Analysis

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Roman Voskoboynikov, who is originally from Ukraine, after a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony inside the Robert N.C. Nix Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Roman Voskoboynikov, who is originally from Ukraine, after a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization ceremony inside the Robert N.C. Nix Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Biden Administration Is Addicted to Partnerships

The inauspicious return of the Cold War strategy of “Pactomania.”

Markus Soeder, Governor of Bavaria and lead candidate of the Bavarian Social Union (CSU), attends the annual gathering of politicians in beer tents at the Gillamoos folk fest on September 3, 2018 in Abensberg, Germany.
Markus Soeder, Governor of Bavaria and lead candidate of the Bavarian Social Union (CSU), attends the annual gathering of politicians in beer tents at the Gillamoos folk fest on September 3, 2018 in Abensberg, Germany.

The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos

Bavaria is Germany’s stereotypical idyll—and now a herald of its future turmoil.

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts during a meeting on the "Build Back Better World" during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacts during a meeting on the "Build Back Better World" during the World Leaders Summit of the COP26 U.N. climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021.

Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global

The Inflation Reduction Act is Washington’s boldest climate policy ever—but still woefully insufficient.

A woman is silhouetted as she walks down stairs past a communist-era stained glass panel in Berlin on April 26, 2019. The early-1960s work depicts images of industry, technology, agriculture, the military, youth, family, and the working class common in socialist art of the communist bloc.
A woman is silhouetted as she walks down stairs past a communist-era stained glass panel in Berlin on April 26, 2019. The early-1960s work depicts images of industry, technology, agriculture, the military, youth, family, and the working class common in socialist art of the communist bloc.

A Tale of Two Germanies

Thirty-three years after reunification, the country’s wounds are rawer than many would like to admit.

Members of the GIL (Italian Youth of the Lictor) help farmers during the wheat threshing in Italy.
Members of the GIL (Italian Youth of the Lictor) help farmers during the wheat threshing in Italy.

The Great Turn Inward

A new book argues countries are de-globalizing yet again. But was there ever such a thing as globalism to begin with?

A Palestinian man carries his child to cross a roadblock in the West Bank city of Hebron in 2003. Rubble fills the land he walks across and barbed wire coils in front of him. A woman with a head covering follows behind them.
A Palestinian man carries his child to cross a roadblock in the West Bank city of Hebron in 2003. Rubble fills the land he walks across and barbed wire coils in front of him. A woman with a head covering follows behind them.

All the Palestinians Got From Oslo Was KFC

Thirty years of the peace process has left us with less land and fewer rights.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (L) meets Prime Minister of northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG), Masrour Barzani in Erbil (R) in Erbil, Iraq on March 15.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani (L) meets Prime Minister of northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG), Masrour Barzani in Erbil (R) in Erbil, Iraq on March 15.

Iran Is Exploiting Divisions and U.S. Inaction in Iraqi Kurdistan

While Washington sits idly by, the region is on the brink of falling into Tehran’s orbit.

Hand-painted wooden nesting dolls stand on a table. Two are painted with an image of U.S. President Joe Biden, shown from the torso upward, wearing a black suit and smiling against an American flag background. Next to these is a doll painted with the image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who smiles against a Chinese flag background.
Hand-painted wooden nesting dolls stand on a table. Two are painted with an image of U.S. President Joe Biden, shown from the torso upward, wearing a black suit and smiling against an American flag background. Next to these is a doll painted with the image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who smiles against a Chinese flag background.

The U.S. Cannot Afford to Lose a Soft-Power Race With China

Washington’s key diplomatic assets have become a political bargaining chip.

Refugees stand in the back of a truck after crossing the border near Kornidzor on Sept. 28. More than 65,000 Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.
Refugees stand in the back of a truck after crossing the border near Kornidzor on Sept. 28. More than 65,000 Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia.

What Does Nagorno-Karabakh’s Fall Mean for Great Power Influence?

Washington and Moscow care a lot about some post-Soviet conflicts—but are largely ignoring others.

Smoke covers the presidential palace compound in Baghdad during a U.S.-led air raid on March 21, 2003.
Smoke covers the presidential palace compound in Baghdad during a U.S.-led air raid on March 21, 2003.

Why the Iraq War AUMF Is Still Dangerous

Legislation authorizing the 2003 war is still on the books—and alarmingly open-ended.

Afghans protest against the burning of the Quran by Swedish Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan outside Eid Gah mosque in Kabul on Jan. 27.
Afghans protest against the burning of the Quran by Swedish Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan outside Eid Gah mosque in Kabul on Jan. 27.

Attention-Seekers and Autocrats Are a Combustible Mix

Geopolitical provocateurs can cause serious diplomatic headaches.

A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.
A man is seen in profile standing several yards away from a prison.

The Biden Administration Is Dangerously Downplaying the Global Terrorism Threat

Today, there are more terror groups in existence, in more countries around the world, and with more territory under their control than ever before.

A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.
A girl touches a photograph of her relative on the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in Kyiv.

What Does Victory Look Like in Ukraine?

Ukrainians differ on what would keep their nation safe from Russia.

Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States look through the border fence as volunteers offer assistance on the other side near San Diego on May 13.
Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States look through the border fence as volunteers offer assistance on the other side near San Diego on May 13.

Which Countries Walk the Walk on Migrant Rights?

Data and accountability mechanisms can encourage states to avoid their worst impulses.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at the press conference during a Heads of State meeting of the Visegrad group at International Congress Center on June 30, 2021 in Katowice, Poland.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks at the press conference during a Heads of State meeting of the Visegrad group at International Congress Center on June 30, 2021 in Katowice, Poland.

The EU Is Letting Hungary and Poland Erode Democracy

Brussels must take harsher measures against ruling parties in Budapest and Warsaw if it’s serious about upholding democratic norms.

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