Saudi security agreement may also push Iran further away from its Western allies and China and Russia into their orbits.

In the end, the US and Europe have two objectives: to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and lessen Middle Eastern issue that is sponsored by Iran.

But, to meeting, both targets seem obscure with Iran’s continued, uninterrupted uranium enrichment and its problems throughout the Middle East constantly taking place.

In the past, Iran gave politics a prospect out of concern that Western hawks who oppose Iran’s nuclear program might not be as fond of showing some determination.

A new revolutionary Iranian chairman might win over the opposition for bringing diplomats to the table of negotiations. However, it may probably have the highest leader’s blessing.

In any case, the next president appears to be more likely to become a hard-liner than the high head. And while the Iranians perhaps feel more diplomatic pressure from both domestic and international allies, they could as well veto existing policy.

Peddling sweet energy

The US and its supporters have turned to various means of pressure on Iran as confidence in finding a diplomatic solution is declining.

American intelligence agencies have carried out a number of cyberattacks and information efforts to undermine Iran’s leaders and their local plans.

For instance, in 2010 a combined U.S. Israel digital operation called Stuxnet hacked the Iranian Natanz nuclear material enrichment facility, degrading and preventing regular centrifuge operations while alerting operators to their normal course of operation.

In response to Iran’s failure to address US safety concerns about nuclear proliferation and its anti-West activities in the area, these businesses continue to this day.

Tehran also engages in virtual warfare. A US statement warned Iran’s use of extreme cyberattacks to attain its policy objectives in a US report from 2023. They include the use of state-sponsored intermediaries to install heinous ransomware and malware.

The Persian election comes amid local unrest, giving the West another means of putting pressure on Tehran: anti-regime propaganda.

Independent radio and news networks supported by the US and its Western allies have targeted the Persian public with anti-Iran government messages and intensified local protests in an effort to lower public support for the current government and stoke unhappiness among the Iranian population.

Falling back on punishment

Iran’s presidential hopefuls have generally promised to retaliate against Western propaganda. According to these efforts, the prospects appear to be sensitive to the sanctions ‘ significant effects on middle-class people, particularly in Iran.

For a variety of factors, the US and Europe have recently increased sanctions against Iran. The European Union imposed a number of sanctions on Iran as a result of its repressive reaction to the protests in 2022 following the death of a younger woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, in police custody. The US and UK most recently used restrictions in April to stifle Iran from bringing drones into Russia and escalating the Middle East conflict.

Punishment, such as those leveraged during the United States ‘ maximum pressure campaign during Trump’s president, have certainly placed some stress on Iran’s economic systems and business. You can see their effect in the government’s high inflation rates and financial recession.

However, some experts claim that Iran’s political efforts have been undermined by the promotion.

Others contend that sanctions have failed because of how Russia and China have aided in providing pleasure by granting Iran access to their businesses.

Although sanctions have clearly weakened Iran’s market, their ability to contribute to the overall goal of bringing Iran back to the table of negotiations, especially in terms of its nuclear programme and local activities, is less certain.

Turning to defense methods?

The US has shown a growing commitment to turn to military action to counter Iranian-backed groups since October 7, 2023, when Hamas insurgents launched a surprise attack on Israel.

In retaliation for a previous drone attack by an Iranian-backed party that claimed the lives of three US support members in Jordan, the US and UK conducted the most notable strikes in February.

To date, Western attacks have had a more metaphorical impact by reducing actions supported by Iran. But they demonstrate the US and its supporters ‘ military can.

In recent years, politics, sanctions and gentle authority have failed to convince Iran’s rulers back to the table. Iran’s fresh president may also continue down the path of withdrawal, but doing so dangers inviting the West to improve its deterrence answer.

Daniel P. Colletti is an American political science professor at the United States Military Academy West Point, while Nakissa Jahanbani is an alternative professor at Penn State.

The Conversation has republished this essay under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.

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South Korean officials naive about data sovereignty – Asia Times

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Data are regarded as a crucial aspect of information technology and artificial intelligence. Data independence is gaining more and more of a place in the world as more superpowers and thick powers compete to become the forefront of AI and IT services.

Data independence refers to the notion that a nation’s and its citizens ‘ data should also be under their power, just as national sovereignty does so. This implies that governments and citizens or consumers should be able to choose when, where, how, and why their information are used.

With the use of AI and the web becoming more commonplace, more and more people are putting more emphasis on making sure that the ownership of data is determined by the country and its citizens. Therefore, countries have recently focused more on strengthening information sovereignty and restricting and evaluating access to data based on different types of data and international companies.

Without distinguishing colleagues from enemies, data sovereignty is lacking.

