Monday, June 19
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Monday, June 19

Todd Marshall
5 min
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The most important foreign affairs events of the week

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June 12, 2023

"The Biden administration is putting forward plans for overhauling the U.N. Security Council. The reform proposal would address growing frustration with the council's inability to stanch global conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine. The reform, which is expected to include the addition of roughly a half dozen permanent seats to the council without granting those nations veto power, reflects Biden’s desire to acknowledge the developing world’s growing clout. This is great news for Brazilian diplomacy and its long-lasting campaign for a more inclusive and democratic Security Council. Since the creation of the United Nations after World War II, the Council has been reformed only once in the 1960s, although the number of permanent members has not been expanded."

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The transitive verb stanch means “To stop or check the flow of something; to check or stem.”

The noun clout means “influence; pull; power.”

June 13, 2023

“On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said that it would be a mistake for the United States to try to ‘decouple’ from China and called for deepening economic ties between the world’s two largest economies. The comments came as the Biden administration has been seeking to improve relations with China, which faced a setback this year when a Chinese surveillance balloon was found flying across the United States. ‘I think we gain and China gains from trade and investment that is as open as possible, and it would be disastrous for us to attempt to decouple from China,’ Ms. Yellen said. The United States maintains tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, and the Biden administration is developing new restrictions on how U.S. companies can invest in China.”

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The transitive verb decouple means “to reduce or eliminate the coupling of (one circuit or part to another); to separate or detach.”

The noun setback means “an unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse; a check to progress; a reverse or defeat.”

June 14, 2023

"On Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz unveiled the country's first 'National Security Strategy.' The plan envisages more coherent foreign and security policies to prevent Berlin from being wrong-footed by geopolitical events. Although Germany has had policy documents in the past covering security, it has never had a dedicated comprehensive strategy. The war on Ukraine exposed deficiencies in the German military, the country's overreliance on Russia for energy and questions over how critical infrastructure such as gas pipelines could be protected. According to the document, Russia poses 'the greatest threat to peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area'. In this context, Germany should reach NATO's two-percent spending target 'on a multi-year average'. Furthermore, counterespionage, measures against sabotage and cyber defense are to be strengthened within the country."

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The transitive verb envisage means “to conceive an image or a picture of, especially as a future possibility; to consider or regard in a certain way.”

The noun overreliance means “the state or fact of being too reliant or depend too much on someone or something.” 

June 15, 2023

“The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) released the latest Global Trends report, providing key statistical trends on forced displacement. It includes the latest official statistics on refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced, and stateless people, as well as the number of refugees who have returned home. According to the document, at the end of 2022, 108.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing public order. This represents an increase of 19 million people compared to the end of 2021 – more than the populations of Ecuador, the Netherlands, or Somalia. It is also the largest ever increase between years according to UNHCR’s statistics on forced displacement. The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created the fastest displacement crisis, and one of the largest, since the Second World War.”

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The noun displacement means “the condition of having been displaced or forcibly moved to another location; the state of being displaced or the amount or degree to which something is displaced.”

The adjective stateless refers to “individuals who have no country they officially belong to.”

The adjective full-scale means “employing all resources; not limited or partial.”

June 16, 2023

“On Friday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ended a tour of Latin America, where he signed dozens of agreements with three allies who share Tehran’s defiance of Western powers: Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba. Throughout the trip, Raisi criticized the United States and the economic sanctions imposed on Iran and its allies in Latin America. Iran and Venezuela signed more than two dozen agreements. Several related to energy, including deals on developing an oil platform and a petrochemical products plant. In Cuba, Raisi signed six agreements, which included a political cooperation roadmap.”

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The noun defiance means “bold resistance against an opposing force or authority; a challenging attitude or behavior; challenge.”

The adjective several means “being of a number more than two or three but not many.”