WPR Daily Review.

"A failure of humanity itself."

Views expressed in this geopolitical news and analysis are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 22 August 2025, 2125 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com).

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Aug. 22, 2025

Hello, everyone. Today at WPR, we’re covering the finer points of diplomacy that will determine Ukraine’s fate and the United States’ biggest vulnerability in the trade war: its knowledge economy.

But first, here’s our take on today’s top story:

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, Aug. 16, 2025 (AP photo by Jehad Alshrafi).

“It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment—and a failure of humanity itself.”

That was how United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reacted to the news today that parts of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, are suffering from famine, according to a global monitoring initiative. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a group of 21 organizations that monitor food security around the world, warned that without a surge of humanitarian relief, the famine would likely spread to other parts of the territory.

Tom Fletcher, the U.N.’s head of humanitarian affairs, said at a press conference that it was “a famine that we could have prevented, if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.” Fletcher went on to plead with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Enough. Ceasefire. Open the crossings … It is too late for far too many. But not for everyone in Gaza.”

His words may not be enough to ...

	Subscribe to WPR to read the rest of our take on today’s top story.

In his weekly column, Paul Poast takes a step back from the past week’s whirlwind of summitry aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Diplomacy is all about sweating the details,” he writes, “but the details that ultimately matter are those pertaining to the outcome of the talks.” While it’s too soon to judge how these summits will be remembered, Paul highlights several takeaways that provide clues about where the negotiations are headed.

The Finer Points of Diplomacy That Will Determine Ukraine’s Fate

By Paul Poast Detailed talking points in the aftermath of Trump’s summitry provide clues as to where the negotiations are headed.

*****

President Donald Trump’s trade war was premised on the idea that U.S. trade partners would acquiesce to higher tariffs without putting up much of a fight, in order to preserve their access to U.S. markets. So far, that logic has been borne out, with the notable exception of China. But as Jeremy De Beer, an expert in intellectual property law, argues, the U.S. has an Achilles heel in this fight: the knowledge economy.

The United States’ Biggest Vulnerability in the Trade War: Its Knowledge Economy

By Jeremy de Beer The more Trump escalates his trade war, the more he risks retaliation against U.S. intellectual property.

At least 17 people were killed in Colombia yesterday in violent attacks against security forces. Initial reports indicate a dozen police officers were killed in a drone attack on a police helicopter in northern Colombia that was working to eradicate coca crops and, in a separate incident, at least five were killed by a car bomb detonated near a military school in Cali.

The country has seen a resurgence of violence in recent months targeting both politicians and security forces. As we wrote in the Daily Review newsletter in June, the renewed violence brings back harrowing memories of Colombia in the 1980s and 1990s, when such violence was endemic. After a decade-long period in which stability and peace had returned at least to urban areas, this new reality underscores the failure of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s security agenda, and the attacks on politicians in particular, including the June attack and subsequent death of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay, bode ill for Colombia’s democracy, James Bosworth wrote this week.

The Specter of Political Violence Once Again Haunts Colombia

By James Bosworth Aug. 18, 2025 | The assassination of Miguel Uribe Turbay is rattling Colombia, which is already politically polarized and on edge ahead of next year’s presidential election.

*****

The head of Poland’s national security bureau, Slawomir Cenckiewicz, has been charged with the misuse of classified military documents over an incident in which the hard-right Law and Justice Party (PiS), with which Cenckiewicz is affiliated, used the documents during the 2023 parliamentary election.

The incident is part of the larger conflict between Polish President Karol Nawrocki of PiS and centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk. As Amanda Coakley wrote in June, Nawrocki’s victory over liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski in the Polish presidential election that month has significantly complicated Tusk’s efforts to restore democracy and rule of law after nine years of PiS rule.

In Poland, Nawrocki’s Win Complicates Tusk’s Reform Agenda

By Amanda Coakley June 4, 2025 | Nawrocki’s presidential election victory promises more political gridlock for Poland, with major implications for Europe.

More from WPR

Jonathan Lincoln on what Gaza means for the humanitarian aid system. Ulrike Franke on why drones are so difficult to counter. Jonathan Fenton-Harvey on Iraq’s halting efforts to regulate its militias. Mary Gallagher on the debate in China over expanding the social safety net.

Read all of our latest coverage here.

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