The Hans Island Whiskey War

Border disputes are not particularly rare around the world. In fact, there are approximately 150 actively taking place right now, with some being areas of potential concern (such as the South China Sea), and other being areas of barely-controlled conflict (such as Crimea and eastern Ukraine).

And then, there is the dispute over Hans Island - which was probably the most peaceful and cordial territorial dispute in the world.

Hans Island’s location renders it extremely difficult to reach. Source: Google Earth

Hans Island is not easy to reach, at all. Geolocation tools on Google Earth reveal that it is located extraordinarily far north (about 4500km, or 2800 miles, north of New York City in a straight line) in a strait between Canada and Greenland. The island is only 1.3sq km (0.5mi) in width and is home to nothing more than seabirds, and two bottles of liquor - specifically, Canadian rye whiskey, and Danish schnapps - that were swapped out for one another as both Denmark and Canada vied for control of the island.

The situation began in the 1970s when both countries began to conduct geographical surveys of the region, but neither sides’ maps contained Hans Island - likely due to its complete insignificance. When rumors began to swirl of a Canadian resource company beginning to survey the region (and Hans Island), Denmark’s Minister for Greenland Affairs flew via helicopter to the island to plant a Danish flag and a bottle of schnapps, with a sign reading “Welcome to the Danish Island”.

The Whisky War began when Canada responded with a bottle of rye whiskey, a Canadian flag, and a “Welcome to Canada” sign. This went back and forth for years, with no end in sight for decades.

Photography shows a Danish flag raising in 2002, and a Canadian flag raising in 2005, on Hans Island. Source: The Telegraph

The “war” had a debatable serious side - climate change meant that the island could have been used as a staging ground for offshore drilling and hold strategic purpose after a certain period of time. Furthermore, an unannounced visit by a Canadian minister in 2005 did cause formal complaint from Denmark - though the only outcome was agreeing to have each country notify one another of all future visits by any ministers from either side.

In 2022, a formal resolution to the dispute was finally settled, splitting the island in half from north to south (meaning that Canada now technically shares a land border with Denmark). In addition to resolving the diplomatic conundrum, the agreement also outlined clear maritime rights, and outlined clear rights for indigenous people to use the land.

TAI Score: Degree 0. Even prior to the Whiskey War’s resolution in 2022, the dispute was extremely unlikely to flare into actual hostility given the generally peaceful nature of Canada and Denmark (as well as the phenomenon of the Democratic Peace Theory). While Arctic politics and disputes can hold considerable implications for geopolitical stability, Hans Island was never truly at risk of being at the heart of an international conflagration.

Cargo Cults

An interesting fact about the Buddha is that he was a real person that was confirmed to have existed, the only chief deity in a major system of belief (with Jesus Christ as a debateable contender) to have done so. Siddharta Gautama, his mortal name, was born around 2500 years ago in what is modern day Nepal (or northern India). His life, and path to enlightenment, is fairly well documented in Buddhist history stretching from India to Thailand, China, Korea, and Japan.

John Frum is a less straightforward, and less well-known, character - despite living only about a century ago.

The cargo cult of Vanuatu in the South Pacific is an exceptionally unique system of tradition and belief left over from the Second World War. Its adherents are the descendants of local tribesmen who witnessed a level of wealth and development by US forces stationed on their islands, that they determined they quite simply must be gods who summoned their endless food, wealth, and supplies from thin air by magic. The symbol of the cargo cult believers is a simple red cross - a symbol left behind by the medical staff that gave them life-saving medicine. Many believe that by imitating the servicemen who came to the islands, they can will them into returning with their infrastructure and riches.

The believers on some islands go to extreme lengths to do so.

To explain, the locals believed that rituals performed by the US military - wearing uniforms, marching around, and building aeroplanes - were what summoned the wealth and the cargo. It makes sense, too: not understanding how a radio worked would lead one to similar beliefs. As such, cargo cult members copy US uniforms, march in step with bamboo “rifles” over one shoulder, and have even built “airstrips” with “control towers” filled with “radios” to oversee “planes” - all of which are made entirely out of wood.

So, who’s John Frum?

