In The News

When Christian Power Was Arrayed Against a Judeo-Muslim Ideology

Jonathan Gil Harris July 30, 2015
A narrative common in the West often pits Christianity and Judaism against Islam. It was not so in an earlier era. Christianity was a militant force during the 16th century. By 1550, Portugal ruled India’s best western ports, and India became a refuge for Iberian Jewish families, also known as New Christians, who fled the persecutions of the Inquisition. Jonathan Gil Harris, author and professor...

Beijing’s Maritime Silk Road Passes Through Islamabad

Dilip Hiro July 21, 2015
Ties between China and Pakistan run strong and often aim at containing India. In recent decades, China helped Pakistan with its nuclear-weapons program and after 1991 became the country’s chief arms supplier. The relationship could signal that China’s One Belt, One Road project is as much about developing a strategic military network as trade and cultural exchange, suggests historian and author...

Best Way to Defeat the Islamic State in Syria: Remove Assad

Con Coughlin June 10, 2015
Defense ministers and analysts are grasping at straws on how to eliminate Islamic State extremists and stabilize the Middle East. Removing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad could be a solution. The United States and coalition partners invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein from power; 12 years later, the country is in chaos, threatened by brutal extremists, with violence and desperate refugees...

The World’s Drinking Problem

May 19, 2015
Widespread alcohol abuse is disruptive for economies, suggests a report from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Alcohol consumption and related health issues rise with increased wealth, and China and emerging economies are wrestling with growing alcohol consumption: “While more than half of the Chinese population aged 15 years and older do not drink at all, 42 percent of...

Why the West Is Losing the Battle Against Radical Islam

Azeem Ibrahim February 26, 2015
The West can no longer hold its tongue on fundamentalist religious sects that emphasize piety to the point of counting a few followers worthy while dismissing everyone else in the world. Such is the case with Wahhabism, or Salafism, the state religion in Saudi Arabia that’s exported to other Muslim nations with the help of oil dollars. Azeem Ibrahim, PhD, international security lecturer at the...

History Without Borders

Peter C. Perdue February 24, 2015
The conflicts of the modern world are deeply rooted in centuries of history. Historians and social scientists could do more to develop research across disciplinary, regional and national boundaries, argues Peter Perdue, professor of history at Yale University. “Everyone knows that we live in a globalized world, but the history profession stands out among academic disciplines for defining its...

What Germany Owes Ukraine

James Kirchick February 16, 2015
Foreign Policy Initiative Fellow James Kirchick blasts the depiction of Angela Merkel as Europe’s “Iron Lady” as she orchestrates diplomacy with Russia over aggression in Ukraine while emphasizing military confrontation is not an option. Kirchick assesses Putin’s strategy: “He intends to punish Ukraine for ousting its pro-Russian leader” through “a semi-permanent condition of low-intensity armed...