Politics & Diplomacy

Toward Stability in Mali

By Dustin Dehez

The current crisis in Mali came largely as a shock to the international community. Yet, with the conflict having gone from local insurgency to full scale war and back, plenty of analyses have begun to formulate an early consensus among analysts: the conflict, it is argued, is a direct result of the 2011 civil war […]

UK-France defense cooperation seen as ‘entente frugale’

By Mohammed Abbas and Mark John, Reuters

From Mohammed Abbas and Mark John, Reuters:  Dubbed the "entente frugale" by wags and criticised by some as a dangerous dilution of military sovereignty, Franco-British defence cooperation is nonetheless growing stronger.

Kwasniewski: Ukraine Must Choose Between West and Russia

By James Joyner

Former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski declared Ukraine must choose between the West and Russia–and urged the United States and Europe to work to nudge them in our direction.

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.