Publications

The National Interest Vladimir Putin had his own “Mission Accomplished” moment for Syria. In a surprise visit to Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia Province, the Russian president declared that the two-year mission of “assistance” had enabled the Syrian regime...

The Atlantic Among the many odd elements of President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. Embassy in Israel will move to Jerusalem is that it comes precipitously in advance of Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to region. The purpose...

American Greatness Healthy relations between America’s civil and military populations depend upon the mutual trust, respect, and understanding between civilian and military leaders. This promotes the exchange of candid views and perspectives as part of the decision-making process. While...

Brookings Institute African think tanks are under serious threat: Many of the credible think tanks have disappeared, and the survival of the remaining ones is at stake. In fact, at the first Africa Think Tank Summit in 2014 in South...

In October and November 2017, Central Asia and the Caucasus witnessed yet another set of Russian-led military exercises under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Codenamed “Combat Brotherhood-2017,” the exercises engaged the CSTO’s entire collective forces—from...

The Hill Since the Black Sea and its littorals have become contested zones between Russia and the West, it behooves us to think cogently about U.S. interests in the equally important Caucasus and how to defend them. Our vital...

On September 11, 2014, a flurry of tweets, a fake Wikipedia page, and photoshopped imagery of CNN news articles spread across the internet to convince Americans that ISIS had attacked a chemical plant in Louisiana. Widespread panic ensued, and...

President Trump’s announcement yesterday that the U.S. government would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital predictably set off a preternaturally gigantic spilling of electronic ink. A good deal of it on the radio and in social media, as best I...

By some measures, Eurasia’s energy landscape has changed more in the past several years than in the previous several decades. The price of oil remains at half its level of four years ago and shows no sign of rising....

It is an honor to have been invited to present the twenty-first Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. It is humbling to be part of a series that has included scholars whose...