Stephen M. Walt


Stephen M. Walt is a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University.

Articles by Stephen M. Walt
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an event at Trump SoHo Hotel, June 22, 2016 in New York City. Trump's remarks focused on criticisms of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 22: Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an event at Trump SoHo Hotel, June 22, 2016 in New York City. Trump's remarks focused on criticisms of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23:  U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a signing ceremony for the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 in the East Room of the White House June 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump credited Congress and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin for getting the legislation into law.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 23: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a signing ceremony for the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 in the East Room of the White House June 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump credited Congress and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin for getting the legislation into law. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
NEW LONDON, CT - MAY 17: US President Donald Trump salutes members of the U.S. Coast Guard as he exits the commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, May 17, 2017 in New London, Connecticut. This is President Trump's second commencement address since taking office and comes amid controversy after his firing of FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW LONDON, CT - MAY 17: US President Donald Trump salutes members of the U.S. Coast Guard as he exits the commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, May 17, 2017 in New London, Connecticut. This is President Trump's second commencement address since taking office and comes amid controversy after his firing of FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21:  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump flashes the thumbs-up as he arrives on stage for the start of the prime time Republican presidential debate on August 6, 2015 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN / AFP / MANDEL NGAN        (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump flashes the thumbs-up as he arrives on stage for the start of the prime time Republican presidential debate on August 6, 2015 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Debris cover a street and flames rise from a building following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on March 7, 2014 during the Friday prayer in the Sukkari neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo. More than 140,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of a March 2011 uprising against the Assad family's 40-year rule. AFP PHOTO / BARAA AL-HALABI        (Photo credit should read BARAA AL-HALABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Debris cover a street and flames rise from a building following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces on March 7, 2014 during the Friday prayer in the Sukkari neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo. More than 140,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of a March 2011 uprising against the Assad family's 40-year rule. AFP PHOTO / BARAA AL-HALABI (Photo credit should read BARAA AL-HALABI/AFP/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 18: U.S. President Barack Obama waves before is goes to board Air Force One as he departs following talks with European leaders on November 18, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Obama is on his last trip to Europe as U.S. President. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 18: U.S. President Barack Obama waves before is goes to board Air Force One as he departs following talks with European leaders on November 18, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Obama is on his last trip to Europe as U.S. President. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) makes his way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as he head with the First Lady to Israel on May 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN        (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) makes his way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as he head with the First Lady to Israel on May 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump (front row C) reacts as he stands by (front row from L) Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, (back row from L Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska and Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, during a family picture during the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit at the NATO headquarters, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN        (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump (front row C) reacts as he stands by (front row from L) Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, (back row from L Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, Slovakia's President Andrej Kiska and Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, during a family picture during the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit at the NATO headquarters, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 02:  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while standing with the U.S. Air Force Falcons football team before presenting them with the Commander-in-Chief trophy, in the Rose Garden at the White House, on May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 02: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks while standing with the U.S. Air Force Falcons football team before presenting them with the Commander-in-Chief trophy, in the Rose Garden at the White House, on May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
SARASOTA, FL - NOVEMBER 07:  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds up a rubber mask of himself during a campaign rally in the Robarts Arena at the Sarasota Fairgrounds November 7, 2016 in Sarasota, Florida. With less than 24 hours until Election Day in the United States, Trump and his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, are campaigning in key battleground states that each must win to take the White House.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SARASOTA, FL - NOVEMBER 07: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds up a rubber mask of himself during a campaign rally in the Robarts Arena at the Sarasota Fairgrounds November 7, 2016 in Sarasota, Florida. With less than 24 hours until Election Day in the United States, Trump and his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, are campaigning in key battleground states that each must win to take the White House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump (R) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) to the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON        (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump (R) welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) to the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - APRIL 03: In this handout provided by the Department of Defense (DoD), Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, meets with military officials after arriving on April 3, 2017 in Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo by Dominique A. Pineiro/DoD via Getty Images)
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - APRIL 03: In this handout provided by the Department of Defense (DoD), Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, meets with military officials after arriving on April 3, 2017 in Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo by Dominique A. Pineiro/DoD via Getty Images)
TAJI, IRAQ - APRIL 12:  U.S. Army trainers watch as an Iraqi recruit fires at a military base on April 12, 2015 in Taji, Iraq. U.S. forces, currently operating in 5 large bases throught the country, are training thousands of Iraqi Army combat troops, trying to rebuild a force they had origninally trained before the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2010. Members of the U.S. Army's 5-73 CAV, 3BCT, 82nd Airborne Division are teaching members of the newly-formed 15th Division of the Iraqi Army, as the Iraqi government launches offensives to try to recover territory lost to ISIS last year.  (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
TAJI, IRAQ - APRIL 12: U.S. Army trainers watch as an Iraqi recruit fires at a military base on April 12, 2015 in Taji, Iraq. U.S. forces, currently operating in 5 large bases throught the country, are training thousands of Iraqi Army combat troops, trying to rebuild a force they had origninally trained before the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2010. Members of the U.S. Army's 5-73 CAV, 3BCT, 82nd Airborne Division are teaching members of the newly-formed 15th Division of the Iraqi Army, as the Iraqi government launches offensives to try to recover territory lost to ISIS last year. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
<> on September 23, 2010 in Marja, Afghanistan.
<> on September 23, 2010 in Marja, Afghanistan.