David Lepeska, The National
Contrary to much recent commentary, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a big fan of the protests that have been shaking Istanbul for the past five weeks.
Norimitsu Onishi, NYT
PARIS — The threat is said to be existential. It fuels secessionism. Gnaws at national unity. Abets Islamism. Attacks France's intellectual and cultural heritage.
James Jay Carafano, Nat'l Interest
In the age of great-power competition, where the world doesn't simply do what the United States asks, action must match rhetoric.
Mac Margolis, Bloomberg
As the autocratic Nicolas Maduro entrenches himself, his democratic opponents need some pragmatic wins to recover their mojo.
W. Mowla & R. Berg, RCW
In late January, the Venezuelan Navy intercepted and detained two Guyanese fishing vessels and 12 Guyanese citizens for two weeks. The detainment was the result of a recent decree issued by Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro. The decree ordered the creation of a special commission by the Venezuelan National Assembly that supports the unsubstantiated claim that more than 70% of Venezuela's neighboring state, Guyana, belongs to it.
Eugene Chausovsky, Newlines
One Russian city offers a glimpse of the country's increasingly Muslim and non-Slavic future
Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
A group of English-speaking nations is taking a more confrontational approach to Beijing
Peter Gill, The Diplomat
With the prime minister's unilateral move to dissolve Parliament last December, Nepal was thrown into political chaos - with its democracy hanging in the balance.
Paola Subacchi, Project Syndicate
With deft and bold action, Mario Draghi's unity government in Italy can go some way toward addressing the COVID-19 emergency, laying the groundwork for long-term economic recovery, and restoring Italians' confidence in their political leaders. But he cannot do it alone.
Bob Blackman, CapX
Last week a Belgian federal court gave its verdict on the prosecution of a high-ranking Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi for terrorism. Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The question now is what an appropriate response is for Western governments on both sides of the Atlantic?
Emily Tamkin, New Statesman
The Indian government has discovered it can shut off internet access, but not social media ire.
Trevor Phillips, Times of London
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has conceded that individual countries could have vaccinated their populations quicker had they acted alone rather than relying on the EU's collective vaccine purchase and distribution program. She has effectively acknowledged that her vaccine procurement program violated a fundamental principle of the European Union's founding treaties.
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Daniel DePetris, 1945
On January 29, the Biden administration appointed Rob Malley, a former senior Middle East policy official in the Obama administration, to serve as President Joe Biden's special envoy to Iran. The veteran negotiator will return to...
Rina Bassist, Al Monitor
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi assigned Ambassador Irit Lillian to the position of charge d'affaires at the...
Melissa Chan, Foreign Policy
Beijing has blocked the social app after a brief flowering of open discussion.
R. Satloff & S. Feuer, Wash. Ins.
Modest investments of U.S. diplomatic capital, economic aid, and security assistance can help these three countries and advance American interests.
Elisa Braun & Paul De Villepin, Politico EU
PARIS — The elite civil servant occupies a special place in the French imagination. Civil, refined, unflusterable, a steady hand on the state tiller — what James Bond is to the British spy service, the haut fonctionnaire is to the French ideal of administrative governance.
