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Why Does Ukraine Matter to the United States?
Nearly two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, much of the news reports center on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s endgame. In an interview with Ian Bremmer on his podcast, the former Finnish Prime Minister, Alexander Stubb, succinctly summarized Putin’s objectives: “You have to remember that Mr. Putin has three aims at the moment. Number one – […]
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Scandal Dominates the Politics of America’s Closest Ally
Scandal has erupted within the government of America’s closest ally. Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, became the first prime minister to be found to have broken the law while in office last week when the Metropolitan Police fined him, along with his wife and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, for attending his […]
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The Solomon Islands Caught in Great Power Politics
It’s not very often that the Solomon Islands finds itself at the center of U.S. foreign policy. This week, however, the Solomon Islands – located in a strategic and politically volatile part of the world best known on for the first land battles between the United States and its allies and Imperial Japan in the […]
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The United States Needs a Democratic India as a Partner
On April 11, U.S. President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual summit that kicked off the 2+2 Dialogue, during which Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted their Indian counterparts. Started in 2018 as part of an effort to deepen ties between the U.S. and India, […]
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AUKUS Goes Hyper(sonic)
The leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – dubbed AUKUS last fall – held a check in last week, reaffirming their commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific” as a result of China’s growing regional military ambitions and Russia’s worsening war in Ukraine. How were they going to do this? The […]
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The Upcoming Election in France Could Have Profound Consequences for France and the Transatlantic Relationship
Politics in France never fail to entertain. This will certainly hold true this weekend as French voters head to the polls to cast their vote in the presidential election on Sunday. Five years ago, the incumbent, centrist Emmanuel Macron of La Republique En March, defeated Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Rassemblement National […]
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How the Suez Canal Crisis Changed the World
Most will remember a recent crisis in the Suez Canal. A little over a year ago, a container ship traversing the Suez Canal was grounded, blocking one of the world’s busiest trade routes. The halt cost billions of dollars a day in commerce while ships continued to back up in the canal before finally being […]
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A Renewed Iran Nuclear Deal is Not Good News to U.S. Allies in the Region
Last weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended a summit with Israel and four Arab countries at a resort in Israel’s Negev Desert. Until two years ago, a meeting between these parties would not have been feasible. In the fall of 2020, the Trump administration brokered the Abraham Accords, a deal during which four […]
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Poland: An Unlikely Ally
On March 26, as part of a broader trip to Europe to fortify Western unity, U.S. President Joe Biden traveled to Poland to meet with U.S. troops stationed in the Eastern European country and the Polish President, Andrzej Duda. During the visit, Mr. Biden referred to his Polish counterpart as a “brother” and applauded Mr. […]
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The United States and Its European Allies Have Never Been So United
Unity. That is the message U.S. President Joe Biden is sending to Russia and the world during his trip to Europe. His point: Western allies – the United States, the European Union, and NATO – are standing shoulder to shoulder in support of Ukraine as Russia continues to attack the war-torn nation. Biden’s quick visit […]