WPR Weekly Review

"The case for phased diplomacy with Iran."

Views expressed in this geopolitical news and analysis are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 20 September 2026, 1603 UTC.

Content and Source:  "WPR Weekly Review."

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQhWTtWTGMVzKjfjgzdgDSdrgzj

URL--https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com.

Please check email link or scroll down to read your selections.  You can find recent reports and posts in the "Archive" section of this blog.

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

September 20, 2026 Sponsored by Hi everyone, this is Elliot Waldman, WPR’s editor-in-chief. Welcome back to our Weekly Review, where we recap the highlights from our coverage over the last week and preview what’s on deck. If you have any comments or feedback, just hit reply to send them along. Top Stories Here are some of the week’s major developments that we covered in our Daily Review newsletter. (If you don’t already receive the Daily Review, you can adjust your settings here.):       The AI Panic Is Overblown—but Still Useful: Dario Amodei, the CEO of frontier AI firm Anthropic, has called for a slow-down in the development of ever more powerful AI models due to fears that the technology could escape human control. In an open letter published over the weekend, Amodei advocated for “pacing the frontier” of AI research and development—a view that was quickly endorsed by some of Amodei’s main rivals, including Sam Altman of OpenAI, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Elon Musk. Writing in The New York Times, Stephen Witt warned … Use one of your allowed free articles to read more here, or upgrade now to get the premium edition of the weekly email and full access to everything we publish.             An Open Arms Race in Space: Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announced earlier this week that the U.S. has deployed space-based weapons, marking the first-ever such acknowledgement by Washington. In a keynote speech at a privately organized conference, Meink said the U.S. military’s Space Force branch “now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” In a Q&A session following his speech … Use one of your allowed free articles to read more here or upgrade now to get the premium edition of the weekly email and full access to everything we publish.             Trump’s Opaque Venezuelan Oil Fund Is the Tip of the Iceberg: Three Democratic U.S. senators are pressuring Trump administration officials for more information on the whereabouts and management of Venezuelan oil revenues under U.S. control, The Washington Post reported Thursday. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sens. Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse demanded more transparency over what is reported to be at least $13 billion generated by sales of Venezuelan oil. The news came days after a raucous … Use one of your allowed free articles to read more here or upgrade now to get the premium edition of the weekly email and full access to everything we publish.       Smarter CRM. Less Busywork. Disconnected data and tools make it harder to understand your customers. HubSpot's Agentic Customer Platform brings your data, teams, and tech stack together with AI built in to help your business work faster and create more personalized customer experiences. Why HubSpot and what's new Use AI powered tools to take action faster Unify your data, teams, and tech stack in one place Create one shared view of customer data Connect teams around the same customer context Bring your business tools into one place Connect more of your business in one place and give every team a smarter way to work. Get set up quickly and start checking off your hardest tasks. Get started free The Week’s Highlights Damage and debris at a building that Iranian media said was hit by a U.S. strike in Kuhestak, Iran, Sept. 2, 2026. (Morteza Akhoondi for Tasnim News Agency via AP) The Case for Phased Diplomacy to Resolve the Iran War. On Wednesday, Ariya Farahmand looked at why a diplomatic process that breaks the most contentious disagreements between Iran and the United into separate negotiating phases is more likely to lead to peace than a single grand bargain. The war between Iran and the United States has reached a kind of in-between state that is neither war nor peace, and neither side is served by the status quo. Washington is unlikely to achieve its broader strategic objectives through military pressure alone, and Iran cannot hold out forever under current conditions. Both sides may be under the illusion that they can outlast the other. But in reality the most viable way out of the crisis is not an ambitious grand bargain, but a phased, compartmentalized approach to diplomacy. Right now, Washington and Tehran are both using a strategy of …  Upgrade now to get the full highlights in your weekly email as well as full access to everything we publish. Trump and Xi Have No Joint Plan for a Rogue AI Attack. Tech Moguls Should. Also on Wednesday, Candace Rondeaux argued that Silicon Valley’s billionaire tech moguls should not wait for governments to create the AI safety machinery needed to guard against the doomsday scenarios they have warned about. