Few people anticipated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine in full last year (and that Ukraine would successfully repel it). Or that China would abandon its zero-COVID policy practically immediately, amidst unusually large-scale protests. According to the International Monetary Fund, unexpectedly rising food and energy prices have increased global inflation to 8.8% from 4.7% over the previous 12 months, as reported by USA Today.
Major storylines
Future-looking predictions, forecasts, etc. These are activities that are frequently a mug’s game, to use a British expression. Something that only a fool would undertake with insufficient knowledge. Nevertheless, a few foreign storylines are likely to take centre stage in 2023. Here’s a choice to keep an eye out for.
Ukraine: Will there be a real ceasefire?
A war that was launched by Russia, which has caused millions of Ukrainians to be relocated throughout Europe, and which has prompted the West to give Kyiv ever-heavier armaments looks to have no end in sight. According to Daniel DePetris, a fellow at the think tank Defense Priorities in Washington, the battle will probably be at least as intense in 2023 as it was in 2022. “Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will discuss their desire to put an end to the conflict through a peace agreement, but the two leaders will have wildly different ideas of what that peace will entail and how to get there,” says a source.
Iran’s clerical regime in a corner
In 2022, a slew of social and economic injustices as well as nationwide demonstrations for women’s rights shook the Islamic Republic. Iran’s nuclear capabilities look to be growing in the meantime, it is providing Russia with weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine, and the regime’s officials don’t seem eager to foster diplomatic connections with the West. Iran has experienced political and economic stagnation for the past ten years, according to Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, a dual American-Iranian who oversees Bourse & Bazaar, a research tank specialising in Iran’s economy. “The country’s future is less predictable than it has been in a long time, and this poses a challenge for Western policymakers worried about the threats an increasingly unstable Iran might pose.”
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Source: USA Today