The short answer is: nobody knows for sure. John Frum is, on the island of Vanuatu, a figurehead of the cargo cults - though local elders insist that he was a white American who urged the locals to stop following the lifestyles largely forced upon them by the British colonial government. They contend that he brought so many material goods with him, that he is “an all-knowing spirit, even more powerful than Jesus" who lives inside their local volcano.

Cargo cults exist across Melanesia - the island archipelago consisting of many nations across the South Pacific - and vary from country to country. And while our world is “shrinking”, as geographers like to describe it, it may be several more generations before the wealth from the Global North reaches these islands, fulfilling the John Frum prophecy.

TAI Score: Degree 0. Although some cargo cults in Papua New Guinea have been associated with cannibalism, this practice is likely far older than the “cult” itself. The belief systems that encourage people to build fake wooden planes and pretend to be air traffic controllers are harmless, and do not present any threat to international society.

French Decolonisation

The decolonisation of Asia and Africa was a long process that began shortly after WWII, with the first phase from 1945-1960 witnessing the independence of approximately 36 countries. During this period, Egypt received independence from Britain, Korea received independence from Japan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo received independence from Belgium (or, more accurately, the Belgian emperor directly as the vast nation was his personal property).

The story of French decolonisation is not quite as clear-cut, however - and one could argue it isn’t as successful as the other former colonial powers have been. Below are three examples of places where France’s influence appears to be slipping rapidly - if there’s any of it left in 2024 at all.

Union members protest in Martinique’s capital, Fort-de-France. Source: France24

Martinique

Martinique is one of those places that doesn’t spring to mind for much more than tourism. In 2022, the Caribbean island received over 660,000 tourists, a number almost double the size of its permanent resident population. It’s recent politics, however, have been unsteady at best: last month, violent protests broke out over the high cost of living (likely driven by wealthy tourists), to which authorities reportedly turned a blind eye. In particular, food prices have remained 40% higher than in mainland France due to import costs, and although the government struck a deal to lower food prices by an average of 20%, protestors say that the move isn’t enough. They are demanding that prices should be no higher in the mainland, and have thus rejected the deal. Issues go beyond food as well - phone and internet prices are also 30% higher than in mainland France. Continued protests have led to the extension of curfews and even the closure of the local airport.

New Caledonia

On the other side of the world in the Pacific Ocean near Australia, the situation in New Caledonia is more of an electoral grievance than an economic one. A proposed amendment in Paris would allow for all people of New Caledonia to participate in elections after ten years of residency, rather than only indigenous Kanak people. The Kanak people feel that this proposal would greatly dilute their political autonomy by adding 25,000 non-indigenous people to the registry, thus vastly threatening the independence movement that many of them support. 13 people have been killed in the violence by emergency police deployed to the country from France, and damage to infrastructure has cost an estimated 2.2 million euros - an issue greatly exacerbated by businesses left in ruin, and a nickel industry already on the decline.

The Sahel

Coup leaders announce the suspension of the constitution and dissolution of state infrastructure on national television in Burkina Faso. Source: Anadolu Ajansi

Perhaps the most famous example of damage to France’s image in its former colonies comes from the Sahel - particularly Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

In Mali, Operation Barkhane - France’s mission to eradicate Islamist groups from its frontier regions, its largest overseas operation in the world - ended when Assimi Goita, a military officer, staged a coup that demanded the departure of French troops from Mali. The French government, realising that strained diplomacy with the national government combined with battling jihadist groups on their territory (as well as numerous other factors) was too much to handle, announced the end of Barkhane.

Burkina Faso’s story is somewhat more straightforward: after a 2022 coup erupted over France’s perceived inability to secure the country from insurgents, the new military government refused to renew the French licence to conduct special operations on Burkinabe soil, stating that the country wished to defend itself.

In 2023, Niger’s coup sent shockwaves around the world for confirming that the other two incidents in Mali and Burkina Faso were part of a larger, anti-French pattern. The junta proceeded to expel the French ambassador and French troops, before scrapping EU accords that allowed for the training of Niger’s security forces. This particular case greatly alarmed the Western world due to the almost instant bond between the junta and the Russian Wagner Group mercenary firm, which has promised alongside the Russian military to “increase the combat readiness” of Nigerian troops.

