Economist
Smaller menaces are throwing their weight around more brazenly than ever before
Aaron David Miller, CNN
All of which is to say that the game has just begun, and the outcome will be neither a quick accord nor a collapse. Indeed, today Iranian representatives presented texts of their own on sanctions removal and their own nuclear activities, offering to stay in Vienna to continue negotiating. Instead, we're likely in for a prolonged game of maneuvering and pressure by each side to achieve what they want, or failing that, to ensure that , if talks do crater, the other...
Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Politico
For nearly a month now, Russia has been ominously massing troops and weaponry at its border with Ukraine, the latest in a series of periodic military buildups that could presage another Russian offensive into the country it illegally invaded in 2014. While the world waits to see if President Vladimir Putin is planning another invasion or posturing to secure another summit with his American counterpart, a worrisome debate has emerged about how to handle the Russian... Читать дальше...
A. Baunov, Moscow Times
The West finds itself facing the uncomfortable dilemma of whether to boost Russia's status or to refuse to give Moscow the promises it desires, thus conserving the conflict in its heated state.
John Deni, Carnegie Europe
Although Ukraine is not a NATO ally—and therefore not covered by the alliance's mutual defense clause—another Russian invasion there would greatly destabilize Central and Eastern Europe. NATO allies Poland, Romania, and the Baltic States would all perceive a renewed existential threat. They would very likely call for NATO to respond with efforts to bolster the alliance's eastern flank.
European Council on Foreign Relations
What does the German coalition agreement say about foreign policy issues, China, defence and security?
CSIS
This week, Mike unpacks recent developments in the U.S.-Australia alliance, including the AUKUS agreement, with Rory Medcalf, professor and head of the National Security College at Australia National University. The two discuss the second edition to Rory's book, Indo-Pacific Empire: China, America and the contest for the world's pivotal region, and how regional dynamics and geopolitics have changed over the past two years. What were the conditions that lead to the AUKUS agreement, and... Читать дальше...
Tony Blair with Bush Center
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, discusses global trends in religious freedom, including the threats religious extremists pose.
Daniel Goure, 1945
Wars are about seizing and holding territory. This is true even for insurgencies such as the ones in Afghanistan and Vietnam. The greatest geostrategic crises of the past decade involved efforts by Russia and China to expand their control over nearby territories and seas. One example is how Russia seized Crimea and occupied parts of
Liz Truss, Daily Mail
We are defending and promoting the frontiers of freedom around the world. That is why I am proud of our soldiers, who are doing great work in places like Estonia - where I joined them yesterday - flying the flag for liberty and democracy.
Thomas Shugart & Van Jackson, FA
Debating the Source of Growing U.S.-Chinese Tensions
Ahmed Soliman, Chatham House
The conflict between the federal government and the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) has spread beyond Tigray, intensified old animosities between Tigray and Amhara, and drawn in armed groups from Oromia, Benishangul, and Afar, deepening identity-based contestations across Ethiopia.
Wallace Gregson, National Interest
Given that Taiwan is deemed by many thoughtful people to be the most dangerous place on Earth, and that it is unarguably the place where the vital interests of two contending major powers overlap, clarity is important. Deterrence depends on it.
Martin Wolf, Financial Times
When it comes to regeneration, the success of this old industrial region is worth examining
Eric Brewer & Henry Rome, War on the Rocks
With negotiations to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resuming in Vienna this week, the prospects for success appear slim. Tehran does not seem as interested in the deal as it was and may well be willing to let the deal die rather than compromise. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi has appointed hardliners to the...
James Goodby, Foreign Service Journal
George Kennan made public his ideas about what became the American Cold War strategy of containment in 1947 in an essay published by Foreign Affairs under the pseudonym "X". The article was based on the "Long Telegram," a strategic analysis of the sources of Soviet conduct he had written and sent as a cable while posted in Moscow in 1946. One question...
Nils Schmid & Nikolas Gvosdev, FPRI
In the Winter 2022 issue of Orbis, we are pleased to feature a conversation with Dr. Nils Schmid, foreign policy spokesman for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and member of the Bundestag, representing the constituency of Nürtingen in Baden-Württemberg. With the announcement of the new coalition German coalition government between the Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Free Democrats, we would like to offer a few excerpts of that larger conversation.
Doug Klain, The Hill
For years, experts have warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken his country from the nascent democracy that emerged in 1991 at the end of the Soviet Union to a revanchist, revisionist power seeking to aggressively reassert the Kremlin's primacy — both in the world and at home in Russia. Individual flashpoints over the last decade pointed to this, including the invasion of Ukraine, hybrid warfare against the West, and political repression...
Amanda Coakley, Foreign Policy
Warsaw is challenging Brussels on the rule of law but using an immigration crisis to soften any pushback.
Alex Berezow, Big Think
Unfortunately, there is no evolutionary rule that forces pathogens to become less deadly over time.
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Rachel Cheung, World Politics Review
A flurry of visits by foreign officials and an invitation to the upcoming virtual democracy summit to be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden have underscored Taiwan's growing international profile. But the attention Taiwan is attracting is causing Beijing to increase diplomatic, economic and military pressure on its autonomous neighbor.
Ingrid Burke Friedman, Russia Matters
While U.S.-Russian relations continue to deteriorate in many spheres, the Arctic provides an arena for possible cooperation. In particular, Russian wariness of China's Arctic ambitions could provide novel opportunities for warming ties between Moscow and Washington.
Ian Bond, CER
Russian forces are massing near Ukraine's border again. Putin hopes to win concessions from Kyiv without fighting, but more concessions will not bring peace. The West should focus on deterring Russia.
Dalia Dassa Kaye, Foreign Affairs
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has made no secret of its desire to extricate the United States from the Middle East. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an interview before taking office, said that he envisioned a Biden presidency would do "less not more" in the region. A senior U.S. official likewise told me that the Obama administration didn't follow through on its so-called pivot to Asia, but "this time we are."
