Candace Rondeaux, World Politics Review
Depending on who you ask, there are either good reasons to panic about China one day weaponizing its dominance of the market for rare earth elements, or to think that the risk is overblown. Judging from President Joe Biden's executive order last week calling for a
Nahal Toosi, Politico
In northern Ethiopia, an unfolding conflict between the federal government, its allies and rebellious regional leaders has killed thousands of people, displaced hundreds of thousands more, and led to fears that an ethnic cleansing campaign is underway.
Natalia Antonova, Foreign Policy
The organized campaign against Alexei Navalny was damaging and misplaced.
Peter Suciu, 1945
Despite having an "empire" on which the sun never set, the British Army wasn't exactly large in numbers. Yet, prior to the First World War, Great Britain had the only true "professional" army in Europe in that it was a small volunteer force made up of about 400,000 soldiers. Of those about 247,000 served in the Regular Army while another...
Mure Dickie, Financial Times
Compassionate but calculating, high-minded but willing to deal a low blow, Nicola Sturgeon has always been a complex politician. And every side of the Scottish first minister's multi-faceted persona was on show this week as she fought for her political life.
F. Fitzjames, CapX
Recent media reports have suggested that the British Army is likely to be made smaller yet again in the Integrated Defence and Security Review. It seems likely headcount will be reduced from 82,000 to around 70,000, with the money saved used to modernise the Army's woefully outdate equipment and to invest in crucial areas such as air defence and artillery, where the Army currently has barely any capability at all.
Varsha Koduvayur, RealClearWorld
Saudi Arabia is laying the foundations for another Gulf crisis - this time provoking its ally, the United Arab Emirates. Just weeks after patching up a years-long dispute with Qatar, the kingdom has announced a new plan to require all foreign businesses to have a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, or risk getting locked out of contracts with the government. The decision constitutes a...
Mark Garnett, Foreign Policy
Why Boris Johnson's failures in the pandemic are partly the product of the office he holds.
Tanner Greer, Foreign Policy
U.S. strategists love grand proclamations—but ignore domestic political realities.
Robert Moore, 1945
President Joe Biden's first major speech on national security at the virtually-held Munich Security Conference will not be remembered in the same historical annals as Obama's Cairo address or Reagan's Evil Empire speech. As expected, Biden sought to draw a distinct line between himself and his predecessor, repeatedly assuring allies that the U.S. is committed to the transatlantic relationship and portraying the last four years as an exception to longstanding...
