Blogs

China in the 2020 Campaign: Missing in Action

It has long been a truism in American politics that elections focus almost entirely on issues of domestic policy while foreign policy is barely mentioned. As a result, we elect presidents with hardly a clue as to how...

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North Korea, December 2019: Business as Usual, but Pyongyang is Worse Off

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that hopes of a deal between the US and North Korea appear to be crumbling fast. North Korea’s end-of-the-year deadline for negotiations is coming up, and the regime hinted this week that it...

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The Pensacola Attack and its Implications

Last week Royal Saudi Air Force 2LT Mohammed Alshamrani killed three people and wounded eight others in a terrorist attack at Pensacola Naval Air Station. He was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in response. The gun he used was...

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Pork Apocalypse: African Swine Fever and the U.S.-China Trade War

In December 2019, China announced that it would waive its high tariffs on American pork for Chinese importers.  Beijing portrayed it as a “goodwill gesture” in its long-running trade war against the United States.  But, in reality, it was...

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Beyond Macron’s Subversive NATO Comments: France’s Growing Unease with the Alliance

In deciding to give an interview to The Economist where he declared NATO “brain dead,” President Emmanuel Macron certainly knew he would spark indignation among his fellow European leaders. He chose to do it nevertheless, not out of proverbial...

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With the Islamic State’s al-Baghdadi Dead, Where does Jihadist Terrorism Go?

The complex heliborne raid occurring yesterday killed the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The long sought after terror leader’s death marks a milestone for the U.S. campaign to defeat the Islamic State, particularly at a time...

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Resilient Lebanon? What Makes the Protests in Lebanon Different Than Before?

In 2011, protesters and insurgents brought down multiple decaying Arab regimes in what came to be known as the “Arab Spring.” Lebanon, as poorly governed as many other Arab countries, experienced nothing of the sort. This stability usually has...

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How the United States Can Escape the Middle East’s Proxy Wars

President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of troops from Syria has laid bare contending visions about U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Trump depicts the move as extricating the U.S. from the Middle East’s quagmire of “endless war.” Critics see it...

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The Yushan Forum and Taiwan’s Warm Power

Entering its third year, the 2019 Yushan Forum, centered on “Deepening Progressive Partner-ships in Asia,” was attended by 30 ambassadors and foreign representatives from 22 countries. The theme focused on the efforts from governmental sectors and non-governmental organiza-tions as...

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Building from Scratch: Rebirth of the Philippine Navy

In many respects, the navy that the Philippines is now building is a new one. By the 1990s, its old navy had fallen into such a state of obsolescence that it had no ships capable of fighting a modern...

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