diplomacy

War or peace for Syria: A humanitarian and geopolitical predicament

Syrian flag is raised in Douma, site of alleged chemical attack

17.04.2018

The United States, France and the United Kingdom were forced to attack Syrian government forces for using chemical weapons against rebels. But that cannot disguise the unpleasant fact that the only road to peace in Syria leads to Damascus and President Bashar al-Assad.

Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

POLITICS

GIS Dossier: The North Korean opening

U.S. President Trump meets South Korean envoy Cheong Wa Dae

04.04.2018

President Donald Trump’s surprising decision to hold summit talks with Kim Jong-un has triggered a round of high-stakes diplomacy, including repeat meetings between North and South Korean officials and a lightning visit by Mr. Kim to Beijing. There is nothing accidental about Pyongyang’s charm offensive. It is the moment the North Korean leader has been preparing for years.

GIS Feature

POLITICS

Opinion: Venezuela nears the breaking point

Venezuelans cross the border into Colombia seeking trade goods and refuge

23.03.2018

What will happen to Venezuela after the government tries to steal an unconstitutional presidential election on May 20? Everything depends on the cohesion of the splintered opposition and the determination of the international community. If either fail, the Western hemisphere could be faced with its most severe humanitarian crisis in more than a decade.

Dr. Joseph S. Tulchin

ECONOMY

A free and open Indo-Pacific: Regional and global implications

Chinese expansion has Japan’s and India’s prime ministers seeking U.S. support

20.03.2018

One of the techniques devised for managing China’s ascent and its destabilizing impact is the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” This idea, embraced by the governments of Japan, India and the United States, includes military, economic, political, legal and diplomatic dimensions. Some argue it is a smoke screen to mask U.S. disengagement, while others maintain it is a Japanese-inspired effort to enlist American help.

Dr. James Jay Carafano

POLITICS

Saudi Arabia’s hidden power struggle comes into the open

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

14.02.2018

The arrest of 208 high-ranking individuals in November 2017 on suspicion of corruption suggests that the House of Saud faces serious challenges. King Salman’s son, Mohammad bin Salman, has consolidated power in a way that contravenes the traditional rules of succession of the Saudi ruling dynasty. But amid foreign policy setbacks and a mixed record with domestic reforms, it is far from certain that the Crown Prince will succeed his father on the throne.

Dr. Udo Steinbach

POLITICS

2018 Global Outlook: Four dangerous dynamics in the Middle East

Syrian government artillery shells Islamic State positions near Deir Ezzor

16.01.2018

Early 2018 finds the Middle East at a singular moment in its history. It is hard to recall a period when so many fundamental geopolitical shifts have occurred just as societies, states and alliances in the region were all starting to fall apart. Four disruptive trends can be identified, any one of which would have sufficed to produce regional instability in the not-too-distant past. Today, their combination creates a formidable dynamic for armed conflict.

Bernard Siman

ECONOMY

Opinion: Jerusalem recognition narrows U.S. options on Iran

Egyptians protest the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in Cairo

12.01.2018

President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has hurt U.S. efforts to build a Sunni alliance against Iran. Given the risk of a region-wide conflict erupting near the Golan Heights or in southern Lebanon, its timing was also unfortunate. However, there could be a deeper logic behind the move.

Bernard Siman

ECONOMY

2018 Global Outlook: The Trump presidency, Year Two

U.S. President Trump speaks with reporters after signing the tax reform bill

02.01.2018

After a year in the White House, Donald Trump is suffering as much from his own erratic personality as from the burden of office. Foreign policy in the traditional, institutional sense has ceased to exist, and the way the president and Congress operate suggests there will be little room for maneouver once domestic troubles start to mount. Miscalculation and overreaction become increasingly likely as the global arena grows more precarious.

Dr. Uwe Nerlich

DEFENSE

Washington poised to become New Delhi’s partner in the Indian Ocean

Strategic situation in Indian Ocean with U.S., Chinese and Indian bases and port facilities

27.11.2017

Not since the Cold War has the United States paid such close attention to the Indian Ocean. Now the competitor attracting Washington’s attention is China, not the Soviet Union, and its closest partner is India – a country with its own concerns about Chinese designs in the region. The consequence will be an abiding U.S. military, economic and diplomatic presence in the region.

Dr. James Jay Carafano

POLITICS

Putin’s potential contribution to ending the U.S.-North Korea standoff

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017

07.11.2017

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC summit this weekend. Although allegations of his campaign’s collaboration with Russia during last year’s election has made it hard for Mr. Trump to negotiate with the Kremlin, Mr. Putin’s assistance on the North Korea crisis could prove very useful. It would also be in Russia’s interest. The price the U.S. might have to pay in concessions could be high, but a solution where Washington and Russia cooperate to defuse the North Korea crisis is likely.

Prince Michael of Liechtenstein

POLITICS

War or peace for Syria: A humanitarian and geopolitical predicament

GIS Dossier: The North Korean opening

Opinion: Venezuela nears the breaking point

A free and open Indo-Pacific: Regional and global implications

Saudi Arabia’s hidden power struggle comes into the open

2018 Global Outlook: Four dangerous dynamics in the Middle East

Opinion: Jerusalem recognition narrows U.S. options on Iran

2018 Global Outlook: The Trump presidency, Year Two

Washington poised to become New Delhi’s partner in the Indian Ocean

Putin’s potential contribution to ending the U.S.-North Korea standoff