Lace-Up
From Trump's peace proposal to Japan's leadership fight: the old guard clings to the status quo, while Gen Z is out on the streets.
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The headline that dominated this week was Donald Trump’s Israel-Gaza “peace” proposal. It’s definitely “big,” as the US president loves to say. It calls for Hamas to give up its arms, for Israel to pull out of the territory and give up ambitions to annex it, and paves a path to Palestinian statehood. Arab states have endorsed it, as has the Palestinian Authority, the party that rules the West Bank.
Interestingly, the plan proposes the creation of “Board of Peace”—an international governing body to oversee the peace process and reconstruction of Gaza. Only two members have been named: Trump himself (though he’s “busy”) and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Ezgi Başaran has a good takedown of this, noting that this is not only not new, it’s a throwback to Iraq, which I’ll let speak for itself. I’ll also add Bosnia. The Balkan country still has a “high representative” that rules supreme, enabling politicians to entrench in ethnic divisions—keeping the country trapped and unable to progress.
Yes, colonial nostalgia is strong—and emblematic of the old male guard desperately trying to hold on. In some places, women are helping them.
Take Japan. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is voting on its next leader tomorrow. The race has come down to two figures: Kotaro Koizumi, a 47-year old political nepo baby, who is favored to win, and Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative often compared to Margaret Thatcher. If she does somehow eke out a win, Takaichi would become Japan’s first female prime minister. Yay?
No. As analyst Ming Gong writes, Takaichi is ultra-conservative. She is a “staunch defender of the male-only royal succession law and a leading opponent of legal changes to allow married couples the option to retain separate surnames.” She also whitewashes past war crimes Japanese officials committed during World War II. That seems to be the winning formula for a woman to rise: embrace nationalist and patriarchal tenets. #Sad
Yet, while DC, London, and Tokyo cling to the status quo, the Global South is challenging it.
Across Africa and Asia, young people, who make up the majority of the population, are demanding a different future. This week, Madagascar and Morocco have followed on from the examples in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal with Gen Z-led protests. These “zoomers” are frustrated at high prices, endemic corruption, and power in the hands of the few. They’re out on the streets, hoping to topple governments and shake up political orders. (Yes, I’m tempted to write about NYC and Zohran Mamdani. But I will practice restraint. Amazing.)
That’s the real global story: The status quo is male, stale, and desperate. The future? It’s angry, young, and already on the streets. Time to lace up. —Elmira
Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
A word about Jane..
Jane Goodall, the famous primatologist and conservationist, passed away this week at the age of 91. At 23, she went to Africa. There she met Louis Leakey, who hired her as a secretary. Goodall didn’t have a college degree. She did have an innate ability to connect with animals and make fresh observations—proof that a degree doesn’t give you superior skills. He then sent her to do a study of chimps in Tanzania, underscoring the fact that men are the gatekeepers. Goodall wouldn’t have gotten her start if he hadn’t opened the door.
Goodall, as Mireya Mayor notes, showed that the “most successful chimp leaders were gentle, caring and familial. Males that tried to rule by asserting their dominance through violence, tyranny and threat did not last.” Only if that were true in the human world.
Israel-Gaza Peace Plan
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and bring Israeli hostages home. Hamas would have to demilitarize and Israel withdraw from Gaza—in phases. There would be a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Israel could not annex Gaza. (There’s no language about the West Bank). Most amazingly, this plan has the endorsement of many Arab states.
So, how viable is this proposal? Robin Wright weighs the options. (New Yorker)
This is more optics than a plan, argues Annelle Sheline. With US public opinion turning away from unconditional US support of Israel, the plan, which Trump presented to Hamas after discussing with Netanyahu, is set up to portray Israel as a peacemaker and Hamas as obstructionist. (Responsible Statecraft)
Among the items in the 20-point plan, which many countries in the Arab world contributed to, is the creation of a “Board of Peace,” an international oversight body. It would have Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair as the chairmen. (Not sure if there would be any women… but I’m keeping tabs). That, says Ezgi Başaran, “feels like Iraq and mandate-Palestine returning, staged as if history never happened and as if we were all fools. (Angle, Anchor, and Voice)
Mic drop.
Gen Z protests - Madagascar and Morocco
The Zoomers are not having it. In 2022, young people took to the streets in Sri Lanka and ousted the country’s brother rulers. Last year, we saw how student protests toppled Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. Recently, Gen Z brought down the government in Nepal. Over the summer we saw young people take to the streets in Indonesia. Now, political discontent among those born after 1997 is boiling over in Madagascar and Morocco. They’re angry at corruption and government spending on things like the World Cup in Morocco in 2030—as they struggle to make ends meet.
