Gazproblems
A Chilling Specter Looms Over Europe

Fears of gas supply disruptions this winter are rampant in Europe, as countries worry that the pricing dispute between Kiev and Moscow will affect gas flows across the continent.

Islamists in Africa
Boko Haram’s Mosul Moment?

Nigeria may have contained Ebola, but keeping Boko Haram from establishing an Islamic State will be a hard and bloody fight.

The Turkish Dilemma
Turkey’s AUMF in the Shifting Sands of Syria and Iraq

Turkey has authorized military force in Syria and Iraq, but don’t expect much action until it can align intervention with its strategic commitments.

Settled Science
New Study: Temperature Targets Are Ineffective Climate Policy Tools

Authors of a new study in the journal Nature argue that the well-known 2 degrees Celsius target, popular amongst climate activists and policymakers, is a poor metric by which to set climate policies.

China and its neighbors
U.S. Loosens Restrictions on Weapons Sales to Vietnam

The U.S. eased an embargo on lethal arms sales to Vietnam, citing the country’s improved human rights record. But what the U.S. is really interested in here is countering China’s territorial aggression.

Carrying a Little Stick
U.S. Airstrikes in Syria May Actually Be Bolstering ISIS’s Position

American airstrikes aren’t doing much damage to ISIS—just giving our enemies cause to ally with each other.

Sanctions and strategy
Sanctions on Russia Could Backfire

Using sanctions to ban Russia from using the SWIFT international money transfer system would hurt Russia, but it carries real risks for the U.S. and the West as well. Though the costs of overusing the sanctions lever may be longterm, it would be foolish to overlook them.

Homo Americanus
Guitar Hero

John Woodland nearly lost his mind and marriage tracking down the origins of the Martin D-45 Dreadnought, that most iconic of American guitars.

DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images
South of the Border
The Drug War Divide

The Obama Administration’s more nuanced approach to domestic drug policy has no parallel south of the border, where militarized narco-inanity continues apace.

Political Development
Populist Illusions and Pluralist Realities

Efforts at reform that maximize democratic access fail to acknowledge the limits of citizen capacity and interest.

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