TOPICS

Asher Orkaby The Houthi rebel group’s sudden turn from peace talks to missile attacks on Israel threatens to upend the whole Middle East. Less than a month ago, it seemed as if the Houthi rebel group was on the verge of reaching a peaceful accord with Saudi Arabia …

Jacob Heilbrun  Picking Tucker would be another sign that Trump has zero interest in catering to moderate voters and is all-in on trying to galvanize the MAGA base to turn up at the polls. Former president Donald Trump has never thought small. In a second term, he plans, …

Graham Allison What is the significance of the Biden-Xi summit on Wednesday? In one line: two adult leaders engaging in serious, candid, private conversation about the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world. What is the significance of the Biden-Xi summit on Wednesday? In one line: two adult …

North Korea policy in the first Trump administration allowed the U.S. to test the proposition that maximum sanctions pressure on the North Korean economy, combined with the allure of summit-level diplomacy with the U.S., would sufficiently alter Kim Jong Un’s calculus about giving up his nuclear deterrent. That …

By January 20, 2025, when Donald John Trump or someone else is sworn in, the United States could be in a hot war with North Korea. Donald Trump turned America’s North Korea policy upside down. After a period of strict sanctions enforcement and inflammatory words—“fire and fury,” “locked …

Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh The unfolding dynamics in the Middle East, particularly amidst the ongoing Gaza war, signal a complex interplay of global power politics. As historian Paul Kennedy aptly observed in “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers”, the contemporary maneuverings of dominant nations in the …

Alexander Langlois Hassan Nasrallah portrayed an active fight against Israel and the chance of escalation to depict his group’s efforts to fight the enemy, likely hoping to subdue criticism for perceived inaction. All eyes were on Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in anticipation of his first speech since …

Gregg Priddy  The Biden administration must defuse escalation before it’s too late. The sighs of relief in Washington that accompanied Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech on November 3, in which he did not signal any immediate escalation against Israel, now seem premature. While it is clear that neither Iran …

Jerry Jaar The rationale and timing of the Biden-Xi meetup should be clear: both leaders are confronting challenges domestically and internationally. The United States announced in August new visa restrictions on current and former Chinese officials for their involvement in what U.S. and U.N. officials say is the …