Trump, Kim, 'Photo-op diplomacy' and the march to an uneasy status quo

Trump and Kim shake hands at just concluded summit in Hanoi

The latest summit between leaders of the United States and North Korea, which ended abruptly on the 28th of February 2019 without a signed agreement, is put in perspective.

The reason for the abrupt end of the Hanoi summit was explained by none other than Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Apparently Chairman Kim and his country wanted all sanctions lifted in exchange for dismantling only a part of their nuclear program.

The North Korean leader's position in and of itself, is perhaps not surprising to any keen observer of world affairs. What is worth contemplating however, is what summits which amount to little more than a photo opportunity, mean for the furtherance of peaceful coexistence between North Korea, its neighbours and the world at large.

'Photo-op diplomacy' has just put history on notice.

 Every photo opportunity increases Chairman Kim's stature on the world stage. followed from this is the likely 'incremental acceptance' that he will never get rid of his nuclear weapons in their entirety.

Trump and Jerusalem: The death and opportunity of the peace process

On Wednesday 6th December 2017, President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as capital of the state of Israel. This action by the American leader not only upends nearly seven decades of American foreign policy, it also enforces a sense across the region and the world that the United States are incapable of being the arbiter in brokering a just settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. It is action that history would almost certainly judge as confirming that the peace process as we know it has been dead for some time.

It is confirmation that insistence of the viability of the peace process is not backed by the United State's capacity to show the firmness and even-handedness required to steer both parties towards the desired goal of a two-state solution.

If Mr Trump's declaration on Jerusalem disqualifies the United States from being a fair broker of peace in the region (as is being increasingly mooted), it has also created a void and an opportunity to fill that void.

It is time for the other nations of the world - especially  influential ones-   to step forward in the absence of the reliability of the United States and push for peaceful co-existence between Israel and the Palestinians. That is the very least that the ordinary men, women and children caught up in the nightmare of dishonesty that has at times been the peace process, deserve.

'It was not a matter of if, but when' : North Korea's march to nuclear statehood and the threat to peace

North Korea's announcement today, that it has "With complete success" detonated a hydrogen bomb, estimated to be significantly more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,  is put in perspective.

This latest provocation by North Korea- more significant than any thus far by it- represents an escalation, and one that perhaps more than any by them, exposes the incoherence thus far at the heart of policies and strategies by other countries in the region ( and especially the united States) to contain It.

North Korea has insisted that accruing nuclear weapons is a form of deterrence-  a means of preventing  a 'decapitation strike' from the United States which if it were to happen, would surely spell the end the reign of the Kim dynasty and the complexion of North Korea as we know it today.

It is however clear that the reign of Kim Jong-un in North Korea has seen a palpable escalation in tensions in the region, which condemnation and isolation by themselves are doing nothing to curtail. A troubling outcome of this is that something could give in an instant, gravely jeopardizing the already uneasy peace the region knows today and leading to a catastrophic loss of lives due to armed conflict.

It is perhaps time for a coherence in the strategy of  United States, its allies and the wider world when it comes to North Korea and its leader.

 It has to be a coldly pragmatic strategy that acknowledges that North Korea is now effectively a nuclear state, which  mere condemnation and isolation will not reverse.

It has to become a strategy that- in the manner of its clear -eyed and practical engagement- faces that country with the responsibilities and indeed the grave danger posed to its own people and other peoples, by its stockpiling of nuclear weapons.

The crises in the Gulf and the shadow of Trump

Photo culled from Aljazeera.com

The current crises in the Gulf, which has seen the state of Qatar isolated by its neighbors, including fellow countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, is put in perspective.

It is perhaps not insignificant that the Saudi- led coalition against Qatar mobilized  shortly after President Donald Trump's visit to the region.

So much was made of the success of that visit by the Trump administration, and it was not lost on the world that much of the region, including Saudi Arabia, shared that sentiment.

It has become increasingly clear that it was a visit that was good for business and something else.


A long simmering resentment of Qatar by its neighbors has been given vent, and the manner of the move to isolate Qatar has been as uncompromising as it is sweeping.

