Politics & Diplomacy

Turmoil in Tbilisi: Georgia’s Dream Imperiled

By Matthew Bryza

The culture of democracy in Georgia requires serious repair. Despite groundbreaking reforms over nearly a decade, and the freest and fairest election in the country’s history last October, mob violence recently made a near-comeback as Georgia’s primary tool of political change. 

The Hart-Dworkin Debate, and Egyptian Legal Reform

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Ronald Dworkin, one of the most consequential legal philosophers in history, passed away earlier this month.

U.S. proposes a ‘cyber work plan’ for NATO

By John Reed, Killer Apps

German Foreign Ministry: NATO reforms moving at ‘snail’s pace’

By Matthias Gebauer, Ralf Neukirch, Gordon Repinski and Christoph Schult, Spiegel

From Matthias Gebauer, Ralf Neukirch, Gordon Repinski and Christoph Schult, Spiegel:  With unprecedented bluntness, a confidential analysis by the German Foreign Ministry reveals how few of the programs that were announced at the NATO summit in Chicago last year have been implemented.

Are Syrian rebels now armed with heavy weapons from Croatia?

By Michael Weiss, NOW

From Michael Weiss, NOW :  In one of the most strangely neglected stories in the two-year Syria conflict, beginning on January 1, four new weapon models began appearing in large quantities in Daraa province, none used at any time by the Syrian military.

Defense minister says France’s lack of drones is ‘incomprehensible’

By Steven Erlanger, New York Times

From Steven Erlanger, New York Times:   “I had always been the boss of regional councils, but not in a situation to decide a war,” he [French Defense Minister  Jean-Yves Le Drian] said.

Germany must decide the power it wields

By Ulrich Speck, Financial Times

From Ulrich Speck, Financial Times:  For Germany, the status quo is not an option any more.

Obama’s Chance for a Legacy

By Frederick Kempe

President Barack Obama devoted just one sentence in last week’s State of the Union address to call for a new transatlantic trade and investment deal. However, if negotiated with sufficient ambition and presidential engagement, it is Obama’s best chance yet at leaving a positive foreign policy legacy.