Ideas

How the White House Is Spinning the North Korea Summit Collapse

The administration no longer thinks Trump alone can reach a deal with Kim Jong Un.

Ideas

Is Trump Giving Up on a Nuclear-Free North Korea?

The Vietnam summit showed just how high the price of denuclearization will be.

Ideas

After Raising the Stakes for North Korea Summit, Trump Walks Away

It seemed history was about to be made. Then the second meeting between the U.S. and North Korean leaders concluded abruptly.

Ideas

The India-Pakistan Crisis Has Lessons for Trump and Kim

As the U.S. president meets with North Korea’s dictator, he ought to heed the military escalation in South Asia.

Ideas

Trump Thinks Only He Can Fix North Korea, Cutting Experts Out

His negotiators are in a bind: putting the U.S. and North Korean leaders in a room is a high-risk gamble.

Ideas

The United States Is Still Trying to Sell North Korea on Denuclearization

Days before Donald Trump’s second summit with Kim Jong Un, an administration official admits that Kim may not be prepared to part with his nuclear weapons.

Ideas

South Korea Becomes a Testing Ground for Trump’s Grievances With Allies

The motto for the U.S.–South Korea alliance isn’t “We go together, if I get enough money as reimbursement,” one analyst observed.

Ideas

The White House’s Move on Venezuela Is the Least Trumpian Thing It’s Done

The Trump administration’s concerted diplomatic effort did not originate on Twitter.

Ideas

Meet the New (Acting) US Defense Secretary

With no military experience and just a year and a half in government, the former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan has yet to develop a foreign-policy vision of his own.

Ideas

The World in 2019: Trump’s Luck, Cold Wars, and Trouble in the Americas

As foreign-policy experts assess what the year ahead holds, one issue comes to the fore: whether President Trump’s good fortune will continue.

Policy

Trump Taps Loyalist Fox News Veteran as UN Ambassador

Heather Nauert, currently the State Department’s chief spokesperson, is not known for challenging her superiors.

Policy

Nikki Haley Touts Values-Based Foreign Policy, Showing Daylight with Trump

In an interview with The Atlantic, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to the UN made the case for a values-driven foreign policy, and acknowledged daylight between her and the president.

Ideas

The Trump Administration Wonders: Should We Seek a ‘Cold War’ With China?

As the White House spars with a rising China, it can look to the United States’ postwar dealings with the Soviet Union for guidance.

Ideas

The Korean War is Ending — With or Without Denuclearization

Reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula is happening faster than denuclearization. The United States might not be willing to accept that.

Ideas

Mike Pence and The Return of Faith-Based Foreign Policy

In Asia, Trump's vice president delivered a Christian message all on his own.

Policy

Trump Warns Against New Russia Probes by Congress

Incoming House intelligence chair: We “have a compelling interest in making sure that U.S. policy is not driven by leverage that the Russians have over the president.”

Ideas

In a Post-Khashoggi World, Impunity Will Reign

The ugly geopolitics in the wake of the Saudi journalist’s death point to a new era of impunity.

Policy

Pompeo's Foreign Policy? Follow Trump's Lead

Pompeo has responded to the Khashoggi affair in lockstep with Trump.

Ideas

Trump Asks, 'I Mean, What's an Ally?'

In the president's world, there is no higher question than “who’s getting paid?”

Ideas

Who Will Replace Nikki Haley?

Trump has increasingly sought advisers who are less apt to push back on his disruptive agenda.