TAI Score: Degree 3. The decline of French influence throughout the Global South will lead to increased difficulty for a Western democracy and keystone EU member to operate around the world. Furthermore, the instability left behind by the departure of French political and military assets are often capitalised upon by autocratic actors, such as Russia and China, particularly in the Sahel region. France will need to make concessions to maintain a grip on its unique status throughout the world - or risk shrinking back exclusively to Europe.

What Happened to Somali Pirates?

In 2011, an aid worker named Jessica Buchanan was held captive by pirates in Somalia for three months before being rescued by American Navy SEALs. Her story of being held captive by Somali pirates was, at the time, not unusual for that part of the world - in the first nine months of 2010, nearly half of the recorded 290 piracy attacks worldwide were from Somalia. And then, it seemed, they disappeared for a long time - while 358 attacks were recorded from 2010-2015, only 8 were recorded from 2016-2022. In fact, “Somalia” and “piracy” were colloquially considered mutually inclusive in the early 2010s - enough to create a Tom Hanks film based on a true story about it.

Somali pirates hold rifles towards water cannons seeking to repel them. Source: CommercialRiskOnline

But how did this happen?

The first, and probably most straightforward reason, is that the international response was dramatically increased. The EU and NATO independently ran parallel missions in the Red Sea, as well as the deployment of vessels from India, China, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. These countries held UN-approval to use “all necessary means” to repress piracy and maritime robbery.

Somalia itself also initiated efforts to enforce the law at its shoreline. The country re-strategised its national security approach using funds delivered by the UN to deal with the problem in August 2021. Organising a coalition of countries against pirate-linked terror groups, such as Al Shabaab, further helped to stabilise the country against the pirates’ base of support and foundational geography.

Finally, Somalia’s laws and legal “toolbox” to deal with pirates became much clearer, allowing courts to handle the cases with better guidance. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud definitively identified Somalia’s maritime zones, and further preventing illegal foreign fishing from taking place - a trend frequently linked to piracy.

It does, however, appear that piracy may be making a comeback. In April 2024, Somali pirates successfully hijacked and ransomed off a Bangladeshi-flagged vessel for USD $5 million, though this could not be independently verified. Prior to this incident, more than 20 attempted hijackings (a number that rose to 30 by June 2024) had been made since November 2023, an undeniable spike in pirate activity. The diversion of naval forces to deal with strikes from Yemeni rebels and deterioration of Somalian domestic security doctrines as the military gets caught up dealing with separatist groups have meant that there has been little ability to deal with piracy. One thing is for certain though: a resurgence in piracy will further destabilise the Red Sea, and cost the global economy more than USD $7 million this time around.

TAI Score: Degree 3. Piracy itself won’t lead to catastrophic outcomes, but the security risk posed by it is enough to drive shipping insurance premiums significantly higher than normal. The impact on supply chains and military activity is clear - and may cause a near-shoring phenomenon for companies that simply do not want to deal with the threats posed by pirates in any part of the world.

The BRP Sierra Madre

A map depicts the competing claims over the South China Sea. Chinese claims are depicted in red. Source: VOA

The ships that patrol the South China Sea include every type of ship you can imagine, including everything from cargo ships and fishing vessels to destroyers designed to hunt down submarines. And it’s probably not surprising - the area is critical for global trade, with about USD $3.4 trillion passing through each year ($140 billion of which comes from Hong Kong alone), and is a contested maritime area split up between the claims of at least six countries*.

But there’s one ship in the area that truly stands out from the rest.

The Sierra Madre is a Filipino ship that was built in the US in 1944. Left behind by the end of the Second World War, the Sierra Madre was little more than a sentry and transport vessel for decades - until it became the lynchpin of a dispute at the heart of one of East Asia’s security hotspots.

In 1999, the ship was intentionally run aground on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, a region under dispute between Manila and Beijing. Ever since, it has been manned by Filipino soldiers on three month-long shifts, who pass the time by watching films, singing karaoke, and playing basketball on the ship’s helipad while keeping an eye out for patrolling Chinese ships. They even fish in the waters, and sell the dried catch back on short to earn an extra income.

