There were numerous active assailant incidents in several European Countries and the US in 2018. In the US, the trend of mass shootings and other active assailant attacks continued, with over 300 shooting incidents recorded as of November 2018. However, active assailant attacks have taken place in less expected locations, such as Canada and the Commonwealth…
As key players debate the impact of climate change on the international stage, domestically, governments across the globe are being put to the test in their responses to natural hazards.
The emergence of several high-profile cases in 2018 has raised concerns that abduction by state actors is becoming an increasingly common practice. In this article, we highlight some of the most notable instances of state-sanctioned disappearances in the past year, and provide an insight into what we can expect 2019.
Several significant elections are scheduled to take place around the world in 2019, and we review a number of these in this article. From Nigeria to Indonesia, Ukraine and Libya, the outcome of the 2019 electoral season will not only determine the sociopolitical and economic trajectories of individual countries, but also impact domestic and regional…
Following the widely contested presidential election result in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tristan Puri provides an overview of the current political uncertainty in the country. This briefing note highlights the threats presented to foreign investors by the possibility of escalating violence, potential further sanctions on DRC officials, and…
In this article, we examine the main kidnapping trends and incidents of 2018 from around the world, and look at some emerging trends likely to persist in 2019.
Much like its domestic policy, US foreign policy under the Donald Trump administration is characterised by uncertainty and unpredictability. The president’s approach to foreign policy appears to be driven less by ideology than pragmatism. At other times, such as with trade policy, pragmatism has been cast aside in favour of domestic political considerations.…
The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October with the apparent approval of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians and business in the west. The reputational damage will delay MbS’s flagship economic projects, but the Kingdom’s long-term foreign investors haven’t been driven away.
Cameroon has regularly failed to attract the same levels of foreign direct investment as its Central African peers, despite boasting one of the most diversified and stable economies in the region. Following recent in-country research, our sub-Saharan Africa team provides an overview of three key operational risks to investors in the market.
On 28 October, Brazil elected Jair Messias Bolsonaro, a long-time congressman and former Army captain as its next president. Running a conservative, right-wing campaign, he managed to capture the growing anti-left and anti-establishment sentiment that has grown in response to the country-wide anti-corruption probes (such as the Lava Jato operation)…
Colombia remains a high threat environment for kidnapping, and the September 2018 abduction of a businesswoman in Amagá has once again raised doubts regarding the ELN’s willingness to engage in peace talks with Colombian hard-line president Iván Duque.
Runaway inflation and a failing oil industry have all but collapsed Venezuela’s economy. Citizen frustrations with the government’s inability to offer a credible way out of the economic crisis means the country remains increasingly vulnerable to outbreaks of widespread unrest, writes Markus Korhonen.