Summer 2016 in World Politics — What to Look For?

This article is published as part of Fridays With MUNPlanet , and its special series dedicated to world politics. The aim of this series is to bring you the analysis of global affairs by the established and upcoming scholars, decision-makers and policy analysts from various world regions. This week, Jonathan Cristol (World Policy Institute and Bard College) previews the key summits, elections and mega-events in the world spanning across the world from Europe to the United States, to South America, to Africa, and Asia — and reminds us that “ while all of your friends are on vacation, and you’re stuck at the office or at home, there’s no need to fret or to go into international affairs withdrawal. There are some interesting things going on…”

Here in New York City, summer is a very peaceful time. The city clears out as people head for the Hamptons, Cape Cod, the Berkshires, or points elsewhere — and suddenly you can walk into a restaurant without a reservation, see a movie without buying a ticket days in advance, and parking spaces can be found everywhere. However, the world of international affairs never takes a break…

On 8 July begins the NATO Summit in Warsaw, where the press conferences will spotlight questions relating to NATO in a post-Brexit world — but, *spoiler alert* the Brexit won’t affect NATO too much, and the long term ramifications are abstract in the short-term. Behind the scenes, in the official meetings, the focus will be on Russia and how to counter Russian actions all along NATO’s border. This focus should surprise nobody as containing Russia is a primary purpose of NATO. Unofficially, I suspect, the discussions will be about the possibility of a Donald J. Trump presidency and what it would mean for the future of the alliance.

The NATO Summit is not the only thing to pay attention to this summer. July will also bring us other major international meetings. Here in New York City, 11–20 July ECOSOC will hold a “High Level Forum on Sustainable Development” which will review progress made toward the Sustainable Development Goals. It will be interesting to see how rapidly the member states will have made any adjustments in pursuit of these goals in the six short months since the SDGs were adopted. 12–13 July the 70th UN General Assembly will hold its first of three high level events, this one focusing on human rights. The 10–18 July African Union Summit in Kigali will also focus on human rights “with particular focus on the rights of women,” and the ASEAN regional forum will take place later in the month on 23–26 July.

The American political party conventions are not technically international political events, but there are always international ramifications of an American election, and the potentially catastrophic consequences of a Trump presidency for global stability and security make the party conventions must-watch political events.

You can read the full article on MUNPlanet.

Cover Image: [G-8 leaders watching overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final, in the Laurel Cabin conference room during the G8 Summit at Camp David, Md., May 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) via Wikipedia] This summer, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be a cause of joy for many nations all over the world.