The ship, however, is falling apart - as is expected of a beached vessel from the 1940s, after 25 years exposed to the elements. The situation is made even worse as past attempts to resupply and reinforce the aged ship have been met with harassment and ramming attacks from the Chinese coast guard, including one incident in which a Filipino sailor lost his right thumb after the Chinese coast guard attacked the ship with machetes and hammers. It' makes sense too - if the ship collapses from disintegration, there can’t be a permanent Filipino presence on the Shoal, and China can enjoy an easier time of claiming it.

The Sierra Madre is in a state of deep disrepair from age and exposure. Source: The Guardian

But the occasional Filipino resupply mission succeeds - the most recent one from July of this year managed to reinforce part of the Sierra Madre’s hull. Whether this is a violation of a past agreement set up by past president Rodrigo Duterte to stop doing so, or a response to growing pressure from China, is entirely up for debate. But while the legacy of the Second World War can be felt all around us - in the South China Sea, the Sierra Madre means that we can see it.

TAI Score: Degree 5. The situation in the South China Sea is incredibly tense and there is no real end in sight - in fact, the dispute between Beijing and Manila is arguably the most tense standoff in the region. Things are not helped by the presence of the Sierra Madre - but they are certainly worsened by the aggressive Chinese actions in preventing its prolonged existence. Tensions over the area stretch from Singapore to Washington DC - and have a very real potential to spiral out of control.

*The six countries are China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei.

Global Security’s Last Frontier on Earth

The northernmost permanently inhabited town in the world is Alert, Canada. There’s not much there to speak of - it’s a weather monitoring station, observatory, and airstrip where temperatures routinely reach -37 degrees Celsius (-35 degrees Fahrenheit) in February. Maybe, then, it’s no wonder that less than 60 people live there at any given time.

An icebreaker, currently one of the only ships capable of travelling through the region, makes its way across the North Pole. Source: NOAA

And yet it serves a critical purpose to the Canadian government beyond monitoring Arctic weather patterns: the establishment of infrastructure there gives Canada sovereignty over part of the Arctic itself, which most of the worlds’ most powerful countries - plus a few others - are competing for. Russia planted its flag on the polar seabed in 2007 (perhaps understandably, given Russia’s enormous Arctic coastline), the US expanded its claims in 2023, and even Denmark has made claims through its autonomous region of Greenland. Even China, which has zero geographic areas bordering the Arctic, has defined itself a “Near-Arctic State” so as to justify significant amounts of investments, despite the term having no legitimacy in international law.

So what makes the Arctic, a place that has almost no population on what little land exists there, so valuable that major powers are beginning to diplomatically clash over it?

Fossil Fuels

If you’ve ever studied watched the news for more than the time it takes for you to finish reading this sentence, you’ll already know that these are one of the “usual suspects” when it comes to conflict. The US Geological Survey’s limited estimates anticipate there to be 90 billion barrels of oil, 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, and an almost unfathomable 1.67 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This amounts to about 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas. Although Canada and Denmark have placed banned new oil and gas extraction efforts of any kind (including exploration for new sources), environmental activists have taken Norway to court over concerns that seeking to drill in the Arctic would destabilise local ecosystems. Their concerns are valid - but it may destabilise international politics by an equal amount.

Trade Routes

Climate change is melting polar ice, which leads to both rising sea levels, and the opening of new trade routes throughout the Arctic. This may sound like a good thing, but ownership of Arctic trade routes is as valuable as their existence itself. Russian ownership of the newly established Northern Sea Route gives it legitimacy to use its ships to patrol and defend these trade avenues - and close them off to whomever they decide is no longer welcome to using it. These ports can additionally be quickly converted into military assets - perhaps not as effectively as those located in locations free from ice year-round, but effectively nonetheless.

It’s worth pointing out that the title of this article is very particular - given that if we can’t agree on the Earth’s last frontier in the Arctic because of oil and trade routes, we will certainly struggle to agree on humanity’s next frontier in space.

TAI Score: Degree 3. Competition over the Arctic is already beginning to escalate, before the area is even fully open to fossil fuel excavation and trade route establishment. The competition is additionally taking place between major powers, and goes well beyond a maritime boundary dispute. Careful diplomacy is needed today, to avoid reckless activity tomorrow.