Gen Z strikes in Madagascar, an island nation of 31 million, off the east coast of Africa. As Sarah Tétaud and Gerald Imray point out, they are angry at “widespread poverty as well as the failure of authorities to provide reliable supplies of water and electricity. The country’s president, Andry Rajoelina, was a former DJ and a peddler of herbal cures during Covid. (AP)
In Morocco, two have died in protests since Saturday, as the government has had an especially harsh response to the youth uprising. Elodie Farge tells us that the movement began only two weeks ago, calling themselves Gen Z 212. The leaderless digital group’s mantra is “freedom, dignity, and social justice” along with the “fall of c!!!!!orruption,” calling for investments in education, health, and employment. (Middle East Eye)
These Gen Z movements depend on social media, which can be a double-edged sword, warns Janjira Sombatpoonsiri. (Carnegie Endowment of International Peace)
Japan LDP leadership election
What’s at stake in Japan’s LDP election? Sheila Smith takes a look (CFR)
US
Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution to fund the US government. On Wednesday, nearly all US agencies closed, indefinitely. What does that mean for national security? Daniella Cheslow and Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing lay out what’s at stake. (Politico)
There will be no fat generals. There will be no fear of war crimes. On Tuesday, Pete Hegseth, the secretary of “war” resembled Patton on a stage before 800 generals, who were recalled to Washington. But it was the nearly hour and a half screed that Trump went on that worried Kori Schake. Forget that he bad-mouthed his predecessors, he said that US cities should be training grounds for troops. The military brass kept a poker face, which is standard Schake notes. So, let’s not read too much into it. (Lawfare)
Africa
In Congo, a military court found former president Joseph Kabila guilty of treason, war crimes, and collaborating with the Rwanda-backed rebel group M23. M23 has waged a war in Congo’s east for the past year. Qatar has been mediating peace talks between the M23 and Congo’s government. Shola Lawal points out that Kabila’s sentencing might hamper those talks and, worse, “deepen a wide political divide.” Yikes. (Al Jazeera)
Americas
Here’s something interesting, which on a slow news week would merit a column all on its own. I’ve told you about recent US attacks of Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean, which take the “war on drugs” to a new, literal level. There’s been talk about how this is part of Trump’s broader strategy to oust Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. There’s a $50 million bounty on him. (Maybe that’s how I raise money for Interruptrr…🤔) In a column this week, Andreas Kluth says it’s part of a broader plan to carve up the world into regional power control…. But I digress (which, honestly, is one of my biggest problems… help)
But Team Trump would be wise to note that regime change in oil rich Venezuela would not be easy and that it should stop invoking the 1989 invasion of Panama, writes Cristina Guevara. (The Hill)
The UN Security Council approved setting up a UN operation in Haiti, and transitioning the Kenyan-led police force into a militarized one focused to combat gang violence. Interestingly, China, Russia, and Pakistan abstained. Damilola Banjo explains why, along with the financial troubles that may lay ahead. (PassBlue)
Middle East
“There is a bitter irony that after a decade of trying to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal, it was Europe—not Iran or America—that dealt the final blow to Iran,” writes Ellie Geranmayeh. Britain, France, and Germany, collectively known as the “E3,” stood by as sanctions on Iran “snapped” back into place. Geranmayeh warns that this might jeopardize Europe’s role in preventing Iran’s nuclear capabilities. (ECFR)
Europe
Europe woke up on Monday with a bit of good news. In Moldova’s election last Sunday, the pro-European PAS party, led by Maia Sandu, won, defeating pro-Russian forces. That’s not for a lack of trying. Katia Glod points out that in rooting out saboteurs, Moldovians were able to prevent manipulation. She also points out that as Moldova slowly moves out of Moscow’s orbit, its citizens aren’t beholden to Russian propaganda. (CEPA)
After a few reports about how Danes are stocking up on batteries and water, I dug a bit deeper to understand why. Russian drone incursions into NATO territory has everyone on edge—and the Europeans talking about building a “drone wall.” This would be a “layered network of detection and interception systems,” writes Catherine Nicholls, building on the European Sky Shield Initiative. And you know who would contribute valuable technology and knowledge? UKRAINE. (CNN)
Under the Radar
Check out this podcast that Interruptrr gal pal Mary Patricia Nunan produced. Who Killed Haing Ngor investigates the murder of the star of the movie, “The Killing Fields.” (Who Killed Haing Ngor)
Opportunities
Book Club Alert! Lourdes Martin is the author behind the terrific Substack, Please Do Tell. She’s got a terrific book club called, “Parts Unread,” that we’ve attended before. Her next pick is Lynsey Addario’s It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War. Discussion will be on Thursday, October 23. Get on this!
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief