
The AUKUS Dominoes Are Just Starting to Fall
The world’s newest security partnership is a window into how the world works—and the unpredictable places it’s heading.

The Real Reason U.S. Allies Are Upset About Afghanistan
The anger is real—but anguished humanitarianism is just part of it.

The Realist’s Guide to the Coronavirus Outbreak
Globalization is heading for the ICU, and other foreign-policy insights into the nature of the growing international crisis.

Why the Liberal International Order Will Endure Into the Next Decade
It’s true that democracy, globalism, and free trade are under assault, but they may prove stronger than the forces arrayed against them in the 2020s.

The Realists Are Wrong About Syria
Neither Trump nor the international relations experts who cheered his choice to withdraw U.S. troops have wrestled adequately with the costs of departure.

Billionaires Can’t Buy World Peace
A new think tank funded by George Soros and Charles Koch wants to end American interventionism, but shows no understanding of what motivates it.

When Zombie Neoconservatives Attack
Why most Americans are right about foreign policy, and David Brooks is wrong.

Europe Isn’t Realistic. It’s Weak.
The EU has committed to outsourcing its dirty work to authoritarians in the Middle East and Africa—and to confusing dependence for maturity.

The World Wants You to Think Like a Realist
From Europe to Iran to North Korea, the world doesn't make sense anymore — unless you put all your illusions aside.

Has Trump Become a Realist?
America finally has a president who grasps the basic logic of offshore balancing in the Middle East.

Grand Strategy Isn’t Grand Enough
The world’s best national security minds know to study every aspect of foreign policy. That’s not enough.

Great Powers Are Defined by Their Great Wars
Even the most rational leaders are influenced by the power of collective memory.

Don’t Knock Offshore Balancing Until You’ve Tried It
Whatever you want to call the Obama foreign policy, it has not been a calculated attempt to contain the rise of hegemonic threats.

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Future of the World
It’s not just the U.S. presidential platforms that will shape global politics in the years ahead -- it’s Americans’ theories of how the world works.

Donald Trump Is a Magical (Foreign Policy) Realist
The Republican presidential nominee is a fan of military interventions — as long as they don’t cost anything.

Why Is America So Bad at Promoting Democracy in Other Countries?
There’s no quick, cheap, or military-based way to bring peace to places like Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iraq. It’s time we changed our approach, and we can start at home.

The Realist Playbook Is Perfect, Except for One Thing. Reality.
Michael Mandelbaum’s latest tome of hardball IR theory is stuck in Westphalia. Realist or not, President Obama isn't buying it.

Obama Was Not a Realist President
If he had been, he might have avoided some of his biggest foreign-policy mistakes.

No, @realDonaldTrump Is Not a Realist
When it comes to geopolitics, the Donald’s worldview is fantasy and folly — not realism.

The Irony of Obamian History
The president loves Reinhold Niebuhr. That’s not a doctrine; that’s a problem.