Commentary

The Obama administration’s current Russia policy needs a stronger dose of realpolitik. In particular Washington and its G-7 partners should re-evaluate the impact of economic sanctions, imposed on Russia in the wake of its 2014 invasion of Ukraine. Plainly,...

 History indelibly influences foreign policy.  Consciously or unconsciously, government officials rely on their understanding of the past in seeking to address what is happening today; they seek to render new and complex issues more legible by drawing insights from...

It might be said that among foreign policy and national security watchers, Donald Trump is a gift that keeps giving....

Over 15% of Lithuania’s population has left the country since it joined the European Union in 2004. Persistent high rates of emigration present both economic and social challenges to Lithuania.  Most of the emigrants are young, skilled, and well...

The revolution in Tunisia has arguably been by far the most successful of the Arab Spring movements to date. Longtime president Zine El Abadine Ben Ali has been deposed, a new Constitution has been implemented, and the big-tent, secular...

Discussions of security in the Baltic states often focus on the countries’ need to control their border with Russia. These countries’ complicated electricity relations with Russia raise important security questions, too. Some Baltic security analysts fear that Russia could...

The March 9-11 state visit to Washington by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau was the first such by a Canadian prime minister in 19 years. Reflecting Trudeau’s rock star persona in Canada, the visit was high on glitz and ceremony,...

Over the years I have come to appreciate the reality that a book is about as good as it may be useful to its particular reader. And since the experience, intelligence, and purposes of readers naturally differ so much,...

To fathom the support from Christian Americans (Evangelical and Roman Catholic) for Donald Trump, perhaps a comparison to Turkey will help. The republic of Turkey has a long history of religious and secular rivalry. To make Turkey...

  When warned that his willingness to strike compromises on difficult questions would hurt his political career, Henry Clay offered in response the immortal line: “I’d rather be right than President.” That has become one of the most famous...