South-South Defence

“South-South Cooperation” is a term that historians have used for decades to refer to mutual reliance among developing countries primarily located in the Global South. It usually manifests in the form of trade - silk being sold to Ghana from Vietnam, rubber from Indonesia being sold to Peru, or rice from Pakistan being sold to Somalia. It’s successful enough that, in many ways, it has actually surpassed the size of North-North trade.

In fact, it has become so successful that it’s moving beyond trade and politics - and moving into international security.

Kenyan forces are leading the coalition to stabilise Haiti. Source: Al Jazeera

When Haiti collapsed earlier this year - February, to be exact - it consisted of gangs seizing control of the country and its infrastructure in a sort of anarchist coup d’etat that began with 4500 prisoners being freed in assaults on prisons. In addition to considerable loss of human life from gang violence, over 350,000 people are displaced because of natural disasters and 5 million people - roughly half of the national population - is facing extreme hunger.

One country is taking the lead to tackle the humanitarian catastrophe, and it’s one that most people would have never guessed: Kenya.

To be clear, Kenyan forces are leading a UN project to stabilise the situation, as opposed to Kenya acting on its own. It’s not the first time Kenya has sent forces outside of its borders either - their forces are currently within UN troops in the DR Congo, fought against the Al Shabaab terror group in Somalia, and even battled the Japanese in Burma during WWII.

Kenya also stands to gain from stabilising Haiti. It serves as a form of diplomatic capital, and trains Kenyan police and military assets. The same is true of countries joining Kenya - namely, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Chad, and Bangladesh. Many more are helping financially, and several African countries are even offering settlement opportunities for Haitians wishing to move there.

As with everything, however, the mission is not without critics. Kenya’s coalition forces will not be able to build a restored political scene in Haiti, and a funding crisis means that the mission may be taken over by the UN directly.

But the willingness for the Global South to solve its own problems is a huge landmark for international politics - because if there are countries in the Global South capable of standing on their own to help each other, then international development and political systems are working. It wasn’t long ago that a phenomenon like this was unthinkable.

TAI Score: Degree 1. As long as affairs are properly handled, South-South defence assistance is no bad thing, particularly if done with the blessing of the UN. But care needs to be taken to ensure that the situation is not worsened during or after these overseas operations, or the optics of foreign intervention may yet again be challenged.

The Grand Renaissance Dam

Egypt’s population density is extremely odd, but probably not surprising. 95% of the 105 million people who live in Egypt reside just a few miles away from the legendary Nile River - which makes sense considering more than 90% of the country is a desert. In every country on Earth, access to water is a foundational building block of society, a fact which holds true since the first human settlement was established approximately 10,000 years ago. Put simply: people cannot live without water.

It’s a fundamental fact that makes the Grand Renaissance Dam so utterly controversial.

Egypt's population is extremely reliant on fresh water from the Nile. Source: CIA World Factbook

The dam is not located in Egypt. It’s not even located near Egypt. In fact, it’s located almost 1,300km away in the Ethiopian town of Bameza, on the other side of Sudan. The dam is hydroelectric, predicted to be the largest dam of any kind in Africa, and will double Ethiopia’s production of electricity without emitting any CO2 into the atmosphere. Dams also boost agricultural output - they provide a stable, reliable source of fresh water that can feed both plants and livestock. This trend would be lifesaving in a place like east Africa where food security is often shaky - or worse.

On the subject of food security, and in direct contrast to the benefits of the dam to Ethiopia above: the exact same dam will likely cripple Egypt.

Given the aforementioned statistics about Egypt’s population density, it’s probably not a surprise that the dam is a source of great concern in Cairo. Cutting the water flow to Egypt and Sudan would dramatically impact both societies. A mere 2% reduction in Egyptian freshwater availability would cause a loss of 200,000 acres of irrigated land.

This has, naturally, affected east African politics. It’s a little tangled, but to put it as simply as possible: Egypt doesn’t like Ethiopia, Ethiopia likes Somaliland*, Somaliland doesn’t like Somalia, Somalia now doesn’t like Ethiopia, and so Somalia has now teamed up with Egypt against Ethiopia. The end product is Ethiopia and Somaliland against Somalia and Egypt. It has manifested as Somaliland giving Ethiopia access to the Red Sea, and Egypt shipping weapons to Somalia.

