WORLD ROUNDUPDonald Trump Is Targeting Mexico Like No Other Country | What China Got Right About Big Tech | WHO Withdrawal Could Be a Disaster—or an Opportunity, and more

Published 24 January 2025

·  U.S. Shared Secret Intelligence with Syria’s New Leaders

·  Donald Trump Is Targeting Mexico Like No Other Country

·  Trump Wants a War with Cartels—and May Just Get One

·  How Poland Emerged as a Leading Defense Power

·  What China Got Right About Big Tech

·  WHO Withdrawal Could Be a Disaster—or an Opportunity

·  The Global Far Right Is Celebrating Trump’s New World Order

·  Yoons Failed Coup Already Has Serious Implications for South Korea’s Security Partnerships

U.S. Shared Secret Intelligence with Syria’s New Leaders  (Warren P. Strobel, Ellen Nakashima and Missy Ryan, Washington Post)
The backchannel with Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, which overthrew the Assad regime last month, reflects rising U.S. alarm that ISIS could mount a resurgence.

Donald Trump Is Targeting Mexico Like No Other Country  (Economist)
The United States’ southern neighbor is bracing for a wave of deportees and trapped migrants.

Trump Wants a War with Cartels—and May Just Get One  (Anna Lagos, Wired)
An executive order designating cartels as terrorist organizations will expand prosecutors’ jurisdictions, affect relations with Mexico, and risk blowback for which the US is unprepared.

How Poland Emerged as a Leading Defense Power  (Economist)
Will others follow?

What China Got Right About Big Tech  (Howard W. French, Foreign Policy)
Unlike Trump, Xi understood that a new class of business titans could hijack his country’s political system.

WHO Withdrawal Could Be a Disaster—or an Opportunity  (Matthew M. Kavanagh, Foreign Policy)
Trump’s attempt to leave may clear the way for global health diplomacy.

The Global Far Right Is Celebrating Trump’s New World Order  (David Gilbert, Wired)
Far-right lawmakers and extremist influencers the world over are celebrating Trump’s early days in office and advocating for similar efforts in their own countries.

Yoon’s Failed Coup Already Has Serious Implications for South Korea’s Security Partnerships  (Francis Shin, National Interest)
President Yoon Suk-yeol’s shocking coup attempt through martial law has triggered an unprecedented and historic political crisis in South Korea.
What has been less visible amid the ongoing crisis is how the failed coup has already had tangible negative ramifications for South Korea’s military readiness. This issue is compounded by the potential erosion of South Korea’s role in its recently strengthened partnerships, such as its involvement in Pillar II of AUKUS and the United States-South Korea-Japan Camp David Entente, partnerships that are increasingly critical to the country’s national security.