Departments

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international relations

  • SOURCE: The Guardian
    12/22/2020

    Biden Wants to Convene an International 'Summit for Democracy'. He Shouldn't

    by David Adler and Stephen Wertheim

    Joe Biden has proposed a summit of democratic nations; this would be an unfortunate exercise in dividing the world into camps of nations following the US and those opposed, without strict regard for whether those nations actually practice democracy. Instead, the authors argue, the US must lead by example: close tax shelters, put the wealthy under the rule of law, and help other nations to control their oligarchs. 

  • 12/20/2020

    Peace is Good. But are More Peace Deals Necessarily Better?

    by Catherine Baylin Duryea

    The recent normalization of relations between Israel and Morocco extends longstanding covert cooperation between the two nations, but troublingly reflects Mideast politics that are increasingly aimed at isolating Iran. It also includes concessions that  contribute to the marginalization of the people of Western Sahara.

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    12/15/2020

    The World’s Most Important Body of Water

    by Daniel Yergin

    The author of a book on the dispute over control of the South China sea examines four critical decisionmakers whose actions shaped the present conflict. 

  • SOURCE: Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
    12/5/2020

    Wrestling With Woodrow Wilson’s Complicated Legacy

    A longtime Virginia political observer suggests that there is more to learn by considering Woodrow Wilson's complex social views and political legacy than by taking his clear racism as reason to hide him from sight. 

  • SOURCE: The Atlantic
    11/18/2020

    The World Is Never Going Back to Normal

    by Anne Applebaum

    American allies can read the newspapers, and have adjusted their expectations of American leadership accordingly in the last four years. It's unlikely a Biden administration can restore American leadership. 

  • SOURCE: American Conservative
    11/11/2020

    The Origins Of U.S. Global Dominance

    by Daniel Larison

    A conservative historian reviews a new book on the history of American interventionism and advocates for reorganizing foreign policy without the imperative to dominate the world. 

  • SOURCE: London Review of Books
    11/1/2020

    Warfare State (Review Essay)

    by Thomas Meaney

    Two new books articulate a critique from a conservative perspective of American military intervention abroad. 

  • SOURCE: Made By History at The Washington Post
    9/28/2020

    The forgotten alliance between Black activists and China

    by Chang Che

    Black activists have long leveraged American desires for international legitimacy to forge antiracist alliances with China. Today, the Black Lives Matter movement has received support from Beijing, but must consider the costs of an alliance with a regime with its own human rights issues. 

  • SOURCE: The Conversation
    6/10/2020

    How the US Government Sold the Peace Corps to the American Public

    by Wendy Melillo

    Given the growing counterculture movement in the early 1960s, the government feared that few young Americans would be motivated to join the Peace Corps by a message that they’d be volunteering to help to fight communism. 

  • SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
    6/7/2020

    Yes, America Is in a Cold War With China

    "For too long the U.S. has looked the other way as the Chinese Communist Party has waged a new cold war against the American order," writes Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher.

  • SOURCE: New York Times
    6/4/2020

    The Damage Trump Has Done This Week Extends Far Beyond America’s Borders

    by Mary L. Dudziak

    Concern that Orval Faubus's defiant stand for school segregation in Arkansas would sully America's reputation abroad pushed Dwight Eisenower to deploy the National Guard in the interest of both racial justice and American leadership. Calls to deploy the military today must consider this context.