Research Briefing
Tensions have risen alarmingly in the Korean peninsula during the course of 2017. North Korea appears to be making faster progress towards having a nuclear weapons system that can reach the US than many observers expected. What have been the responses of the US, China, South Korea and Japan to developments since the beginning of this year?
Research Briefing
What happened at the second round of Brexit negotiations from 17 to 20 July 2017 and what have we learnt? This first phase of the negotiations aims to reach agreement on citizens' rights, the financial settlement and the border between Ireland the Northern Ireland, as well as other separation issues, such as Euratom, EU external agreements and dispute resolution. But there was little evidence of agreement on any of these, and the UK Government has been asked for more clarification at the next round. A lot is at stake, because if sufficient progress isn't made by October, the negotiations will not move on to future relations, an EU-UK trade agreement or transitional arrangements.
Research Briefing
The UK is sending more troops to Afghanistan as part of a wider increase in NATO troop numbers.
Research Briefing
Politically dominant at home despite the continuing sluggishness of the Japanese economy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces serious challenges in charting a positive way forward on relations with the US under the new Trump Administration and with China, where their territorial dispute over the East China Sea continues to cast a deep shadow. This briefing surveys the outlook for Japan during 2017 both at home and abroad.
Research Briefing
This briefing is an exploratory analysis of trends – drawing on the views of selected experts – in the domestic politics and foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China.
Debate Pack
The House of Commons Library prepares a briefing in hard copy and/or online for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall other than half-hour debates. Debate Packs are produced after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefings can be prepared for Members on request to the Library.
Research Briefing
This Commons Library briefing summarises the progress of the Commonwealth Development Corporation Bill 2016-17.
Research Briefing
After several delays, the 2016 Bilateral Development Review (BDR) and Multilateral Development Review (MDR) were published by the Government on 1 December 2016, superseding the 2011 Reviews published by the previous Coalition Government. While the 2016 MDR performs a broadly comparable role to that performed by its predecessor, the 2016 BDR does not -- important country-level information has not been provided this time around.
Research Briefing
Commons Library briefing on the Commonwealth Development Corporation Bill 2016-17
Debate Pack
The House of Commons Library prepares a briefing in hard copy and/or online for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall other than half-hour debates. Debate Packs are produced after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for Members on request to the Library.
Research Briefing
President Rodrigo Duterte took office at the end of June 2016 pledging to take a tough approach to criminals. Since then, over 3,000 people have been killed in his controversial 'war on drugs', about two-thirds at the hands of vigilantes. There have been protests both at home and abroad. Duterte is also pushing ahead with peace efforts in the south, where there has been a long-running insurgency, but observers worry that the new president could prove to be a 'loose cannon'.
Debate Pack
This pack has been prepared ahead of the debate to be held in Westminster Hall on Monday 12 September 2016 at 4.30pm on an e-petition entitled ‘Urge the South Korean Government to end the brutal dog meat trade’. The subject for the debate was selected by the Petitions Committee, and the Member in charge is Oliver Dowden.
Research Briefing
Southeast Asia is home to a range of complex territorial disputes, but the most intractable and combustible is the South China Sea dispute. Tensions between the rival countries have been on the rise in recent years. An Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has ruled in favour of the Philippines in a case brought by that country against China.
Total results (page 13 of 20)