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says a doomsday scenario in which misaligned AI agent swarms build a persistent botnet that can “take over a large number of computers” and cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage could be just months away. His timeline may prove alarmist, and the internet is more resilient than the phrase “take over” suggests. Yet the governance gap exposed by his warning is real. No standing body can bring together national cyber agencies, frontier laboratories like Anthropic, cloud providers, telecommunications operators and software platforms to contain such an event. The two leaders with the greatest power to begin closing that gap, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, face a … Upgrade now to get the full highlights in your weekly email as well as full access to everything we publish. The Week’s Most-Read Story The U.S. military conducts coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia, Feb. 1, 2025. (U.S. Africa Command via AP) Washington’s New Somalia Strategy Sacrifices Stability for Shipping Lanes. And in this week’s top story by views, Jonathan Fenton-Harvey looked at Washington’s efforts to step up operations in Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland state while at the same time scaling back support for Somalia’s broader multilateral security framework. The Trump administration has continued its formal cooperation with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government and publicly emphasizes Somalia’s sovereignty. But its simultaneous engagement with regions like Puntland—whose relationship with Mogadishu has broken down into open political confrontation and even armed clashes in recent years—makes Washington’s longstanding counterterrorism and maritime engagement more transactional and less tied to an [African Union]-backed national stabilization framework. Alongside the proposed withdrawal of support for [the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia]’s logistical system, this suggests an approach that prioritizes operational freedom over a sustained commitment to the national security institutions on which Somalia’s stability depends. What’s On Tap And coming up this week, we’ve got: Simon Waldman on the false promise of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey. Sylvia Colombo on the scandals that are shaking up Brazilian politics ahead of next month’s presidential election. Tangi Bihan on the aftermath of an attempted coup in Niger—and what it illustrates about the military-led regimes of the Sahel. That’s it for now. Until Monday, —Elliot Waldman The Week On WPR Africa   Washington’s New Somalia Strategy Sacrifices Stability for Shipping Lanes The U.S. is engaging directly with Somali states while reducing support for the country’s broader security framework, risking further fragmentation. Americas   Trump’s Opaque Venezuelan Oil Fund Is the Tip of the Iceberg The lack of transparency underscores the administration’s opaque approach to Venezuela—and Trump’s patrimonialist approach to governance.   Canada Is Just One Piece of the EU’s Security Puzzle The EU associate membership offer was among several proposals to protect Europeans from a range of conventional and unconventional security threats.   Popular Support for Democracy in Latin America Doesn’t Ensure Its Survival Popular support for democracy is strong across the region, but experts highlight a troubling trend: “illiberal majoritarianism.” Asia-Pacific   The Philippines Chose to Align with the U.S. Now It Regrets It Despite Manila’s efforts, it is increasingly evident that Washington cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments.   China’s Young Workers Are Finding New Ways to Fight for Their Rights After 107 recent university graduates lost their jobs at an automotive supply firm, they turned to social media for virality and leverage.   Vietnam’s Red River Megaproject and the Risks of Engineering a ‘Miracle’ A multibillion-dollar investment to reshape Hanoi’s cityscape poses an important test of Vietnam’s governance model.   Proliferating Drones Are Reshaping Life Along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Local communities in the region are increasingly caught in the crossfire of violent drone attacks that are difficult to attribute and investigate. Middle East & North Africa   The Case for Phased Diplomacy to Resolve the Iran War Experts say the only way to break the current cycle of tit-for-tat attacks is a phased, compartmentalized approach to diplomacy. United States   An Open Arms Race in Space Washington’s public acknowledgement of weaponizing outer space highlights the degree to which the domain has transformed over the past two decades. Global   Can a New Map Change the World? African nations are pushing to abandon the antiquated Mercator projection, drawing attention to the historical and geostrategic significance of maps.   Why a Global Campaign to Switch Maps Is Gaining Steam The U.N.’s backing of a more accurate world map could reshape how people view the importance of certain regions.   Trump and Xi Have No Joint Plan for a Rogue AI Attack. Tech Moguls Should The titans of the AI industry have the resources to set up an emergency response mechanism for a rogue agent. So why aren’t they doing it?   The AI Panic Is Overblown—but Still Useful If it takes far-fetched scenarios to generate the fear needed to spur meaningful AI regulation, it may be worth it.

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 GlobalPost Media Corporation World Politics Review, 401 E Jackson St, Ste 3300 Tampa, FL 33606, United States Powered by beehiiv