Decline of the US State Department

 Small Wars Journal published on 11 August 2026 a commentary titled "The War of the Pen: What America's State Department Is Ignoring" by Julian McBride.

The author laments the absence of ambassadors at numerous US embassies, the State Department's waning soft power, the rise of middle and regional powers at the expense of the United States, and the increasing influence of China in the Global South.

He believes US diplomatic setbacks are self-inflicted but can be reversed through concerted action and the US position restored in the Global South.  

Deployment of Chinese Peacekeepers in Mali

The Clingendael Institute of the Netherlands Institute of International Relations published in September 2015 a report titled "China's Evolving Role in Peacekeeping and African Security: The Deployment of Chinese Troops for UN Force Protection in Mali" by Frans Paul van der Putten.

In 2013, China dispatched a force protection unit to Mali with the UN's peacekeeping force MINUSMA.  This report evaluates the deployment with regard to: (a) its operational aspects, including possibilities for Sino-European cooperation at the local level; (b) China's stance towards UN peacekeeping operations; and (c) the relevance of peacekeeping operations for the protection of Chinese civilians and economic assets in Africa.