On June 30, 2021, Didi Chuxing, often referred to as” the Chinese Uber”, proceeded with its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, raising$ 4.4 billion despite strong opposition from Chinese authorities. The officials had urged a pause because they worried that sensitive personal and regional data may be contained in the Offering documents.

By July 2022, Chinese authorities imposed a great of$ 1.19 billion on Didi Chuxing for violating security laws, leading to the company’s volunteer withdrawal. In response to these concerns, China enacted the Three Data Laws to regulate online information control. The three are who.

  • Cybersecurity Law,
  • Data protection legislation and regulations
  • Personal Information Protection Law

To protect information independence, these laws established regulations like the Security Assessment Measures for Cross-Border Data Transfer, which mandate federal evaluations for the transfer of crucial data abroad.

China’s steps against major software and its data sovereignty measures have received criticism in the West for having a negative impact on businesses, including the US and Europe. However, similar measures were immediately adopted in these areas.

For example, the US Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which was signed into law by US President Joe Biden last month, requires TikTok’s family business, Chinese business ByteDance, to sell its US businesses within 360 time or face a ban due to concerns that the Chinese government might have access to people ‘ personal information.

Prior to this, President Biden had signed an executive order in February to protect Americans ‘ sensitive data, such as biometric, health, and location information, from adversarial nations like China.

Additionally, countries such as Australia, the UK, and the European Union have banned TikTok on government devices and strongly recommend its removal from personal devices.

Europe also has been proactive in addressing data sovereignty. The General Data Protection Regulation, which governs the transfer of data to third parties and countries unless otherwise authorized by the EU, was put into effect in 2018. Additionally, it grants individuals the ability to access and delete their personal data.

The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which were signed into law this year, were both more recent efforts to stop foreign big tech platforms like Google, Meta, and Apple from dominating the market, fundamentally aimed at protecting domestic businesses.

Missing Korea’s data sovereignty

In the neighboring economies of South Korea, data privacy and location restrictions are in place. This pattern is evident in the recent Naver Line conflict between Korea and Japan. The Japanese government pressured Naver to transfer its 50 % share of the joint venture Line to its partner, Japan’s SoftBank, due to fears that data from Line Yahoo, used by most Japanese, could be transferred to the Korean company Naver. This demand comes after an information leak from Naver Cloud, which runs the Line messenging service that is most popular among Japanese consumers.

The issue began last November when Line Yahoo’s servers were attacked, resulting in the leak of over 440, 000 personal data records. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications then issued administrative instructions to Line Yahoo on March 5 and April 16 to safeguard the security of communications. This response highlights Japan’s growing concern about data sovereignty and the use of data outside their purview.

Meanwhile, the Korean government focused solely on opposing the forced sale of Naver’s shares, pledging to “firmly and strongly respond” to these measures. However, this reaction did not address the broader issue of data sovereignty protection.

In contrast to other major nations ‘ efforts to prevent foreign companies from gathering and obtaining data, Korea’s response seems overly complacent. The Korean government still views data sovereignty protection merely as personal information protection, which is the main argument.

The current Personal Information Protection Act explicitly states in Article 1, Paragraph 1, that” the purpose of this law is to protect individuals ‘ freedom and rights by stipulating matters relating to the processing and protection of personal information and, furthermore, to realize the dignity and value of individuals.”

It also briefly and vaguely states in Article 14 Paragraph 2 that the state is required to formulate policies for the transfer of personal information abroad and that it must obtain the information subject’s consent when doing so, without giving an explicit description of its territorial scope.

These limitations indicate that the Korean government continues to view data sovereignty protection with a narrow lens rather than as a matter of national security and a geopolitical issue. The PIPA falls short of the comprehensive measures required to safeguard national data sovereignty in an increasingly interconnected digital world by failing to address the broader implications of data transfers and lacking a clear extraterritorial application.

An Australian think tank recently discovered that Chinese state-controlled propaganda organizations are frequently linked to the collection of data from Chinese businesses, including the shopping and gaming apps AliExpress and Temu.

Relevant Korean ministries, such as the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission, have only mentioned observing how user data from Chinese online retailers is collected and used, which seems unrelated to the seriousness of the situation.

While other nations put in place measures to restrict where data can be collected and to prevent foreign companies from doing it, Korea still believes that as long as foreign companies properly manage collected personal information and protect against cyberattacks in accordance with PIPA, it is not a major issue.

This suggests that Korea may not fully comprehend how collected and used citizens ‘ data are used by foreign companies operating there. South Korea should take stronger measures to safeguard crucial data for economic security and actively change strict legislative guidelines that cover extraterritorial scope.

Seunghwan ( Shane ) Kim&nbsp, ( seunghwankim619@gmail.com ) is a researcher at the Korea Foundation.

This article, first published by Pacific Forum, is republished with permission.

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