The renewed turmoil in Gaza — the third such clash since Hamas seized power there in 2007 — has elicited a great deal of commentary, as it deserves to do. Much of it, however, focuses on the facts of the moment rather than the underlying causes. Indeed, even the fairly numerous demands to address the […]
There has been a lot of speculation lately about the impact of the Crimean Crisis on the situations in Syria and Iran. The current negotiations regarding these countries involve cooperation between Russia, the United States, and other countries now directly and indirectly involved on opposites sides of the Crimean question. Naturally, that bodes ill for […]
As regular readers know, the United States and five other countries (P5+1) concluded an interim nuclear agreement (the Joint Plan of Action) with Iran, setting the conditions that will hold during negotiations on a final agreement concerning the Iranian nuclear program and the international economic sanctions imposed on that country and also outlining some aspects […]
As readers already know, the P5+1 and Iran concluded an interim agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear program. This was accomplished in remarkably little time despite some reporters’ harried declarations that the talks were on the verge of collapse. (Reporters sometimes accept at face value “confidences” from diplomats that are really part of the bargaining process. It […]
Discussions of possible intervention in Syria, like the run-up to the Iraq War, have focused on the nature of the available intelligence. The intelligence task in Syria is fundamentally different from the one in Iraq—and actually much easier—and getting the facts right is certainly worth the effort. Still, the emphasis on intelligence is unusual in […]
By Sarwar Kashmeri It is time for the United States to stop spending its resources, goodwill and credibility in the futile quest of trying to influence the trajectory of events in Egypt, Syria and the surrounding Arab states. Leadership now requires that America recognize, no matter how much it may wish it to be otherwise, […]
The chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Yu Zhengsheng, visited Finland, Sweden, and Denmark earlier this month. In Finland, the president and CEO of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (E.K.), Jyri Häkämies, expressed that the two countries’ expertises are complementary. Elaborating on this point, he suggested that the two countries should […]
As Barack Obama is about to embark on his historic tour of Africa, many South Africans are asking why it should matter to them. There are numerous reasons why a visit from the President of the United States is an historic occasion. First, the U.S. helps save South African lives. Since 2004, Washington has […]
FPA event – “Iran and the U.S.: Endless Enemies?” Ambassador John W. Limbert joined the Foreign Policy Association at The Colony Club this past Wednesday, April 24 to discuss anything but the nuclear situation in Iran. Limbert’s lecture suggested that if the only topic of U.S.-Iranian relations continues to be nuclear weapons, we will never […]
Last month, I discussed Japan’s designation of Masuo Nishibayashi as Arctic Ambassador — the second Asian country to create such a position. While Japan joins Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Russia and Singapore as countries with Arctic ambassadors or equivalent positions, the United States still does not have a similar role. Canada once had an Ambassador […]
Japan has appointed an Arctic Ambassador, a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states. Masuo Nishibayashi is already the Ambassador in charge of Cultural Exchange, so he will now fill two roles simultaneously. Nishibayashi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983 and has spent most of his career in the Americas. He has […]
Give the people sports and they will forget all about politics. Such a maxim could be attributed to all manner of political figures from Commodus to Machiavelli. We can now add Kim Jong Un to that list after the North Korean leader welcomed former NBA weirdo Dennis Rodman to Pyongyang for a basketball game between […]
You might think most foreign policy wonks were looking forward to last night’s presidential debate but most I know were actually dreading it. It was well known that the difficult and pressing questions on foreign policy would not be asked, and to be honest, foreign policy requires far more nuance and complexity than can fit […]
Global Brief, Canada’s leading geopolitical magazine, asks four writers in different policy fields what they think key questions for the next U.S. president should be. Responses given by the four writers range from fiscal policy (M. Stabile) to the potential for a new war in the Middle East (M. Fitzpatrick), to approaches to Iran’s nuclear […]
Since coming into office as Secretary of State in 2009, Hillary Clinton has pushed an agenda of “21st Century Statecraft” to adapt foreign policy to the 21st century world. A major part of this agenda involves increasing and encouraging the use of connection technologies in foreign policy. The State Department is not alone in this […]