News Abroad

Getting Grand Strategy Right

by Hal Brands

Barack Obama dismisses the need for a U.S. grand strategy. This is why he's wrong.

The Treaty that Ended World War II Still Haunts Asia Today

by John W. Dower

The San Francisco Treaty system, which has dominated East Asian politics since World War II, is fraying. Here's how we got here.

What You Need to Know About Crimea: An Interview with Charles E. King

by David Austin Walsh

Georgetown University professor and Ukrainian specialist Charles King explains the history behind the crisis in Crimea.

5 Lessons for Kiev from the Arab Spring

by Juan Cole

Political compromise is necessary, and it's a good thing that the military has so far remained neutral.

The Real Problem with Putin's Russia: Vodka

by Mark Lawrence Schrad

Now that the bear is angry again, let's not lose sight of the fact that Russia faces an almost unprecedented public health crisis due to chronic alcoholism.

Did Obama Just Admit That Iran's Nuclear Program May Be Peaceful?

by Juan Cole

In a joint press conference with the French president, Obama tacitly admitted Iran *might* be negotiating in good faith.

Obama's Hollow Promises Abroad

by Daniel Pipes

As U.S. credibility and stature diminish in world affairs, the American president and his secretaries of state and defense engage in eloquent denial.

Russia and America Were Once BFFs -- Why Not Again?

by Jane Hampton Cook

In the nineteenth century, relations between the U.S. and the Russian Empire were nothing but cordial. Could that happen again?

Everything You Think You Know About the Egyptian Revolution is Wrong

by James L. Gelvin

Five myths about the Egyptian "revolution."

U.S.-China: Nineteenth-Century Anglo-American Rivalry Redux?

by Tim Roberts

Despite all the recent WWI analogies, Sino-American relations may more closely resemble an earlier time.

Ending the World the Human Way

by Tom Engelhardt

How climate change became the "anti-news."

The Very Real Threat of a Terrorist Attack at the Sochi Olympics

by Brian Glyn Williams

Chechnya's "Black Widow" female suicide bombers have proven to be deadly effective in the past.

Now Peace Talks -- and John Kerry -- are "Anti-Semitic"

by Juan Cole

The Israeli far right plays its last card.

Surf Culture Can Teach You A Lot About the Middle East. Seriously.

by Scott Laderman

Conservative critics tore into the Transnational American Studies conference in Beirut last month, and my paper on surf culture in particular. Here's why they're wrong.

Herman Melville's Other Masterpiece was a History of Baby Seal Clubbing -- And American Empire

by Greg Grandin

"Benito Cereno" is one of the darkest stories in American literature, and based on the life of the seal-clubbing ancestor of FDR.

The Perpetrators of the Cambodian Genocide Are *Still* Eluding Justice

by Khatharya Um

Why is Cambodia awash in violence thirty years after the genocide? Simple: because Khmer Rouge officials are still in power today.

The Secret Behind Rob Ford's Amazing Popularity

by Jay Young

Toronto's drug-addled mayor could very well win re-election, due to his appeal to suburban Toronto voters.

Surveillance is the Time-Tested Weapon to Ensure U.S. Global Power

by Alfred McCoy

From the Philippines to the Army's "shoe-leather" surveillance to COINTELPRO, snooping has been an important guarantor of Washington's power for over a century.

The Endless Arms Race

by Lawrence S. Wittner

Despite Great Power promises, more nuclear weapons are on the way.

The Surprisingly Honest Imperialism Behind France's Latest African Venture

by Martin Thomas

French president François Hollande's latest interventionist adventure in the Central African Republic is designed to enforce peace where French interests are imperiled.