George Barros et al, RealClearWorld
The Russian Orthodox Church has long been an instrument for the Kremlin's foreign meddling. Its influence in the Balkans now is reaching new heights, possibly with disastrous consequences for European security. As Russian President Vladimir Putin takes aim at Montenegro through the Orthodox Church, NATO must watch carefully for Kremlin-backed destabilization in the heart of its second-newest member-state. A compromised Montenegro could disrupt the Balkans and expose NATO's southern flank. Читать дальше...
Edward Luce, Financial Times
The US is also capable of recklessness. As the writer Robert Kagan pointed out, America is a "dangerous nation". The fact that it is in relative decline only sharpens that trait. Contested hegemons rarely go quietly into the night. Much of today's foreign policy debate in the US focuses on the risks of miscalculating with China or Russia by confusing their red lines. The world would be a calmer place if China and Russia were equally worried about America's red lines. Читать дальше...
Frank Ching, Japan Times
The Biden-Xi summit achieved no breakthroughs, but it did end up restoring some normality to ties
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Muhammad Akbar Notezai, The Diplomat
Following the announcement of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2015, Gwadar has been showcased in Pakistan's mainstream media as the gateway to a new era of Chinese investments meant to change the fate of both Pakistan and the region as a whole. As a result, Gwadar, a small dusty port town on the coastline of the Arabian Sea in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, has come enormously into the limelight since then. China has spent billions of dollars on building the port town... Читать дальше...
D. Rohac, AEI
The administration should seize the opportunity and forge a new ‘New Europe' - a coalition of largely though not exclusively post-communist countries cognizant of the twin threat of Chinese and Russian autocrats and willing to do something about it. With tangible carrots for responsible actors (a NATO secretary general from CEE, perhaps?) and costs imposed on those who continue to serve as a vehicle for Chinese interests in the region (think Hungary, Serbia, or Greece), the number of fence-sitters may go down... Читать дальше...
Sarah White, 1945
Even as US President Joe Biden has prioritized repairing the United States' relationships with European allies and rebuilding trust, 2021 has been an unsettling year for security on NATO's eastern borders. The status quo, in which a Russian invasion seemed readily deterrable, has been repeatedly undermined, leaving the region in a more fragile place than at...
James Kynge, Financial Times
Western critics need to understand the flaws in the Beijing regime's model and the history of its elites
Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico EU
BERLIN — Germany's Olaf Scholz isn't one to just let it go.
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Howard French, World Politics Review
There are any number of ways to measure one of the great secular transformations of our time: the decline of the United States' power relative not only to a rising rival like China, but to the rest of the world generally.
Hannah Steinkopf-Frank, Worldcrunch
New Zealand is proposing to effectively ban cigarette sales in the future, the culmination of decades of increasingly tough laws aimed at tobacco use around the world, from Kyoto to California to Costa Rica.
Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy
There are dangers to hosting diplomatic meetings without a clear purpose.
Adnan Nasser, The National Interest
Lebanese leaders have found a willing partner in Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. After seeing support from Saudi Arabia dry up, Lebanon will require other countries to help pull it out of its economic mire.
Richard Javad Heydarian, Nat'l
Isko Moreno's election strategy mirrors the French president's 2017 campaign: combining technocracy with populism
Nikolas Gvosdev, Russia Matters
Now that the first waves of commentary on the Dec. 7 video summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have crested, we can begin to situate the larger context in which the discussions took place.
Stavros Atlamazoglou, 1945
Russia Invades Ukraine: What Would Joe Biden Do If Putin Does the Unthinkable? While tensions with Russia are sky-high, US President Joe Biden held a virtual conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
Elizabeth Economy, Foreign Affairs
Can China Remake the International System?
