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.
My Books
Category Archives: Africa
The Arab Spring, Food Security and the Baguettes of War
The events in North Africa and the Middle East might now seem like a regular feature on the news agenda, but we shouldn’t forget that they caught us unaware. In our rush to speculate on how the Arab Awakening might eventually play … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Food Security, Middle East
Tagged Arab Democracy, Arab Spring, Climate Change, Food Security
4 Comments
Operation Odyssey – The Last Hurrah for Liberal Interventionism?
Does the interpretation of and subsequent implementation of UNSCR 1973 make further humanitarian interventions less or more likely? I know this is a hypothetical question, and I recognise we are only a few short days in to Operation Odyssey, but … Continue reading
UNSC Resolution 1973: Too Little, Too Late?
Last night the United Nations Security Council passed a robust and far reaching Resolution in response to the situation in Libya. Whatever happens from here this is an important moment in the life of the United Nations. There is no … Continue reading
Libya and The Grounding of the No Fly Zone
After a long and difficult European summit in Brussels last Friday, where any mention of No Fly Zones was written out of the final script, the Prime Minister faced yesterday an equally sceptical and concerned House of Commons. William Hague … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, British Foreign Policy
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, David Cameron, Defence, European Council, Libya, No-Fly Zones
1 Comment
Having Second Thoughts About a No Fly Zone Over Libya?
With the fighting in Libya now entering its third week, international pressure has slowly but steadily mounted for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya. Previous reluctance about getting involved in Libya has given way to a sense that … Continue reading
Photo Essay: The Humanitarian Emergency at the Border
This photo provided by Foreign Policy captures a scene at the Ras Jdir border crossing between Tunisia and Libya earlier this week. With Tunisia ill-equipped to accommodate the large numbers of refugees fleeing the violence in Libya, migrant workers and their families have … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, Photo Essay
Tagged Andrew Mitchell, DfID, Humanitarian Aid, Libya, Refugees, Tunisia
Leave a comment
Libya and the Limits of British Foreign and Defence Policy
Libya appears to be on the edge of a precipice – teetering between the imminent overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi and a slow descent into a bloody and protracted civil war. Governments around the world have been slow to recognise that … Continue reading
Posted in Africa
Tagged Britain's Role in the World, Colonel Gaddafi, Libya, Responsibility to Protect, United Nations
2 Comments
Libya: Whatever Happened to the Chicago Principles and our International Responsibility To Protect?
Even with media access to Libya seriously restricted pictures emerging from the country are shocking in the extreme. Even without the pictures the inflammatory language used by Colonel Gaddafi leaves one in no doubt that even though his grip on … Continue reading
Posted in Africa
Tagged Chicago Doctrine, Colonel Gaddafi, HMS Cumberland, Libya, Responsibility to Protect, Tony Blair, United Nations
7 Comments