What happens next isn’t particularly clear. The Grand Renaissance Dam is nearly at full capacity, and began producing electricity in 2022. While negotiations have never really succeeded, the situation that Egypt fears most has not particularly come to pass, and negotiations on technicalities - such as the rate at which the dam’s reservoir is filled, or how policies may change during times of drought - offer room to build trust and find real solutions.

TAI Score: Degree 3. The dispute over rights to the Nile’s fresh water are causing real, tangible strains on relations in north and east Africa, and are manifesting in ways that could quickly spiral out of control. At the same time however, small victories can be won through diplomacy that build trust - and eventually lead to larger victories. The situation will require constant monitoring to ensure a favourable outcome is experienced by all.

*Somaliland and Somalia are, technically, two different places. More info on Somaliland is available here.

Why There’s No Asian NATO

On the 27th of September, Japan’s next Prime Minister was identified. Shigeru Ishiba, who has launched a campaign for the role on four previous occasions, will take over from Fumio Kishida following his resignation after a number of corruption scandals plagued the Liberal Democratic party - which has dominated Japanese politics for decades. Ishiba is Japan’s former defence minister, and has earned a number of enemies from within his own party for proposing ideas like a more balanced defence relationship with the USA, including the creation of an Asian equivalent to NATO.

Japan's next Prime Minister has called for the creation of an Asian NATO in the past. Source: AsiaTimes

Which begs the question: why isn’t there one already?

The original NATO was, according to their site’s history page, founded for three reasons: deterrence against the Soviets, using a North American military presence to prevent fascism in Europe after WWII, and encouraging political integration among European states. The founding members shared a common history and mostly common geography - they were western European countries that had, by the end of the war, cooperated in varying capacities to defeat Germany.

The East Asian story is, by most accounts, entirely different - for three key reasons.

The Mutual Relations Factor

Although regional powers were united against Japan after WWII, those same countries found themselves fighting their own internal battles against communism in a way that European countries did not. Korea was split in half along ideological lines, the nationalist government of China had completely retreated to Taiwan, and communism slowly flourished in Vietnam before completely taking over the country. Only Japan did not face these struggles - because its political reconstruction was directly led by the US. On top of that, these countries still largely harboured animosity towards Japan due to the horrific war crimes it carried out during the conflict that took place barely 20 years prior. Thus, in order to maximise influence over (and act as an intermediary between) these countries, the US created a “hub and spoke” system that guaranteed each country had relations with the US - but not necessarily one another.

The China Factor

A Chinese newspaper claims that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal is not in Australia's best interest. Source: Global Times

There are already NATO-like structures present in Asia-Pacific. The QUAD alliance consisting of the US, Japan, Australia, and India is an informal maritime security organisation that arose out of the recovery efforts following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. AUKUS (Australia, the UK, and the US) routinely showcases its advancements towards cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, with its flagship achievement to date including the provision of submarines powered by nuclear fuel to the Australian Royal Navy. Both alliances are largely informal, and neither include more than four members. And yet, both the QUAD and AUKUS have been sharply criticised by China - whose influence the two alliances seeks to contain. The creation of an Asian NATO, therefore, would undoubtedly sound alarm bells in Beijing, where the other two alliances are already unpopular. Its creation would serve as a justification for a more assertive Chinese foreign policy in order to combat what it sees as its “containment”.

The Neutrality Factor

Looking beyond China, East and Southeast Asia is full of countries that, quite simply, do not want to get caught up in these types of rivalries. Vietnam, for example, proudly upholds its “Four No’s” foreign policy approach, which prohibits 1) joining any military alliance, 2) taking sides in disputes, 3) having foreign military bases or activity in its borders, and 4) using force in international policy. Indonesia does not currently seek to be bound to any global power or military pact, nor does the official ASEAN bloc. The political will simply isn’t there - even if Japan, South Korea, and the US created a new trilateral agreement - it would be difficult to find a focus point. Put simply: South Korea likely doesn’t have a vested interest in the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute.

