Category: Blogs

Why Trump Should Strengthen America’s ‘French Connection’

By Leo Michel

What does the Trump Administration portend for U.S.-French relations on defense matters?

Trump’s Executive Order by the Numbers

By Emily Burchfield and Rachel Kreisman

On January 27, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on immigration, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” The order places a ban on the entry of foreign nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen for 90 days; suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days; and […]

UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050 Embraces Renewables

The changing dynamics of the energy landscape have undeniable geopolitical implications, said the United Arab Emirates’ Energy Minister, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, noting that his nation has made great strides toward establishing regional stability through the development of clean energy. “In any geopolitical situation… you’ll find energy is either an enabler or an issue […]

Trump’s Travel Ban: A Self-Inflicted Wound

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s executive order that prevents refugees from around the world and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States has triggered warning calls from critics about the damage it could inflict on US interests, values, and national security. “The ban not only provides fuel for the radicals, but it also […]

Are the Baltic States Really Indefensible?

By Stephen Blank

One of the great canards of our time is that the Baltic states are indefensible. Although the reasons for making this argument are rarely spelled out, they revolve around the presumption that Russia not only enjoys local conventional superiority, but also that NATO cannot and often implicitly should not defend them and thereby make a […]

Trump’s Immigration Ban Will Have ‘Catastrophic Implications’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) sees order as a ‘gift’ to hardliners in Iran US President Donald Trump’s executive order that curtails immigration and the rights of refugees is illegal, has “catastrophic implications” for the United States, and is a “gift” to hardliners in Iran as it paints all Iranians as a security threat to the […]

Ukraine Needs Investment, Not Just Solidarity: Time for International Donors to Pony Up

By Anders Åslund

After three years of heroic reforms following the Euromaidan, Ukraine has restored macroeconomic stability. The economy is growing again, but far too slowly. The expected growth is 2.5 percent in 2017. But it should swing up to six to eight percent, as it was for eight years in the early 2000s. The key now is […]

What Does Astana Bode for Next Week’s Peace Talks

By Daniel R. DePetris

For the first time since the war in Syria began six years ago, representatives from the Assad regime and the multiple opposition factions seeking its overthrow met face-to-face in a Kazakhstan conference room in an attempt to arrive at some minor understanding on tamping down the violence.  The initiative devised and sponsored by Russia, Iran, […]

The Executive Order

By Frederic C. Hof

Tailors understand the necessity of measuring at least twice before cutting.  Good leaders and managers customarily apply the same procedure to decision-making.  “Act in haste, repent at leisure” is not just an aphorism.  It is a lesson often learned the hard way by those who cut carelessly.  Although White House reactions to the confusion and […]