In The News

The Guardian: Demise of the Nation State

Rana Dasgupta April 6, 2018
Nation states are losing influence, contends Rana Dasgupta for the Guardian, and the political systems are obsolete for confronting modern challenges that are either focused and local or global in nature. Systems based on borders struggle to deal with complex companies, technologies, immense wealth and social movements that no longer respect borders. “Exhaustion, hopelessness, the dwindling...

New York Times: Can the US Stop Trump Before It’s Too Late?

Madeleine Albright April 6, 2018
Terrorism, populism, sectarian conflicts and greed test democracy, writes Madeleine Albright for the New York Times, and disorder and volatility contribute to support for fascism and authoritarianism. Embracing nationalism, the Trump administration applies a wrecking ball to international agreements and political norms. “Instead of mobilizing international coalitions to take on world problems, he...

Foreign Affairs: When Trump Meets Kim

Toby Dalton and Ariel Levite April 4, 2018
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un caught the world by surprise after the two agreed to meet in May and explore the possibility of nuclear disarmament. The promise of a peace summit, following a year of strained and at times threatening rhetoric exchanged between the two leaders, revives hope that Kim may be open to de-escalation. Toby Dalton and Ariel Levite recommend...

The New Yorker: Why Kim Went to China

Evan Osnos April 1, 2018
Under the helm of Kim Jong Un, who took control of the country in 2012, North Korea has spent years testing and pushing the boundaries of international diplomacy while expanding nuclear production and scheduling nuclear testing. US President Donald Trump heightened tension when he promised to respond to any aggression with “fire and fury.” Yet, at the turn of the new year, both leaders turned the...

Huffington Post: $1 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

Nick Visser and Nick Robins-Early March 30, 2018
The Trump administration plans to approve a $1 billion dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia, including “around 6,700 anti-tank missiles and $300 million in parts for the Saudis’ helicopters and tanks,” explains the US State Department. The deal is controversial due to the ongoing Saudi role in Yemen’s civil war. Since March 2015, the Saudi state has carried out lethal airstrike campaigns as part of...

Bloomberg: China Back on Kim’s Side

David Tweed March 29, 2018
North Korea's Kim Jong Un got what he wanted with nuclear weapons: global recognition. South Korea’s Moon Jae-in, in seeking peace with North Korea, served as a mediator with Donald Trump. Xi Jinping, in power for more than five years suddenly rustled up his first meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Thus, “Kim Jong Un just sent a powerful message to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of...

Diplomat: China-India Chess Match in the Maldives

Sunaina Kumar and Angela Stanzel March 16, 2018
The Maldives have been in a state of emergency since February 6 with an arrest order for a former president and Supreme Court chief justice. “The crisis may appear to be an internal power struggle between the Supreme Court and the government of the South Asian island country, but it has wider geopolitical ramifications, and has spiraled into a power struggle between India and China,” report...