TAI Score: Degree 3. The creation of an Asian NATO is likely to create more problems than it solves by creating a sense of panic in China. Even if a mutual guarantee of defence is established in the event of a conflict, it would likely trigger conflict if somewhere like Taiwan - where the pact would be most important - were to join. For countries like Japan, Vietnam, or South Korea, its implementation might ward off outward Chinese aggression, but may cause a rise in internal issues such as cyber attacks and the proliferation of organised crime.

The World’s Most Unique Royalty System

Queen Elizabeth II was, debatably, the most famous woman in modern history. She is more recognisable than Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai, and any pop singer or celebrity. The royalty system under which she spent her entire life is a story those of us here in the west can wrap our heads around: she belonged to the Windsor family, was born as a princess and, when her father died in 1952, she began her life as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. This system isn’t unique to Britian, either - it’s common throughout the remaining monarchies of western Europe.

Malaysia’s system is a little less straightforward to those of us less exposed to it. Unless you speak Bahasa, even the title - Yang-di Pertuan Agong - is a lot more to handle than “King” or “Queen”, and literally translates to “He Who is Made Supreme Lord”. For cultural reasons, this figure will be referred to as Sultan throughout the article.

The current Sultan came to the throne in July of this year. Source: Bharian.com

Malaysia’s monarchy operates on a rotational system. Terms last for five years, and are elected from a council of Sultans that take turns as national figurehead (though the position is largely ceremonial, as Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy). The election itself consists of a secret vote with a ballot - not that there’s much point in the ballot’s contents, since it only contains the name of the next monarch whose turn it is - so the vote is more a question of whether or not that particular sultan-to-be is fit for the role.

The system consists of nine sultans, who represent 13 provinces of Malaysia.

The current Sultan - named Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar - came to the throne in July of this past year, and has been expected to play a more active role in national politics. Over the course of his first month alone, the Sultan has conducted a diplomatic trip to China, and ordered a probe into a national scandal involving child abuse.

TAI Score: Degree 0. The royalty system in Malaysia is not a threat to national or international security.

Kurdistan

You’ve probably heard this name in the news before - more than a few times - without knowing where it is. I don’t blame you at all - it’s confusing when the name “Kurdistan” is usually mentioned at the same time as Turkey, Iraq, Iran, or Syria.

It certainly makes one wonder how a country can exist inside of four different countries, and at the same time, not at all.

Kurdistan's geography spans four different countries. Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Kurds, have always lived in the region stretching from eastern Turkey to northwestern Iran. It has dealt with an enormous number of conquerors and invaders throughout history - including the Greeks, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Persians, British, and Americans - contributing to the adage that Kurds have “no friends but the mountains” that have given them sanctuary across millennia.

The idea of a defined region named “Kurdistan” was originally established in Iraq in the 1970s, when a deal with Baghdad provided increased autonomy to ethnic Kurds living in the country’s north and northeast. It wasn’t long until they found themselves far less fortunate*: in 1973, Syrian Kurds found themselves weakened and displaced from resource-rich areas that Syrian Arabs wanted access to, Turkish Kurds were forced to scatter when a coup in Turkey turned on them, and the collapse of the aforementioned autonomy agreement in 1974 meant that even Iraqi Arabs no longer tolerated their community. To meet the goal of ethnic cleansing, a genocide known as the Anfal took place, which resulted in horrific atrocities and human rights violations. 

The Iran-Iraq War and years following were perhaps the most brutal years that Kurdistan has faced to date. Caught in the middle of the Iranian Revolution, which the Iraqi government feared would spread to Baghdad and thus launched an invasion of Iran, the Iranian Kurds staged a revolt against the new government - which failed, and ended in the imprisonment, torture, and deaths for thousands of Kurds. All of this came after decades of separate guerrilla campaigns in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria were waged - and each failed.

Kurds do not have statehood despite being the fourth-largest ethnicity in the Middle East. Source: BBC

After the Gulf War of the 1990s, an alliance of Kurdish political parties formed and held democratic elections, despite having no country to lead. It even has it’s own defined (though unrecognised) borders, foreign policy, parliament, and military (known as the Peshmerga). The Peshmerga were also instrumental in helping to overthrow* Saddam Hussein alongside US forces in 2003. This was not, however, the end of their military history - the rise of the Islamic State ten years ago called the Peshmerga back into action against the terror group with international backing, with the EU, Russia, the US, Canada, UK, and Iran supporting them with military training, money, and hardware. Although ISIS was, and is, not fully defeated, Kurdish efforts cost the terror group 95% of its existing territory - including its “capitals” and largest cities by the end of 2017. Support for the Peshmerga remains ongoing - though the establishment of a Kurdish state seems as far away as ever.

