Canada reviews its foreign policy goals, Thailand's dispute with Cambodia and how China could benefit from Labubu mania
June 2025
Hello and welcome!👋
We’re at the halfway point of 2025 and the world hasn’t slowed down one bit. Here are three key stories worth pausing for.
WHAT IS THE CARNEY DOCTRINE?
Fresh off his election win, Prime Minister Mark Carney invited a who’s who of global politics to the Canadian Rockies for the G7 leaders’ summit.
The likes of Emmanuel Macron, Giorgia Meloni, Ursula von der Leyen and Narendra Modi touched down in Calgary for the VIP gathering. Despite the disruption caused by Donald Trump’s early exit and the Iran-Israel crisis, the rest of the summit went ahead as scheduled.
A week later, Carney flew to Brussels for an EU-Canada discussion and then onwards to the Hague for a major NATO meeting. The busy agenda reveals Carney’s ambitions for Ottawa to better navigate the shifting world order.
First and foremost, the prime minister is dealing with a challenging Trump administration (see: 51st state jokes, trade tariffs). The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy warns about Washington’s “subtle but relentless erosion of Canadian institutional capacity and policy autonomy”.
Elsewhere, Carney wants to reset relations with China and boost defence spending. He laid out his foreign policy objectives in this wide-ranging interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN.
THAILAND’S FRAGILE GOVERNMENT
The fate of Thailand’s government is hanging in the balance. The trigger: a leaked phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
In their 17-minute conversation, the Thai premier appeared to criticise her own army’s actions following a clash along the border on 28 May. A Cambodian soldier was killed in the skirmish and tensions between the neighbouring countries have been running high ever since.
The retaliatory measures include Thailand imposing travel restrictions and Cambodia banning Thai fruit, vegetable and fuel imports. Separately, Cambodia has asked the International Court of Justice to resolve the dispute.
Paetongtarn’s comments to Hun Sen have sparked domestic unrest as well. One reason is that Thailand’s influential military is closely intertwined with the monarchy. Paetongtarn’s remarks about being at odds with a top commander prompted her coalition partner to withdraw its support. On 28 June, hundreds of protesters in Bangkok demanded her resignation. But so far, she is refusing to budge.
While Cambodia and Thailand share historical grievances about their border, there’s also a contemporary layer to this scandal. 38-year old Paetongtarn is a novice with little experience in politics. The fact that she hails from the wealthy Shinawatra family - which counts two ex-prime ministers in its ranks - adds to the intrigue. Her father Thaksin was deposed in a military coup in 2006, and her aunt Yingluck was ousted by a court in 2014.
Is Paetongtarn’s removal now inevitable? According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Thai military “has tired of the Shinawatra political dynasty and would like them gone”.
CHINA’S ‘COOL’ BRANDS
If posts about Labubus are crowding your Instagram feed, you’re not alone. The mischievous looking dolls are an international phenomenon, propelling the value of Beijing-based toymaker Pop Mart.
The mania around the collectible could represent an important moment in China’s search for soft power. Think Japan and Hello Kitty, or the US and Hollywood movies.
For decades, consumers equated China with cheap imitation products, however, public perception is gradually evolving. Labubu plushies are part of that trend, explains The Economist.
The popularity of TikTok (created by ByteDance) and BYD electric cars are further proof of China Inc.’s rising cachet among millennials and Gen Z shoppers.
What’s fascinating is that Labubu went viral organically rather than through a state-led campaign. “It’s capitalism with a fuzzy face”, notes an article in The Conversation, emphasising how Asia’s biggest economy is increasingly becoming “a producer of desire”.
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay curious, Sara x