Politics & Diplomacy

State of the Order: Assessing May 2023

The State of the Order breaks down the month's most important events impacting the democratic world order.

Authoritarian investment in southeastern Europe is a security threat. Here’s what NATO can do.

By Jeffrey Lightfoot and John Kay

Stronger investment screening in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia will help strengthen NATO against economic weapons that are increasingly central to today’s conflicts.

Fore! reasons why the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States won’t block the PGA Tour/LIV Golf merger

By Sarah Bauerle Danzman

The rule of law will likely prevent CFIUS from blocking a transaction that worries some lawmakers but does not rise to the level of a clear national security risk. 

Beyond the counteroffensive: 84% of Ukrainians are ready for a long war

By Peter Dickinson

84% of Ukrainians reject any compromise with Russia and are ready for a long war if necessary in order to fully de-occupy their country. Most simply see no middle ground between genocide and national survival, writes Peter Dickinson.

What’s really behind plans for a NATO office in Japan

By Sara Bjerg Moller

What's really behind Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's recent announcement that his government is exploring opening a NATO-liaison office in Tokyo?

Russia’s failing Ukraine invasion is exposing Putin’s many weaknesses

By Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine is exposing all of his personal weaknesses as a ruler and casting an unforgiving light on the extensive damage he has done to Russia, writes Anders Åslund.