Ideas

'A Sudden Burst of Movement’ on the Afghan Peace Process

The reported U.S. offer of direct talks with the Taliban is adding to rare optimism in Afghanistan.

Ideas

Yemen's Fleeting Opportunity for Peace

A deal to stop a bloody fight over Hodeidah has no shot without the full backing of the Saudi-led coalition and the West.

Ideas

Trump Meets Putin While America Confronts Russia

The U.S. president may be seeking better terms with his counterpart. But the relationship between their countries just seems to keep getting worse.

Ideas

The Self-Inflicted Demise of American Power

The effect of Trump’s foreign-policy doctrine can be summed up as “Make America Weak Again.”

Ideas

The West Will Survive Trump

The trans-Atlantic alliance has seen worse.

Ideas

The Rise of Iraq's Young Secularists

On Facebook and in the cafés of decimated Mosul, they envision a country free from political Islam. Do they have a shot?

Ideas

Can Global Agreements Survive Without the US? Climate Change Offers A Test Case

American withdrawal from the Paris agreement is a test for the future of the globe, but also for the international order.

Policy

Has Trump Irreversibly Altered the GOP's Foreign Policy?

He’s reprising a struggle within the party that was fought in the 1950s—with long-term results.

Ideas

The French President Has Described America Like a Rogue State

"We have to try to convince the United States to remain in the community of nations.”

Ideas

I'm an Actor and Activist. Silence Is Just Not an Option

After Roseanne's tweets, critics again want to silence all artists. But I'm a 10-year advocate for human rights in Iran and done right political participation should include all people — including celebrities.

Ideas

Trump’s Reckoning Arrives

The president’s unpredictability once worked to his advantage—but now, it is producing a mounting list of foreign-policy failures.

Ideas

A Reckoning for Obama's Foreign-Policy Legacy

Veterans of the last administration are learning a hard lesson: Policies constructed by executive order and executive agreement are just as easily blown up by them.

Ideas

Trumpism: Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick

'It’s entirely possible that the blowup is just yet to come,' says one observer of the president’s foreign policy.

Ideas

John Bolton Is Misunderstood

The actual track record of Trump’s next national-security adviser offers cause for cautious optimism.

Policy

How John Bolton Views US Allies and Adversaries

His 2007 memoir lays out the incoming national-security adviser’s worldview.

Ideas

Foreign Governments Are Funneling Money into Trump's Hotels. We Still Don't Know How Much.

The Trump Organization’s response to the problem of foreign governments trying to curry favor with the president is an empty gesture.

Ideas

The Dark Arts of Foreign Influence-Peddling

The Mueller investigation is showing the extent of Russian operations. But its real import extends far beyond that.

Ideas

Global Elites Cannot Save a World In Turmoil

Last weekend’s security conference in Munich was a stark reminder that this class has nothing of substance to offer a world in turmoil.

Ideas

Trump’s National-Security Strategy Is Focused on Great Powers. He Isn’t.

On Tuesday, the president rushed past Russia and China to talk about immigrants, terrorism, and North Korea.

Ideas

The Most Dangerous Word in the Draft Nuclear Posture Review

By insisting that future arms control agreements be “enforceable,” the Trump administration could substitute military strikes for diplomacy.