Russia is gloating after the weekend EU summit failed to impose sanctions for the invasion of Georgia. The EU decided to do what it could to help Georgia rebuild and may consider further actions in the future, depending on whether Russia honors the ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, Dick Cheney is in the region to offer U.S. […]
The U.S. and the UK have collaborated in Iraq and countless other endeavors over many generations. In this piece in the Financial Times, Martin Wolf argue that the ongoing presidential election may well determine the character of the next, and possibly final, era of Anglo-American hegemony. Wolf says it's all about the choice between conflict […]
Continuing on Moises Naim's theme of fixing double standards in American foreign policy (mentioned in my last post), Brookings Institution press recently published a book called Alliance Curse: How America Lost the Third World. Authored by Hilton L. Root, a professor at George Mason University's School of Public Policy, the book argues that US policy […]
Let's take a step back and review the situation with Russia and Georgia. Georgia attacked the breakaway region of South Ossetia, Russia invaded Georgia to defend South Ossetia, and proceeded farther into Georgia proper, then retreated somewhat to an expanded security zone, still inside Georgia, and now has recognized the independence of South Ossetia and […]
As you all know, this is a blog about the US Presidential candidates’ views on the world, and vice versa. Last week we explored the foreign policy outlook of the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Joe Biden. Now that Senator John McCain has named his pick for vice president, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, it's her turn. […]
These, days, advice for the next President is not hard to come by. Everyone seems to be urging the next President to tackle issue x or cause y. But some advice stands out more than others. In particular, the opinion of two respected voices in the field of diplomacy is worth mentioning: First, in an […]
I’d like to recommend Foreign Policy Digest as a resource for information and analysis. Here is how they describe themselves on their About page: FPD focuses exclusively on world affairs and provides a platform designed specifically for the new social media generation. The purpose of the digest is to provide greater access to international issues […]
The Council on Foreign Relations’ campaign website published a great synthesis of interviews with the international press corps at the Democratic National Convention in Denver to find out how their national publics views of the US presidential debate. CFR.org interviewed reporters from Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Kuwait, Germany, Denmark, among others. It's a great read. The […]
The United Nations Foundation released a public opinion poll this week, focusing on Americans’ foreign policy priorities. The headline: “New Opinion Research Shows American Voters Reject “Going It Alone”, Embrace International Cooperation.” From the press release: “An underlying shift is occurring in American attitudes regarding the international role and priorities of the United States. Voters across the party […]
How much help should the U.S. offer Georgia? More U.S. humanitarian assistance has recently arrived in Georgia and aid is welcome but that fact the aid is delivered by warships is not making Russia happy (AFP – Second US aid ship arrives in Georgia): A second US naval ship carrying aid to Georgia arrived in the […]
It seems like each new day brings a new development in the Georgian crisis. Today President Bush reacted to Russia recognizing the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia (The Associated Press – Bush slams Russian recognition of breakaway areas): In an escalating war of words, President Bush on Tuesday urged Russia to reconsider its […]
As Russia recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia the White House has decided to send Dick Cheney to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Italy next week. I can't help wonder if it would be more productive to send him to Russia as well? It seems to me that some clear communication with Russia might […]
Almost immediately after Senator Barack Obama named his running mate veteran news media began delving into newly-named Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden's foreign policy outlook. There is a lot ot cover, thanks to his 36-year career in the Senate and his long-standing seat on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, which he currently chairs. First, an article in yesterday's New York Times: […]
With the aid of hindsight, we can now understand that the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia wasthe product of miscalculations and misperceptions on the part of both the Georgian and Russian leadership. But to many the conflict reveals much about the current state of international affairs, and provides a base from which the US can calculate its future foreign […]
In this New York Times op-ed, Prof. Ronald Steel, University of Southern California, argues that the U.S. needs to return to treating Russia as a superpower (A Superpower Is Reborn): The limits of Russia's post-cold-war retreat have apparently been reached, and the reversal of the power equation has gone too far to be sustained. […]