In The News

New York Times: Humiliation in Helsinki

Mark Landler July 17, 2018
Donald Trump, who boasts about his strength and tough negotiating skills, groveled before Russian President Vladimir Putin during a summit in Helsinki. The meeting prompted consternation at home and abroad as well as questions about the president's patriotism and common sense. “Rather than defend the United States against those who would threaten it, he attacked his own citizens and...

New Yorker: Obrador, Trump and the Error of Comparison

Jon Lee Anderson July 4, 2018
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, also known as AMLO, won 53 percent of the vote along with taking the majority of legislature seats. Issues in Mexico include the war on drugs, complacency against the Trump administration and failure to prosecute major criminal cases. By building grassroots support over two decades, López Obrador ended the 88-year-old hold grip on power by two parties, PRI and PAN....

Times of India: Globalization’s Revenge

Nayan Chanda July 3, 2018
Global leaders are uncertain about their relationship with the United States. Policies, whether promoting America first in trade or separating children from parents seeking asylum, have long-term consequences for other countries. Questions emerge about the meeting between the US president and North Korea’s leader, followed by Donald Trump’s assurances that the nuclear weapons problem had been...

Council on Foreign Relations: Global Implications of Justice Kennedy’s Retirement

Stewart M. Patrick July 2, 2018
US Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy had a lead role in sculpting a positive relationship between the United States and international law over his tenure. His replacement promises to be more conservative, with Donald Trump aiming to appoint a successor before midterm elections. “Foreign relations law,” regarding the place of international law in US jurisprudence, is a field that...

Foreign Policy: Mexico Could Take Left Turn on Foreign Policy

Richard G. Miles June 29, 2018
Mexican voters are expected to elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president on July 1– and “relations with the United States could fall into new depths,” reports Richard Miles for Foreign Policy. By taking the leftist turn, Mexicans may think they are resisting the far-right and anti-immigrant policies of the US president but they could actually be following his lead by embracing populism,...

WSJ: US Retreats From Strict Limits on Chinese Investment

Bob Davis, Peter Nicholas and Lingling Wei June 28, 2018
The US president backed away from plans for new restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States and US technology exports to China. “Instead of creating new investment restrictions, the White House said it will continue to rely on an interagency group, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, which screens foreign investments to see if they endanger national security,”...

Los Angeles Times: California Judge Orders Immigrant Families Reunited

Elliot Spagat, Michael Balsamo and Will Weissert June 27, 2018
The United States, striving to limit migrants crossing the southern border, has separated children from parents since April, scattering them in more than 2,000 in shelters and foster homes around the country. A US district judge ruled that the government must reunite the families within 30 days – 14 days for children younger than 5. The government must arrange for contact between children and...