In The News

Coalition of the Unwilling: Merkel's Plan B Could Mean End of Schengen

Peter Müller, Ralf Neukirch and Andreas Ulrich December 11, 2015
European leaders are meeting behind closed doors to tighten the continent’s external borders and stem the flow of refugees from areas of conflict in the Middle East. Spiegel Online reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to finalize a deal that includes Turkey: “Essentially, it calls for Europe to provide billions in aid to Turkey in exchange for Ankara doing all it can to prevent...

Imagine America If Steve Jobs’ Father Was Turned Away Because He Was Syrian

Nick Hanauer December 10, 2015
Immigration is interconnected with US values, innovation and prosperity. Some US presidential candidates propose denying entry to refugees fleeing civil war and terrorism in Syria. One candidate went so far as to propose a sweeping, unworkable and unconstitutional ban on Muslims entering the United States. In an opinion essay for the Seattle Times, venture capitalist Nick Hanauer argues that US...

The Islamic State Wants the West to Over-React and Hasten Apocalypse

David C. Rapoport December 8, 2015
The Islamic State’s brutality has shifted targets – from expanding territorial control for a so-called caliphate in the Middle East to inspiring random attacks on soft targets in the West. The terrorist group emerged during Syria’s civil war, initially targeting Shia and other Muslims who resisted the primitive beliefs. By 2015, air attacks by the United States, Jordan and other nations combined...

Al Qaeda Captures 2 Yemen Towns

December 4, 2015
Patterns continue for the Middle East: a failure of power sharing and representation for countries with Shia-Sunni divisions, and religious extremists taking advantage of the instability and power vacuums. Al Qaeda has quickly wrested control of Zinjibar and Jaar in Yemen even as the government battles Houthi rebels. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia supports the government, and Iran supports the...

A War of Priorities in Syria

Chris Miller December 3, 2015
The international coalition targeting the Islamic State’s tenuous hold of communities in Syria and Iraq has divided interests that could prolong the war in Syria. “The war is driven by multiple, interlocking layers of conflict,” explains Chris Miller, associate director of the Grand Strategy Program at Yale and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The priorities vary and desire to...

World War III?

Nayan Chanda December 2, 2015
Pope Frances has raised a concern that the Islamic State could spark a third world war. Nayan Chanda, the founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, points to a parallel: international powers, with major differences over strategy, targeting the extremists in Syria and Iraq. Aerial bombing alone won’t deter the 32,000 or so Islamic State extremists, an estimate from the CIA, or their ideology. Major...

ISIS Rampage: A Threat to Cultural Heritage That Belongs to All

James Cuno November 26, 2015
The self-proclaimed Islamic State is ruthless in imposing its version of Islam on others. The rigid beliefs cannot withstand the joys of the modern world or a cultural heritage and ancient history that is a connecting force for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. ISIS contends the world is borderless and belongs to Allah – and claim their leaders alone interpret Allah’s wishes. “This complicates the...