Included in the list of demands made to Qatar- seen by it as an attack on its sovereignty-  is to shutter the network it owns and funds (Aljazeera). If this were to happen, it  will amount to a severe curtailing of press freedom, the significance of which cannot be over-estimated.

 Mr Trump's role thus far, has been to be fairly explicit about his support for the idea that Qatar is indeed acting in a manner that is destabilizing for the region it is situated in and the wider world, including funding terrorism. And he has done so without concrete evidence, and without making any comment whatsoever, about the possible complicity of the nations around it, including Saudi Arabia, in doing same.

There is reason to believe that the current crises in the gulf will be viewed by history as a microcosm of the wider impact of a Trump presidency that at best, has shown a lack of nuance of the complexities of world affairs. And at worst, is allowing for an impunity that sees might as right.

There is reason to believe that this crises will be seen as significant proof of the abrogation of a leadership the world has thus far taken as a given, by an unsuited American president.

Putin: His way, his strength.

Photo culled from 'Prospect magazine'

A recent CNN special report by Fareed Zakaria titled 'Vladimir Putin, The most powerful man in the world' inspires perspective on Russia's leader and his influence on his people and the wider world.

The program gave an hour-long insight into Putin's rise and the way and manner of the consolidation of his influence on Russian society as he seeks for it to reclaim its place- as he sees it- on the world stage.

Fareed Zakaria has a point when he declares that Putin perhaps comes tops of every world leader by his capacity to control his country's vast strength in a manner that is 'unilateral and unconstrained by other institutions, parties or political forces'.

By his actions of more than twenty years, Vladimir Putin does indeed understand the capacity of raw power to influence the course of events, silence lesser opponents and fire the varied passions burning within the breasts of a people- the average Russian on the streets- thirsting for leadership.

In short, he understands more than perhaps any other world leader today, the nexus between power and people and the way and manner of exploiting this nexus to serve an at times dubious peace, prosperity and certainly, disastrous conflict.

He may well be the most powerful man in the world.

Third thermism: A potent threat to sustainable development and peaceful co-existence in Africa

A cross section of Africa's leaders

Attempts by some African leaders to circumvent constitutional terms of office- usually 2 terms- and remain in power, is put in perspective.

Dubbed by some as third-termism, this phenomenon has slowly but surely become a focus for charged debate and worse, devastating conflict.

Currently, from Burundi and Gabon, to the Democratic Republic of Congo, this matter is a cause for much instability, displacement of persons, loss of livelihood and violent loss of life.

It is perhaps worth putting a frame on what remaining in power beyond constituted terms of office means for the ordinary man woman and child in African countries where poverty is rife, systems of governance are weak, and a few in corridors of power have the latitude to dictate with near-impunity to dis-empowered populations.

The longer persons in positions of authority remain in power under such circumstances, the less tolerant of opposition they are bound to become. There is also good reason to imagine that over time, a tipping point is reached where the weak and divided population they serve evolves to become less- than- reasonable as well, and would react violently when faced with a scenario that either attempts to perpetuate the status quo or attempts to end it.

 No one person should have a monopoly over the responsibility, perks, success or indeed failure of leadership. Africa and its leaders must embrace this fact in the acceptance of constitutional terms of office, as the alternative is, over time, disastrous conflict that wastes lives and perpetuates under-development.

Colombia: The signal of a new era

As a culmination of four years of sometimes grueling negotiation between the government of Colombia and the largest rebel group in that country- FARC- An agreement has been reached to end what has been the longest- running war in the Americas. This agreement is being seen as 'a milestone for peace in the Americas and the world'.

It has to be said that the Colombian government, after more than 50 years of conflict, has given its citizens reason to be hopeful that a position can be reached, which will see elements at the country's fringe being integrated into society in a manner that is understanding, inclusive, forgiving and forward-thinking.

If indeed the agreement is ratified in a referendum later this year as hoped, the practicality of entrenching it would reasonably be expected to be challenging.

In making every effort to surmount these challenges however, Colombia would have set itself on a path of becoming a beacon not only for the manner of seeking and finding an often elusive peace after years of intractable conflict. It would also be a signpost for the largeness of heart and richness of spirit required to embrace 'the other' on the margins of any society we profess to guard and protect.