How can we understand Tump 2.0 foreign policy? It’s the product of the fusion of two different forces: Christian Nationalism and Personalist Rent-Extraction.| The Duck of Minerva
In February 2002, as the administration of George W. Bush was making its case for war against Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld enumerated three “knowns” that informed US foreign policymaking: “known knowns…things we know we know,” “known unknowns…things we do not know,” and “unknown unknowns…[things] we don’t know we don’t know.” “History,” he averred, had... Source| H-Diplo|RJISSF
The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its long aftermath is one of the defining events of the twenty-first century to date. Iraq’s politics were fundamentally reshaped through violence, voting, and displacement; regional competitions swirled in alignment with and opposition to domestic factions, the rise of the Sunni jihadist group ISIS (Islamic State of... Source| H-Diplo|RJISSF
Military alliances are a central feature of international politics, and have been for centuries, at least since the time of Thucydides.[1] After the Cold War ended, security-focused scholars in political science gravitated towards politics within countries, with a focus on civil war, and away from politics between them. As this trend unfolded, alliance politics was... Source| H-Diplo|RJISSF
The US president is throwing the EU lots of economic curveballs. Brussels should not be distracted by these; instead, it should double down on adopting measures that will benefit the bloc long after Donald Trump leaves the White House| European Council on Foreign Relations
Tensions with Trump will prompt India to seek rapprochement with Beijing, but the underlying competitive dynamics in China-India relations are unlikely to change. Against this backdrop, Europe offers a promising alternative to balance risks.| European Council on Foreign Relations
I used to feel compelled to write something on 9/11. Some of this was just to participate in the discourse, some out of fear that failure to do so would mean moving on and forgetting. In 2009–back when I provided free labor for The Huffington Post–I wrote this on the shadowy but still serious threat […]| The Duck of Minerva
Reflections on the Alaska and Washington Summits The first months of Trump’s return to office have been dominated by one question: what will he do about Ukraine? Supporters insist he alone can brin…| Branislav L. Slantchev
The US-Russia meeting did not produce a deal, but the direction of travel it indicated should alarm Europeans. They must redouble efforts to support Ukraine and bolster their own defences| European Council on Foreign Relations
The foreign policy world is still making sense of the Trump Administration’s massive cuts to the US State Department last week. Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, nearly 1500 employeesR…| The Duck of Minerva
"It’s been a pretty crappy 45 days" for those trying to keep the president from making the same mistakes as his predecessors| Responsible Statecraft
11 July 2025 | PDF: https://issforum.org/to/jrt16-47 | Website: rjissf.org | Twitter: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: John M. Schuessler Production Editor: Christopher Ball Pre…| H-Diplo|RJISSF
The vice-president’s attack on European values signalled a historic realignment. Should the continent seek rapprochement or go its own way? ask Nathalie Tocci, Yanis Varoufakis and others| the Guardian
Jeffrey A. Friedman, Dartmouth College 3 July 2025 | PDF: http://issforum.org/to/RE131 | Website: rjissf.org | X: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: Daniel R. Hart Production Editor…| H-Diplo|RJISSF
1 July 2025 | PDF: http://issforum.org/to/RE129 | Website: rjissf.org | X: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: Daniel R. Hart Production Editor: Christopher Ball Pre-Production Copy…| H-Diplo|RJISSF
I dislike the term “soft power.” We owe the term to the late, great Joseph Nye. He popularized it in his 1990 book, Bound to Lead. Nye’s book was, first and foremost, an intervention in the “declinism” debates of the later 1980s. Japan was at the peak of its influence; some projected that its economy […]| The Duck of Minerva
The current political crisis in Afghanistan is actually an important step towards a realistic peaceful solution: a political “unsettlement”. The post Afghan Peace is Now About the Art of the Possible, Not the Perfect appeared first on Foreign Policy Journal.| Foreign Policy Journal
Renowned international relations scholar and practitioner Joseph S. Nye passed away last week. Numerous tributes have been written, noting his high quality scholarship and influence on US foreign p…| The Duck of Minerva
It’s hard to keep track of the problems confronting Americans these days. But, just in case a reminder is needed, climate change is still a thing. Casual observers may have noted that US climate policy has been…underwhelming, see-sawing between ‘Build Back Better’ aspirations and climate denialism. Now climate policy wunderkind Varun Sivaram has called for a rethink […]| The Duck of Minerva
A new ECFR poll points to Europeans’ widespread (but not universal) reassessment of the transatlantic relationship, and extensive opportunities for the new US president to divide them if they do not…| ECFR
US President Jimmy Carter’s funeral is being held today in Washington, DC at the National Cathedral. Since he passed away shortly after Christmas, tributes have abounded about a man once deri…| The Duck of Minerva
As the Maduro and Trump inaugurations draw near, the outgoing Biden administration met with opposition politician Edmundo González.| Venezuelanalysis
Trump and Netanyahu can finally kill the concept of an independent Palestinian state, part of the ultimate "Art of the Deal."| Politics Today
The West doesn’t have the financial clout to pursue global primacy – if it ever did.| TheAltWorld
Garry Kasparov in a long interview with Rbc-Ukraine: The fall of the “mafia-type dictator” Vladimir Putin “will be inevitable after the liberation of Ukraine. The war cannot end while Putin is in power. Putin’s downfall will be the result of Russia’shttps://t.co/BbRmR7grpi — Maria Esteves (@marlesteves) August 17, 2023 .@Kasparov63: “#Putin’s downfall will be the result... Read More| Kasparov
The idea that he has been running the world betrays a dangerous arrogance about his importance — and current reality| Responsible Statecraft
June 23, 2024 (In this installment, I cover the crucial period from 1989 to the 1999 NATO enlargement. The subsequent developments will be dealt with in a follow-up essay.) In recent days, both Pre…| Branislav L. Slantchev
May 28, 2024 A week or so ago, Aleksandar Djokic sent me some questions about transition to a war economy for an article he was writing (you can read it here). I wrote a reply that was way too long…| Branislav L. Slantchev
ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan is seeking arrest warrants against two Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu, and three Hamas officials.| Jeremy R. Hammond
(The Times of Israel) – Did you notice the three members of Congress wearing swastikas during President Biden’s State of the Union address early in March? They adorned U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Summer Lee (D-Pa.),…| Defend Israel, Defend Freedom
It took a country-wide power outage in Venezuela, whispers of a cyberattack, and smug tweets from US officials to make Continue reading →| Mideast Shuffle
Israelis now find themselves at the cusp of a new era defined by the breakdown of the country’s legal system, political crisis and social instability.| Foreign Policy Journal
May 11, 2023 It has been a month since my last comprehensive update, and now there is enough accumulated material to write an update on the eve of the coming Ukrainian summer offensive. There is a …| Branislav L. Slantchev
