About this blog
Welcome to my blog - I'm Charles Reed and I advise the Church of England on foreign policy issues.
This blog covers a variety of topics from US foreign policy to European politics and the Middle East - and whatever else happens to be in the news or catch my attention.
This is a conversational blog so please join in as your comments are an essential part of making the whole thing work.
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Monthly Archives: January 2011
Dealing with the Revolutionary Hangover in Egypt
Why has the pro-democracy protests in Egypt and elsewhere received such muted support from the West? Sarkozy got it wrong in Tunisia and the EU looks like its going to drop the ball in Egypt. By the time the EU … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East
Tagged American Foreign Policy, David Cameron, Egypt, Middle East, President Sarkozy, The EU
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Photo Essay: Winning the Future Obama Style
This week’s photo essay captures President Obama’s State of the Union address. I listened to the speech after having just read an article in the Chatham House journal, International Affairs, from Stefan Halper a resident scholar at Cambridge University and … Continue reading
Posted in Photo Eassy
Tagged Chatham House, President Obama, Sarah Palin, Sputnik, State of the Union, Stefan Halper
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Egypt: Blogging on the Day of Revolution
Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution appears to have lit the touch-paper for wider demonstrations across the Middle East. It is still far too early to know how the demonstrations in Egypt will play out and whether the democratic contagion will spread to … Continue reading
The General Synod and DfID – East Kilbride Reflections
Yesterday’s meeting with the DfID’s Civil Society Department in East Kilbride was a positive if tiring affair. The professionalism of staff was self-evident as was their willingness to engage in a frank conversation about the potential for collaboration around the faith … Continue reading
Losing Sleep over the Middle East Peace Process
The overnight train to Glasgow last night was a far from restful occasion. I’m not sure whether it was the stretcher width berth or the wather thin blanket which were to blame, but either way I had plenty of time to read part of the … Continue reading
General Synod and the Night Train to DfID
A colleague and I are catching the sleeper – separate berths I should stress – to Glasgow tonight for a meeting tomorrow with Department for International Development officials ahead of Andrew Mitchell’s speech to the General Synod next month. This is a long way to … Continue reading
Oh Ruth, you’ve got it wrong again!
Today’s edition of The Times carried a fascinating article from the religious correspondent, Ruth Gledhill, on this week’s Primates meeting in Dublin. Attached to the bottom of the two page spread was a brief paragraph on the Anglican Alliance. I can’t comment … Continue reading
Photo Essay: China at the Crossroads of the World
I’ve always seen Times Square, nicknamed the Crossroads of the World, as one of the iconic world landmarks and a symbol of New York City and the United States. Times Square, as in this photo, is perpetually lit up with illuminated signs that … Continue reading
Posted in Photo Essay, Uncategorized
Tagged American Foreign Policy, China, President Hu, Times Square
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Religious Freedom and British Foreign Policy: How do we Manage the Persecution Complex?
The question of religious freedom, or more specifically violence against Christian minorities in predominantly Moslem countries, has featured high on the work agenda since I returned from my Christmas jaunt to Andalucía. Against a rising tide of popular concern, bishops … Continue reading
US/Sino Relations – Invoking the Legacy of Martin Luther King
Today’s meeting in Washington between US President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao will no doubt be a heavily scripted and staged managed state affair with nothing left to chance, not even the choice in and exchange of gifts. So … Continue reading
