Essays
ABDULMONAM EASSA/AFP/Getty Images
The Trouble With Optimism
Syria in the Rear-View Mirror

The fanciful belief that things can’t get any worse in the Syrian civil war is about to be tested.

Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Anniversaries
Lithuania’s Centennial and the Success of Democracy

As the American public grows weary of spreading democracy abroad, Lithuania’s centennial is a timely reminder of the positive change such efforts can bring.

(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Sayre's Law
Congress: Where Politics Goes To Die

Today’s Congress is failing because it gives its members so few chances to openly debate and make meaningful decisions.

(ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Failed State Watch
The Bygone Hope of South Sudan

As the Trump Administration imposes an arms embargo on South Sudan, it’s worth reflecting on just what went wrong in the world’s newest state—and whether any other outcome was possible in the first place.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Chaos and Collusion
Carter Page, Useful Idiot

The demonization of Carter Page highlights the most alarming aspect of our recent domestic political turmoil—a disturbing conviction that basic standards of truth or fairness must not be allowed to deflect from the paramount objective of toppling Trump.

Wikimedia Commons
Eurasian Futures
Two Belts, Two Roads

The emergence of the Indo-Pacific concept shows how our mental maps are being redrawn in Asia—with geopolitical implications that are only beginning to come into view.

PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images
Transatlantic Ties
Trump’s European Misstep

The European Union is taking a more active role in its own defense, and the Trump Administration should be jumping for joy. Why isn’t it?

HMS Queen Elizabeth and USS George H.W. Bush (Wikimedia Commons)
Re-Anchoring NATO
The US Needs to Boost Bilateral Relationships in Europe

And it should start by focusing on the “strategic triad” of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland.

You Can't Go Home Again
Russia’s Rich Exiles Are Gone For Good

As the election looms, the Kremlin is peddling a narrative that its exiled businessmen are begging to bring their money home. Don’t believe the hype.

Asian Futures
Limiting Chinese Aggression: A Strategy of Counter-Pressure

Five strategic fallacies are causing us to overlook a range of options for deterring Beijing.

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