Chapter 1: Perspectives

In: Strategic survey: the annual assessment of geopolitics, S. 27-42

Abstract

2011 saw many political changes throughout the world. Revolutionary fervor seized the Arab world and dictators were toppled. Osama bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, was killed in Pakistan by US special forces. NATO leaders agreed to end their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014. North Korea revealed the existence of a long-suspected uranium-enrichment program. China, which continued to build its global presence, sought to persuade the world that its military build-up was peaceful and defensive, even as it was involved in maritime scraps over various dispted territories. Adapted from the source document.