Diplomacy

• BROOKVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Presidential Descendants, housed at The Roosevelt School at Long Island University and dedicated to promoting civic education and Presidential studies, has awarded its Biennial Presidential Leadership Book Award to William Inboden for his historic accounting of Ronald Reagan and the end of the Cold War era.
• The biennial award recognizes literary excellence and scholarship on the subject of presidential leadership.
• The Roosevelt School and the Society of Presidential Descendants are two important components of Long Island University's challenge to prepare the world leaders of tomorrow through education and engagement."
• The Society of Presidential Descendants are all direct descendants of United States presidents who united to offer a contemporary educational platform that highlights the present-day relevance of historic presidential leadership.

• As the Israeli-Hamas crisis continues, a great deal of focus is shifting to Egypt.
• Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Ofir Winter, who studies Egyptian politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict, to provide insights into what the new war means for Egypt and the role it plays.

What’s been the relationship between Egypt and Israel and Palestine in the past?

• This position is reflected in its reaction to the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas.
• In accordance with past actions, Egypt can be expected to take several steps to demonstrate its solidarity with the Palestinians.
• And, over the past decade, Israel has positioned itself as a key political, security and economic partner to Egypt.
• In recent years, Egypt has been a mediator between Israel and Hamas and in the reconstruction efforts of Gaza.
• There will be no Egyptian military involvement against Israel for the benefit of the Palestinians – a policy which primarily derives from Egypt’s commitment to the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

How does the current crisis affect Egypt?

• This is separate to the Gaza residents with foreign citizenship who are already waiting at the border to cross.
• Egypt is against allowing Gazans crossing the border in large numbers because it opposes any encroachment on its sovereignty in the Sinai Peninsula.
• Second, a massive blow to Hamas may lead to a lack of governance, chaos, and instability in Gaza.

How has Egypt reacted and what should it do next?

• The Arab League has already convened in Cairo, and an international conference in Egypt is expected to take place this weekend.
• Egypt is also seeking to establish a humanitarian corridor for the delivery of food and medicine to the Gaza Strip.
• At this stage, Egypt has more control than most other regional international players over the outcomes of the conflict, as well as plenty of interests.

• In late September, American rap legend MC Hammer made a spectacular intervention into Australia’s upcoming referendum to establish a Voice to Parliament for First Nations people.
• In a tweet, he urged Australians to “repair the breach”.
• Hammer’s tweet garnered some 1.1 million views, 1,300 retweets and 5,700 likes.

International attention on the vote

• On October 14, Australians will vote whether to amend the Constitution to establish a new advisory body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people called the Voice to Parliament.
• The new body would provide advice and make representations to parliament and the government on any issues relating to First Nations people.
• International attention on the Voice for Parliament referendum peaked on August 30 when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the voting date.

Which countries are the most interested?

• New Zealand is also following the debate, with more than 2,000 mentions, as well as politicians in the Pacific.
• And while there are public reports on Australian attitudes to other countries, there is much less research on how people in other countries think about Australians.
• The lack of research on Australia’s reputation in other countries will make it difficult to assess the impact of the Voice result.
• What does seem likely, however, is that a “no” result will be weaponised by other countries against Australia.

Australia’s foreign policy

• The referendum result could also affect Australia’s ability to employ a foreign policy approach that seeks to “elevate” Indigenous people and issues.
• In 2021, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade released an Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda committed to reconciliation in Australia and supporting Indigenous rights globally.
• She argued a foreign service that properly represents the diversity of Australia has “a genuine competitive advantage”.
• As a result, a “yes” vote could provide Australian diplomats with “the momentum” to embed a First Nations foreign policy into their practice.

• Only four weeks earlier, Macron had refused to follow the instructions of the putschists who’d ordered the ambassador and French forces to leave the country.
• He argued that he did not recognise the new junta, which took power on 26 July, and insisted that his forces would remain in the country.
• As a scholar of politics and international relations, I have been exploring the security situation and the rise of insurgency in the Sahel for over a decade.
• The US resumed operations in some of its bases in Niger, having secured agreement from the junta.

The fight against terrorism

• The country is actively involved in and contributes to security organisations such as the G5 Sahel and the Multinational Joint Task Force.
• These organisations are involved in the fight against terrorism in the region.
• The decision by France to pull out of Niger will have an impact on counter terrorism operations in the region.
• France has been involved there for a long time and has soldiers who thoroughly understand the region.

Russia versus the US

• Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to assume that one of Washington’s reasons for making sure it remained in Niger was the fear that it might lose the country to Russia.
• In Mali, the military junta replaced French troops with Wagner forces.
• Since 2022, Russia has gained influence through the Wagner Group after the exit of France.

What it means for migration

• The EU needs stability in Niger to stem trafficking and avoid another humanitarian catastrophe as seen in 2015-16.
• Europe witnessed the highest number of migrants transiting through Niger and Libya into Europe during this period.
• While serving as interior minister, Bazoum was instrumental in passing a law against people smuggling through Niger.

Next steps

While I understand that increased diplomacy with the junta cements its authority, I think foreign powers should accept that there is a government in Niger that has some degree of popularity among the citizens. Frozen channels of diplomacy must be reactivated to prevent a total collapse of the Sahel’s security architecture and in order to achieve a quick transition to democracy.