In The News

Ashraf Ghani's Bold Move for Taliban Peace

David Loyn July 10, 2015
The Afghan government and Taliban, accompanied by representatives of the Haqqani network, met for peace talks. The Taliban demand closure of all foreign bases, a prisoner exchange and end to a United Nations blacklist on travel for individuals. The government expects the insurgents to respect women’s rights; all members of the Afghan delegation were male. “The presence of US and Chinese diplomats...

Power Transitions in Saudi Arabia Spell Changes in the Middle East

Bruce Riedel July 2, 2015
Saudi Arabia has long valued continuity, reducing uncertainty by planning leadership transitions years in advance, preparing individuals for their future roles. But King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, crowned this year, has made many changes, including removing his predecessor’s choice for crown prince and naming his son as minister for defense as the country wages war against rebels in neighboring Yemen...

The Blue Amazon

Nathan Thompson and Robert Mugah June 24, 2015
Brazil, the world’s seventh largest economy and South America’s largest, is looking to expand its reach across the Atlantic: “Brazil, in particular, wants to safeguard its on- and offshore natural resources, which the navy calls the Amazônia Azul, or Blue Amazon,” write Nathan Thompson and Robert Mugah for Foreign Affairs. “These include extensive petroleum and gas reserves, as well as fishing...

The New Ukrainian Exceptionalism

Matthew Rojansky and Mykhailo Minakov June 23, 2015
Ukraine struggles to survive as an independent nation against external and internal forces – Russia, the powerful neighbor next door, and Russian sympathizers throughout eastern Ukraine. “Russian-backed aggression, relentless propaganda and meddling in Ukraine’s domestic politics have pushed many Ukrainians to adopt a deeply polarized worldview, in which constructive criticism, dissenting views,...

Coalition in Turkey Could Alter the Country’s Foreign Policy Direction

Chris Miller June 18, 2015
Turkey’s governing Justice and Development Party, or AK, won the most votes in the June 7 election, but not enough to dodge the need for building a coalition in parliament. The coalition AK builds could swing right or left with implications for foreign policy, explains Chris Miller, a PhD student at Yale University and a research associate with the Hoover Institution. “A right-wing coalition...

Omar Al-Bashir Case Suggests South African Foreign Policy Is Going Rogue

Simon Tisdall June 17, 2015
South Africa’s government allowed the Sudanese president accused of genocide and other war crimes to leave the country – thus weakening the position of the International Criminal Court. “The act of defiance by the president, Jacob Zuma … places him at the head of a growing band of African leaders who argue that the ICC, which issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009, is biased against Africa and...

Modi’s Visit to China Marks New Tone, But No Concrete Progress

Neelam D Sabharwal June 16, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have set a new tone for India's relations with China, yet personal rapport and economic interdependence offer little guarantee of settling longstanding strategic issues that divide the world’s two most populous nations, warns Neelam D Sabharwal, a former Indian ambassador to the Netherlands and UNESCO, now associate professor with the University of Maastricht...