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GZERO Wrapped 2023
‘Tis the Spotify Wrapped season! (Or Apple Music replay season, for those of us out of step with the cultural zeitgeist). In the spirit of everyone sharing their most-played tracks of the year, the GZERO team decided to look back at some of our top-viewed articles of 2023. You’ll never guess who wrote our top pick …
Plus, check out GZERO’s totally real and definitely not photoshopped 2023 Spotify Wrapped playlists from some of your favorite politicians.
#5 What should Israel do next?, by Ian Bremmer, October 2023
Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack – and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza – was a giant inflection point for global politics this year, so there’s no surprise that our audience looked to Ian Bremmer for emotion-free analysis amid a trove of disinformation about the war. TL;DR: Ian says Israel has the right to defend itself from attacks on its civilians, but perpetuating a humanitarian catastrophe for the world to see will reduce its moral legitimacy and damage its international standing.
#4 Wagner and Russia’s next moves, by Tasha Kheiriddin, August 2023
This summer (feels like a lifetime ago), Vladimir Putin faced his biggest challenge to date and survived an almost coup. Increasing tensions between the Russian Ministry of Defense and the paramilitary Wagner Group came to a head on June 23, when Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops marched toward Moscow. The rebels ultimately turned around before reaching the Kremlin, but Putin couldn’t let this level of public dissent go unpunished. Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash two months later, leaving many to question the future of the Wagner Group in Russia and around the world.
#3 Canada caught up in US-China maritime tensions, by Carlos Santamaria, June 2023
With so much going on in the headlines, disputed waters in the South China Sea might not be at the top of many people’s reading lists, but it was for our readers. In June, China sailed a warship very close to a US destroyer and Canadian frigate (which was legally in the area, according to the United Nations) in the Taiwan Strait. Although a somewhat benign incident, it’s important to remember: More intimidation leads to more risk of miscalculation … that could trigger armed conflict.
#2 Cuba tells Russia to back off, by Willis Sparks, September 2023
A story that went a little under the radar this year (but shouldn’t have): Cuba uncovered a human trafficking ring that sought to coerce Cubans to join the war effort in Ukraine. It wasn’t too surprising that Russia was looking for more troops: Putin enlisted citizens from neighboring countries and even recruited prisoners to fight in the war in exchange for their freedom. What was surprising: Cuba’s willingness to publicly release a statement speaking out against its longtime ally, Russia.
#1 The Dollar is Dead, Long Live the Dollar, by Ian Bremmer, April 2023
Economists, analysts, crypto bros, and my overly informed uncle at Thanksgiving dinner have all been guilty of getting swept up in hysteria about the end of US dollar dominance in the global economy. The fear is not unfounded, as countries from time to time discuss diversifying away from the US dollar, and its share in foreign exchange reserves has indeed declined in recent years. But GZERO’s founder and President Ian Bremmer reminded us … the share is still nearly twice that of the euro, yen, pound, and yuan combined. In short: Everyone needs to relax. The dollar is safe … because you can't replace something with nothing.President Joe Biden gives thumbs-up as he walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in California on Nov. 15, 2023.
Biden calls Xi a dictator
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping spent four hours together on Wednesday, coming to agreements on curbing fentanyl production and improving military communication. But Biden referred to the Chinese leader as a “dictator” in a press conference afterward, which suggests there are limits to the rapprochement.
The two men met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, Calif., with both sides having signaled a desire for better cooperation beforehand. It was the first meeting between them in more than a year and came amid historically high tensions. Their long chat and new agreements suggested an easing of tensions, but Biden’s off-the-cuff remark has irked the Chinese.
“Well, look, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours,” Biden said. China’s foreign ministry was less than impressed and called the dictator label “extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation.”
Much like China’s floating of a spy balloon in US airspace earlier this year quickly popped holes in Biden and Xi’s diplomatic progress following their meeting at last year’s G20 summit, will Biden’s remark have a similar effect?
Justin Trudeau also attended the APEC summit in California, and Canada-China relations are also at a low ebb. At last year’s G20 in Indonesia, Trudeau and Xi exchanged tense words after the PM complained about Chinese interference in Canadian politics. Under political pressure over the government’s apparent failure to deal with the issue, Trudeau in September announced a public inquiry into the matter.
While Ottawa will stay closely aligned to the US on such matters, it remains to be seen whether it will follow Washington’s lead on improved diplomacy with Beijing.
We’ll be watching to see whether Trudeau manages the trip without squabbling further with Xi — the two are not expected to meet. “[Canada’s] goal is to stop the hole from getting deeper in Asia," Carlo Dade, director of the trade and investment center at the Canada West Foundation, told the CBC.
Canada protestors
Spamouflage blitz muddies already murky waters
Just last weekend, leaders of the Five Eyes intelligence network took to “60 Minutes,” warning that China was stealing technology secrets and suggesting that it was ramping up espionage and hacking efforts overseas.
The alleged spamouflage operation notably comes amid Canada’s inquiry into alleged foreign interference with its domestic affairs, which includes a look at Beijing. Relations between the two countries have been frosty this year thanks to accusations of Chinese meddling in Canada’s elections.
But Canada’s power imbalance with China over its disinformation campaigns is similar to its tense relationship with India following the assassination of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Unilateral retaliation would be purely symbolic and of limited value, and the state of play between China and the US precludes Ottawa from calling on its closest ally for support.
Chinese and US diplomats have been working for months to stabilize relations and set up a summit between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in San Francisco in November — putting Canada’s concerns on ice for the time being.
Printed Chinese and Canada flags.
Reckoning over Chinese meddling
At a marathon parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, David Johnston, Canada’s embattled special rapporteur on foreign interference, pushed back against claims that he failed to recommend a public inquiry into Chinese interference in domestic politics in order to cover for the Trudeau government.
What’s this all about again? In a rare display of unity, both the leftist New Democratic Party and right-wing Conservative Party have criticized Johnston, the former governor general, for refusing last month to order a public inquiry into Chinese interference. They point to evidence showing that China interfered in Canadian politics in hopes of keeping in power a minority Liberal government that might be more deferential to Beijing’s interests than the more hardline Conservatives.
One of the biggest issues leading to the fallout relates to allegations that the PM was informed in 2021 that the Chinese Communist Party was targeting tough-on-China Conservative MP Michael Chong (and his family) and that the government failed to alert him. Among other allegations was one that China gave $250,000 to a number of Canadian political candidates in 2019, which Johnston dismissed as untrue.
Johnston, for his part, says that the failure to alert Chong came down to an intelligence communication failure rather than the result of political malfeasance. But the three major opposition parties weren’t buying it and said that Johnston, who has a long association with the Trudeau family, is carrying water for the PM and his party.
For now, the NDP, whose votes in parliament Trudeau needs, say they won't pull their support, but they have lost faith in Johnston, who begins public hearings on the matter next month under a cloud.