Arne van der Wal’s Post

Want to learn more about how the US foreign lobbying industry has helped erode democracy worldwide? 🤔 Pre-order #ForeignAgents, the new book from HRF Combatting Kleptocracy program director Casey Michel, which investigates how this industry became the handmaiden to dictators around the world. 📕Pre-order here: https://buff.ly/4dkgbS3

The flag that was hoisted today in the European Parliament will see cloudy skies. It will no doubt be waived by rough political winds blowing from all directions. However, throughout the mandate that is now beginning, may it always be up there as a symbolic reminder of a Europe united in search of consensus, as well as the values it stands for. #raisingceremony #10thlegislature #europeanparliament

My latest article on the imperative of rearmament for POLITICO Europe is also available at RealClearDefense.

Teamed up with Eguiar Lizundia to co-write this article for American Purpose, looking at the fight ahead for Europeans against foreign kleptocratic in-roads in their countries-and union. A good follow-up (or introductory) read to IRI’s policy brief on the subject, which is available on the website: https://lnkd.in/ds5TYkRY (and comes highly recommended).

A worthwhile video to watch as it counters with specificity the lies spoken in the State of the Union speech. https://lnkd.in/eWnRhZAF

To effectively address and endure the existential threats facing humanity, including the impending collapse of our world, it is imperative for the EU and the Global North to thoroughly review and transform their fundamental modes of operation.

#Georgia's government, led by the Georgian Dream party, has managed to walk the geopolitical tightrope between the EU and US, on the one side, and Russia, on the other, since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War. But this approach has also reopened old and irreconcilable political divisions domestically, with the next election later this year. Large scale protests and a fist fight in parliament this week serve as a reminder of the potential for that election to turn into a disorderly one and upend this foreign policy balancing act. A look at opinion polls versus the current parliament's composition, the events following the 2020 election, and the context of recent stellar equity performance of this small frontier market in my full report on Tellimer. https://lnkd.in/epy-j2qi #frontiermarkets #russiaukrainewar

The newly elected Korean National Assembly has started with significant conflicts between the two leading parties over the formation of standing committees, taking turbulence to a new level. As both parties are preparing for national conventions this summer, the opposition Democratic Party aims to solidify its leadership, while the ruling People Power Party faces a leadership contest among senior members and former Emergency Response Committee Chairperson Han Dong-hoon. For an in-depth look at Korea's latest political developments, visit our website and read the full report. #GRKorea #TheGRCompany #governmentrelations #publicaffairs #korea

Today marks the start of the new European Commission. This means the clock starts running on its "White Paper on the Future of European Defence", which Ursula von der Leyen announced for the first 100 days of her mandate. HRVP Kaja Kallas and Commissioner Kubilius Andrius will be in charge. Back in September, I wrote this oped for Friends of Europe, "Von der Leyen should make democracy the cornerstone of the EU’s security agenda". https://lnkd.in/esnhcmq6 Like NATO, the EU would do well to first define what it is fighting for. Placing the defense of democracy at its core will make it easier to define the scope and direction of European defence. The European Democracy Shield, which is Ursula von der Leyen’s other big policy announcement, can function as the linchpin between both policy agendas. In fact, not doing so would probably raise questions on coherence between two major defence policies.   This Friday, 6 December, European Economic and Social Committee , Kofi Annan Foundation, European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), and International IDEA will host a public event on the European Democracy Shield. Anyone working on the Defence White Paper or the Democracy Shield, and for whom the 100 days are counting, welcome to join and register here. https://lnkd.in/etnF8avK

📢 Read the joint statement for European and World Day against the Death Penalty by the High Representative of the European Union and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe below: 👇 Full statement also found here: bit.ly/4eCseuW