TAI Score: Degree 2. Although an established, internationally recognised Kurdistan is not a threat in itself, and may actually be beneficial to US and European interests in the Middle East, it would prove extremely unpopular in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Historical animosity and complex relations throughout the already tense region would likely lead to increased conflict in a Middle East that is already facing plenty.

*Please be aware that this source contains graphic imagery. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Wars We’ve Forgotten

At the time of writing this article, two wars, and one potential conflict, absolutely dominate the headlines: the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and the potential war between China and Taiwan. These wars are, arguably, drawing in major amounts of coverage because they are loosely, if not directly, linked to major adversaries of Western powers. Russia is operating in Ukraine, Iran has ties to militia groups in open conflict with Israel, and China would be actively engaged in a potential invasion of Taiwan.

You don’t need to read SimpleNation to know, however, that the past 15 years have witnessed plenty of other conflicts that, although they continue to this day, are still raging on to varying degrees. They aren’t obscure ones, either - they certainly made headlines when they began, but it seems the average person has forgotten about them.

A dance instructor films her routine while Tatmadaw vehicles descend on Myanmar's Parliament in the background. Source: The Guardian

Myanmar

The military in Myanmar, or Tatmadaw as it’s known locally, has a long history of fading from, then returning to, power in Burmese politics. In February of 2021 - well within recent memory - the Tatmadaw declared the results of pro-democracy elections invalid, arrested the new parliament mere hours before they convened, and installed a one-year “state of emergency” in the country. The response from the Burmese public was massive: tens of thousands of people protested, enough to generate the creation of a parallel government that has declared war on the military junta. Several dozen armed groups with varying sizes, objectives, and capabilities now exist in open defiance of the Tatmadaw.

To further complicate matters, China appears to be supporting a number of groups - including both the Tatmadaw and several resistance factions. Although there is merely speculation at this time, it would appear that assistance is given to whoever happens to control the region where Chinese interests and assets lay, in order to maximise benefit to China.

Syria

Emerging out of the chaos of the Arab Spring from the early 2010s, the Syrian civil war is now in its 13th year - a considerable length for a modern conflict. Prior to the outbreak of warfare, many Syrians faced high unemployment, open corruption, and a lack of civil liberties. Protests broke out after 15 boys, inspired by acts in other countries such as Tunisia and Egypt, were arrested and tortured for spray-painting an anti-government slogan on a school wall. The Syrian army responded with extreme force, cracking down on protests and arresting hundreds of people in the first four months of 2011 alone.

A year later, the situation had spiraled into a civil war and complete breakdown of the state, after which Islamist fighters took advantage of the chaos to establish territory. So many competing interests began to take shape that at least five foreign militaries (the USA, the UK, Iran, Russia, and Turkey) began operations in Syria - some more directly than others. This is further excluding the different armed resistance groups also operating in Syria against government forces and terror groups.

Sudan

Thousands of people flee conflict in Sudan every day. Source: UNHCR

The situation in Sudan is perhaps the most serious conflict on this list. It’s certainly the youngest, having emerged as recently as April 2023.

Fighting originally broke out in Khartoum between rival military factions: the main branch of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. The breakdown in the relationship came from an attempted merger of the RSF into the SAF as a mainstream arm of the military - but disagreements over leadership of the new force continually intensified until violence emerged in Sudan.

The SAF was not even meant to lead the government at the time: an unpopular, ineffective prime minister was unable to rule without force, leaving him at the mercy of security services and, eventually, forcing a resignation - placing power into the hands of the SAF. Since the fighting began, not one attempted ceasefire agreement - usually drafted by the US or Saudi Arabia - has been upheld.

The humanitarian fallout from Sudan is staggering: 12 million people have been displaced, and the WHO is reporting that starvation has effectively become a nationwide problem.