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"China's approach to Syria, the UN drifts away from peacekeeping."

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Jan. 18, 2025

Hi, everybody. I’m Judah Grunstein, WPR’s editor-in-chief, and this is a free preview of our Weekly Review newsletter, recapping the highlights from our coverage this week and previews what we have planned for next week.

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Top Stories

This week, in our Daily Review newsletter, we looked at the week’s major developments:

Israel-Hamas: On Thursday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a provisional ceasefire that, if fully implemented, would ultimately see a permanent end to the hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the return of all the remaining Israeli hostages. The breakthrough was in part caused by external factors, including the weakening of Hamas’ regional sources of support and the imminent return of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump the White House. But the timing of the deal underscores the fact that neither side had anything left to gain from the war, even as both face significant challenges ahead. (Read more here.) U.S.: On Monday, we discussed why it’s important to take Trump’s recent expansionist threats toward Greenland, Panama and Canada seriously, even if it is unlikely that the U.S. actually moves to expand territorially during Trump’s second term. As both cause and symptom of the developments that have fueled his political rise and return to the White House, Trump shapes the popular discourse and the stances of his followers, while channeling underlying political shifts that may not be visible to most observers yet. Ultimately, too, defending territorial sovereignty is every state’s topline responsibility. So while observers in the U.S. may be able to debate whether or not Trump’s threats are worth discussing, the states that are being threatened—and others watching nervously from the sidelines—don’t have that luxury. (Read more here.) Russia-Vietnam: And on Tuesday, Russia and Vietnam agreed to boost cooperation on nuclear energy in the Southeast Asian country. Though a relatively quiet development, the agreement points to a number of significant trends in global affairs, particularly the nuclear energy revival, which has rapidly picked up steam in recent years. The U.S. had hoped to play a central role in that revival, but its nuclear manufacturing capacity is no longer as competitive as it once was. That opens the door for Russia, a nuclear energy powerhouse, with this agreement underscoring the fact that Moscow is not nearly as economically or diplomatically isolated as the West had hoped to make it. Finally, the deal highlights how countries like Vietnam are navigating an increasingly multipolar world by choosing global partners to meet their needs on a case-by-case basis. (Read more here.)

This Week’s Highlights

China Will Approach Post-Assad Syria With Caution. On Tuesday, Giorgio Cafiero examined how China is likely to deal with the new government in Syria.

China’s leadership did not welcome the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad late last year. China never intervened militarily in Syria, but it supported the Assad regime diplomatically and symbolically. Usually under the banner of defending Syria’s sovereignty, Beijing joined Moscow in using its veto at the UN Security Council 10 times to protect Assad’s government from Western-backed resolutions. But despite the Syrian government’s hopes that China would invest heavily in the country’s reconstruction after the regime had gained what seemed like a decisive victory over the rebels in 2016-2017, Syria’s investment environment was too unstable for even the historically risk-tolerant Chinese. Upgrade to a paid subscription to get the full bulleted breakdown of the stories we highlight each week.

The U.N. May Regret Getting Out of the Peacekeeping Business. And on Thursday, Richard Gowan looked at the United Nations’ recent drift away from peacekeeping operations.

In recent years, the United Nations has struggled to resolve conflicts from Ethiopia to Myanmar and often ended up focusing instead on managing their humanitarian fall-out. The Security Council has mandated no new large-scale blue-helmet peace operations since 2014. The U.N.’s role in mediating peace deals has also declined since the turn of the century. By contrast, its humanitarian operations have continued to expand. Given the major divisions among the leading members of the Security Council, some diplomats and U.N. officials believe that the world organization’s shift from conflict resolution to humanitarian assistance will continue. Upgrade to a paid subscription to get the full bulleted breakdown of the stories we highlight each week.

This Week’s Most-Read Story

For Maduro, Silencing Venezuela’s Opposition Has Become Job One. And in this week’s top story by pageviews, James Bosworth explained why for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, governing has largely become an exercise in repression and censoring media coverage of his government:

[I]n recent weeks, Maduro has made it more difficult for the opposition to share information. Having already banned Twitter/X months ago, Venezuela just blocked access to TikTok, which was providing Maduro’s opponents a valuable outlet to share their messages. Then the government shut down access to various VPN services and DNS options that Venezuelans use to reroute internet traffic around the government’s firewalls. That means that those without significant technology know-how cannot access X, TikTok or the many other websites blocked by Venezuela’s government, leaving them without the information they need to better organize protests.

What’s On Tap

And coming up next week, we’ve got:

A column by Daniel Drezner on why great power war has once again become conceivable. A briefing by Benjamin Gedan on why helping Guatemala’s embattled reformist president benefits the United States. And a briefing by Joshua Kurlantzick and Abigail McGowan on why Singapore’s upcoming election may be more competitive than usual.

That’s it for this week. And if you have any comments or feedback, just hit reply to send them along, or contact me on BlueSky at @judah-grunstein.bksy.social.

—Judah Grunstein

This Week On WPR:

Africa

2025 Will Be a Year of Change for Africa’s Continental Leadership By Afolabi Adekaiyaoja Africa’s continental diplomacy has a lot riding on upcoming leadership changes at the AU Commission and the African Development Bank.

The Americas

For Maduro, Silencing Venezuela’s Opposition Has Become Job One By James Bosworth Since his loss in Venezuela’s election last year, governing for Maduro has largely become an exercise in repression and controlling the narrative.

Europe

EU Member States Are Flouting the Bloc’s Minimum Wage Directive By John Boyce More than two years after the EU’s flagship minimum wage directive was voted into law, most member states have yet to comply with its provisions. Austria Represents a New Twist for the Rise of Europe’s Far Right By Amanda Coakley A government led by the far right wouldn’t just herald a new era in Austrian politics. It would bolster rising far-right parties across Europe. The U.S. Needs a Different Approach for Rebalancing NATO By Jennifer Kavanagh Trump is right that Europeans should step up when it comes to the continent’s defense. But his plan to make them do so is misguided.

Middle East & North Africa

China Will Approach Post-Assad Syria With Caution By Giorgio Cafiero China never intervened military in Syria, but it did support the Assad regime in other ways. After Assad’s fall, China faces a complicated dilemma.

United States

Trump’s Foreign Policy Is Tailor-Made for a 19th-Century America By Paul Poast To understand Trump is to recognize that he wants to bring a 19th-century U.S. foreign policy into the 21st century. The Rules-Based Order Is Less Dependent on the U.S. Than Biden’s Critics Think By Charli Carpenter Biden often failed to uphold the rules-based order he vowed to protect. But that order doesn’t operate merely at the whim of the great powers.

Global

There’s a Reason BRICS Is the Hottest Multilateral Ticket in Town By Gordon LaForge BRICS wants to usher in an international order not so dominated by the West. To a lot of Global South countries, that’s an appealing vision. The U.N. May Regret Getting Out of the Peacekeeping Business By Richard Gowan The U.N.’s role in mediating peace deals is declining as its humanitarian operations expand. That might not be sustainable.

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