Muktar Usman Muktari-Janguza (JanguzaArewa)

Abuja sees the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, as an abstract issue. However, there are at least two reasons why the debate over its survival matters. US Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and their respective advisers sit across from one another on January 16, 2015, at the Palais Coburg Hotel in Vienna, Austria, at their last meeting about the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action outlining the shape of Iran's nuclear program. Image: State Department. US President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) – better known as the Iran Nuclear Deal – and reimpose full sanctions on Tehran has been widely condemned by countries around the world. Most surprising has been the unusually strident criticisms from the EU’s high officials. President of the European Council Donald Tusk condemned what he described as the US’ “capr...

Why Diplomacy Succeeded and Regional Alignments Signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action announcing the agreement in Vienna, 14 July 2015. From left to right: Foreign ministers Wang Yi (China), Laurent Fabius (France), Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Germany), Federica Mogherini (EU), Mohammad Javad Zarif (Iran), Philip Hammond (UK), John Kerry (USA). Image Source: Wikipedia On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia, United States) plus Germany – concluded a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) concerning the future of Iran’s nuclear program. On July 20, the UN Security Council unanimously endorsed the landmark deal. In late October, Iran is expected to begin implementing its part of the agreement. In early 2016, following the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) confirmation of Iranian compliance, the UN, US and EU will begin lifting sanctions and unfreezing Iranian assets ...

Three drivers of change transforming global order The UN Security Council in Session These are transformational times. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 left the US as the sole Superpower in world politics, and gave the international system its unipolar structure (a system with a single power centre). In the years following this, the US enjoyed unparalleled freedom – unique for any Great Power in the modern era – to shape global order according to its values and interests. By most accounts, this era of unipolarity is fading. Several powerful trends are eroding its foundations and heralding the onset of a multipolar world. I will focus my remarks on what I believe to be the three most important. The Rise of New Powers The leaders of the 5-member BRICS pose for a photo-op for the 2014 summit in Fortaleza, Brazil. (Wikipedia)   The first is the rise of new economic and geopolitical centres of po...