Ideas

Even a Bolder Biden Will Only Go So Far

The pandemic has expanded his ambitions—just not enough to challenge the Pentagon.

Ideas

But What About China?

To treat great-power competition as an afterthought is irresponsible, even dangerous. The 2020 presidential candidates did just that.

Ideas

Bolton Keeps Trying to Goad Iran Into War

For more than a decade, he’s consistently promoted war with Iran. All that has changed are the pretexts he’s offering to justify one.

Ideas

How Is Iran Worse Than Saudi Arabia?

A rational foreign policy would view Tehran as a normal regional power jockeying with equally sharp-elbowed foes. 2020 Democrats can lead the way.

Ideas

Why Trump Is Trying to Create a Crisis

The president didn’t declare a state of national emergency on Tuesday night, but he laid the foundation for doing so.

Ideas

What Elizabeth Warren’s Speech Says About The Left’s Foreign-Policy Debate

The senator from Massachusetts will deliver a speech on Thursday that demonstrates her differences with other progressives—particularly with respect to China.

Ideas

Trump Hobbled Efforts to Counter Violent Extremism

The administration cut programs designed to prevent atrocities like Pittsburgh.

Ideas

America Needs a Non-Unipolar Foreign Policy

Trump’s election should remind Congress and policymakers that the U.S. cannot do it all.

Ideas

NATO Doesn’t Need 4% Defense Spending

Trump's new call for allies to spend 4 percent of their GDPs on defense makes no sense. Even America shouldn't do that.

Ideas

How Sanctions Feed Authoritarianism

Past experience shows that economic pressure does change societies—but it mostly facilitates hardliners. Iran’s regime may be next.

Ideas

A Radical Pick for the National Security Council

John Bolton’s new chief of staff comes from the Center for Security Policy, a group that was largely shunned by conservatives in Washington—but is making a comeback in the Trump era.

Ideas

'All Is Shambles': The Days After the Iran Deal

Prominent advocates for withdrawal grappled too little with the possibility that the president cannot pull this off.

Ideas

Iran Hawks Are the New Iraq Hawks

Many of the assumptions that guided America’s march to conflict in 2003 still dominate American foreign policy today.

Ideas

Is Trump Preparing for War With North Korea?

The omissions in the State of the Union, and the fate of Victor Cha, all point in the same direction.

Policy

Islamophobia No Longer Needs Terrorism as a Justification

Conservatives are finding new justifications for anti-Muslim sentiments—and embedding them more deeply in America’s political terrain.

Ideas

South Korea Is Right

Trump has characterized its policy as “appeasement.” But Seoul’s approach is far more sensible than Washington’s.

Ideas

How Trump Could Get China's Help on North Korea

Beijing is not going to pressure Pyongyang just because he tells them to.

Policy

Trump Republicans See Putin's Russia As a New Front Line Against Islam

Conservatives are divided on whether Putin’s Russia is a totalitarian enemy or a defender of the Christian West.

Policy

Mike Pence Embraces Foreign Policy That GOP Voters Left Behind

By sidestepping Trump’s messages on foreign policy and trade in Tuesday’s debate, the vice-presidential nominee ignored the choices GOP voters made in their primaries.