The Daily Brief
Essential Reading
In the Middle East, Trump Turns Back the Clock — The president appears determined to undo the changes his predecessor made to Washington's strategic relationships in the region.
Brazil Digs Itself a Deeper Hole — A new scandal implicating the president signals prolonged political uncertainty ahead, just as the country's economy is beginning to show some promise.
Iran: Rouhani Secures Second Term With Sweeping Mandate — The president's performance over the next four years will determine his place in line to someday succeed the supreme leader.
For Benghazi, Justice Is Long Overdue — Fred Burton says though only one suspect has been captured in the years since the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate, others are out there — and we know who they are.
Greece: Austerity Reforms Pave Way For Bailout Funds — Athens hopes the measures will open the door for talks on alleviating the country's debt burden and allowing it to participate in the European Central Bank's bond-purchasing program.
Global Intelligence: Week of May 22, 2017 — This is an internal Stratfor document reviewing the week that was in geopolitics and previewing the week ahead.
Geopolitical Calendar: Week of May 22, 2017 — This is an internal Stratfor document listing significant meetings and events for the next week.
On Stratfor
With a New Generation Comes a New Worldview — Stratfor Editor-in-Chief David D. Judson says as we grow and evolve as a company, the world of geopolitics is also changing before our eyes.
The first revolution, the one taking place within Stratfor, is now on full view and is a subject about which I and others here will have much to say in the coming months. You are reading this column on a radically different web portal, Stratfor Worldview, as we are getting radically better at what we have always done. This month we unveiled a new publishing architecture that takes readers deeper into the predictive methodology we use to forecast the world's future. Readers will now see firsthand the rigor undergirding our assertions in what we call a "living forecast." Our analyses will be effectively aligned with our forecasting logic — each annual and quarterly forecast our thematic "book," each supporting analysis a "chapter" on the unfolding themes. We've expanded our suite of external contributors, created forums for better interaction with readers and engaged with new partners worldwide. And a score of other innovations are on our minds or on our drawing boards.
Global Perspectives
Debunking the Myth of the Arab World — Strafor contributor Dr. Philip Leech says the familiar phrase does more to obscure reality than explain it.
The Politics of Pageantry — Stratfor contributor Dr. Thomas M. Hunt explains how, in 2008, Chinese leaders used the lavish opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics to deliver a message that was meant as much for their own people as it was for global onlookers.
Iran’s Complicated but Resistible Influence in Syria — Ranj Alaaldin with the Brookings Doha Center says greater U.S. presence in Syria means a greater capacity to play a more proactive role — and that brings more problems than solutions for the Iranians.
Stratfor Graphic
Stratfor Talks
Introducing Stratfor Worldview — Worldview introduces an innovative, new user experience that compels readers to dig deeper into global affairs with enhanced analyses, living forecasts, interactive graphics, community forums and new global themes and topics that lift the veil on Stratfor’s underlying methodology and allow members to focus on what’s most important to them and their organizations. To learn more about Stratfor Worldview, we sit down with Stratfor CEO Dave Sikora, Vice President of Global Analysis Reva Goujon, Editor-in-Chief David Judson and Chief Product Officer Ken Maranian in this podcast.
News You May Have Missed
- North Korea on May 21 test-fired a medium-range missile, U.S. and South Korean officials said.
- Asia-Pacific trade ministers have agreed to continue trying to resuscitate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, despite U.S. President Donald Trump abandoning it.
- Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano downplayed a threat Chinese President Xi Jinping allegedly made to his Philippine counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, to go to war if Manila drilled for oil in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
- At least 24 people were injured in an explosion inside Phramongkutklao Hospital in central Bangkok on May 22, the third anniversary of the military coup that brought the current Thai junta to power.
- Cambodia's political parties began campaigning for the country's June 4 local elections.
- Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani won Iran's May 19 presidential election with 57 percent of the vote, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said.
- U.S. President Donald Trump called on Arab leaders to do their share to fight "Islamist extremism" on May 21 during a speech in Saudi Arabia that put the burden on the region to combat militant groups.
- U.S. and Saudi companies signed business deals worth over $200 billion during Trump's visit to Riyadh, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said.
- Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, did not attend the summit in Saudi Arabia with Trump as planned.
- Russia will exhaust its Reserve Fund this year and will have to begin using money from its National Wealth Fund, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
- A lawmaker from Ukraine's Opposition Bloc said May 19 that the party will contest President Petro Poroshenko's recent block of a number of Russian websites and social media platforms.
- EU defense ministers agreed to establish a fund for joint military projects.
- The United Kingdom will quit Brexit talks unless the European Union drops its demands of a divorce payment of 100 billion euros ($112 billion), Brexit Secretary David Davis said.
- The Catalan parliament has reportedly drafted in secret a bill intended to oversee the semi-autonomous Spanish region’s transition to an independent state.
- French researchers said May 19 that they had found a way to save Windows files encrypted with ransomware virus Wannacrypt.
- Gunmen attacked a guesthouse in the Afghan capital Kabul, killing a German woman and beheading an Afghan guard.
- French President Emmanuel Macron, in Mali for a visit with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and French troops stationed in the country, reiterated France's commitment to counterterrorism operations in the Sahel.
- Plea-bargain testimony released May 19 by Brazil's Supreme Court alleges that the country's president received 15 million reais ($4.56 million) in bribes from executives working for the Brazilian meat processing company JBS S.A. before he took office.