Tag: Allies
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Do U.S. Allies Contribute Enough? Alliances Are Worth More than Money
On February 25, Russia invaded Ukraine after months of troop buildup along the border. The invasion has united the West in ways Russia never intended. Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin likely expected to drive a wedge between the United States and its European allies. In another turn of events, Russian aggression in Ukraine brought back […]
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In a Search for Increased Oil Production, the United States Turns to its Gulf Allies
Three weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies have imposed severe, economy-damaging sanctions on Russia. The West’s concern is that oil prices will continue to rise exponentially due to market disruptions. The United States and its European allies avoided targeting Russia’s energy supplies, yet the crushing sanctions threaten to […]
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Qatar is Back at the Center of International Politics…Again
Qatar yet again finds itself at the center of international politics. In September, this blog argued that the United States relied on Qatar, one of its closest Persian Gulf allies, to play an outsized diplomatic role, serving as a key interlocutor for the Americans in Afghanistan and with Iran. The United States is again reaching […]
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Will Russian Aggression in Ukraine Convince Finland and Sweden to Finally Join NATO?
For decades, both Finland and Sweden, two historically neutral countries in northern Europe, have chosen not to seek membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. However, the recent buildup of Russian troops along the Ukraine border and subsequent invasion have renewed debate in both countries about joining the alliance, prompting an irritated response […]
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The United States and Europe Must Do More for Ukraine
Eight years after seizing Crimea and throwing its weight behind a separatist insurgency in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Russia – one of the United States’ primary adversaries – has done the unthinkable. After months of U.S. warnings, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two breakaway provinces controlled by Russian-backed separatists and subsequently deployed Russian […]
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The U.S. and Germany Not on The Same Page on Nord Stream 2
On February 7, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden. During the visit, the United States and Germany presented a united front in the face of a Russian troop buildup along the border with Ukraine. That is, until the debate turned to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Nord […]
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The Biden Administration Focuses on Allies in Europe and Asia But Needs to Look to the Rest of the World Too
In the March-April 2020 issue of Foreign Affairs, then-candidate Joe Biden announced he would “take immediate steps to renew U.S. democracy and alliances.” Less than a year later, in his inaugural address, President Biden pledged that the United States “will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again.” Just a few weeks after […]
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Who Will Be Europe’s Next Leader?
For the last several decades, ties between France and Germany have been the engine of European integration. After centuries of war on the European continent through which France and Germany were historic rivals and often bitter enemies, culminating in the devastation of World War II, European nations searched for a way to eliminate inter-continental fighting. […]
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Democracy or Allies? Biden Has a Tough Choice to Make
On December 9 and 10, President Biden kicked off a virtual Summit of Democracy, fulfilling one of his signature campaign pledges. The much-vaunted Summit, which focuses on defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights, fits neatly into the Biden administration’s fight against authoritarianism. In fact, Biden’s foreign policy is partly defined […]
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EU Membership is the Solution to U.S. and EU Concerns in the Western Balkans
On October 6, the 27 European Union (EU) member states met with their counterparts in the Western Balkans – Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia – at a summit in Slovenia to discuss the Western Balkans nations joining the EU. However, many dismissed the summit as a perfunctory effort by Slovenia, who currently holds the EU’s rotating […]
Allies and Adversaries 