By Thomas Graham
The future of the Russian-led effort to consolidate the BRICS (the BRICs plus South Africa) as an influential multilateral organization is less certain because of inherent contradictions in the members’ ambitions, prospects, and security challenges. The United States engages Russia for strategic, not economic reasons.
Read MoreBy Jolyon Howorth
The total absence of the European Union, as a bloc, during the Libyan crisis of spring 2011 has led analysts to pose tough questions about the future of Europe as a collective security actor. The progress made toward the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) since 2003 was to some extent a reflection of the extraordinary nature of this relative pooling of sovereignty in the security field.
Read MoreBy Christopher Hendrick
The Peace Corps is undergoing a profound transformation. Previously, disconnected volunteers worked on projects alone. Now, the internet is harnessed to collaborate on shared bold goals together.
Read MoreBy Evan Fowler
How should the US move forward on engaging North Africa? An op-ed on reinterpretation and reinvestment by Evan Fowler.
Read MoreBy Andreas Borgeas
This study finds that militant Islam amongst the Uighur in Kazakhstan remains a fringe and localized presence, which will struggle to gain sufficient popular support for historical and contextual reasons. Even so, the United States can take specific steps to help Kazakhstan ensure that Islam remains a moderate—rather than extremist—force in the country.
Read MoreBy Jorrit Kamminga and Nazia Hussain
The security transition plan in Afghanistan is a high-risk political game. Decreasing the presence of foreign troops is not just a military strategy; it signifies a concomitant reduction in international commitment to Afghanistan after 2014.
Read MoreBy Ioana Maria Puscas
Two years have elapsed sInce the Arab Spring started its sweep across the Middle East and North Africa.
Read MoreBy Warren Ryan
“Under New START, America gives and Russia gets . . .. Every single provision favors Russia or is neutral; not one favors the United States . . .. The stronger we are relative to nations like Russia, the safer the world is.”
Read MoreWhile the world waits to see what domestic policy changes Xi Jinping will implement as the new President of China, it is worth noting that the issues now taking precedence in mainland China have been developing for some time in Hong Kong.
Read MoreBy Paul Rexton Kan
This article explores the online clash between the hacker group, Anonymous, and the Mexican drug cartel, Los Zetas. This type of cyberwar was unique: it was an incident where two clandestine non-state groups used the digital domain to attack each other and it was largely a private affair.
Read MoreAn Interview with Brigadier General (ret.) Thomas Kolditz on his career, international relations policies, and security and development.
Read MoreAn interview with Henry Rousso on his research, the European Network for Contemporary History, the Commission on Racism and Holocaust Deniers, and the ICC.
Read MoreAn interview with Emma Sky
Sky discusses her experience as a British diplomat and as an advisor to the U.S. military, the Arab Spring, and instability in the Middle East.
Read MoreBy Nicoli Nattrass
U.S. commitment to fight- ing AIDS in Africa has traditionally been, and still is, buoyed by bi-partisan support. This support has remained strong post-2007. Even so, the view is widespread that African country governments ought to take greater ownership of combating the problem and reducing aid dependency in managing it.
Read MoreBy Stephen S. Roach
The United States needs to wean itself from excess consumption and subpar saving, while China needs to do the opposite—greater emphasis on private consumption and the absorption of surplus saving. These transformations are daunting but provide major opportunities for both nations.
Read MoreBy John-Michael Arnold
The phenomenon of strategic surprise—a category of unexpected events so consequential that they call into question the premises of existing strategy—has posed a recurring challenge to U.S. foreign policy. Although there is a voluminous literature on the subject, most scholars have focused on surprises unleashed as a deliberate strategy of states in their effort to seize the advantage against adversaries.
Read MoreAn Interview with Economics Journalist Paul Solman on the US economy, income inequality and wealth inequality, and predicting major international political or economic decisions.
Read MoreBy Jonathan Papoulidis
Fragile states constitute a global development crisis. Government capacity and public institutions in these states are weak and international aid approaches are often fragmented and piecemeal.
Read MoreBy Rob Cuthbert
The licensing system is not only a formidable check on a free press in Burma, it is another example of Burmese interiors and exteriors contradicting each other. As Burma gives journalists more freedom, the license requirement ensures that the Burmese Government retains ultimate control over the press.
Read MoreBy Salma Mousa
With the specter of post-Spring Islamist rule looming, Christians in Syria were forced to choose between secular autocracy and sectarian democracy, a decision informed by the perception – and lived reality – that the status quo under al-Assad, though democratically deficient, put a (temporary) lid on civil hostilities and afforded Christian minorities with extensive secular protections and, in many cases, prosperity.
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