WORLD ROUNDUPAmerica’s Submarine Dominance Is Under Threat | Hungary’s Election Is Already Paying Dividends | Without Congress, There Is No US Strategy, and more

America’s Submarine Dominance Is Under Threat  (Economist)
Naval mockery of China is turning to alarm.

To Fight Antisemitism, First Grasp Where It Comes From  (Economist)
What looks like a 21st-century problem has deep, dark roots.

Venezuela’s 100-year Territorial Dispute Is Back in Court  (Economist)
The regime claims the Essequibo region of Guyana, and its oil.

Singled Out by Iran, U.A.E. Doubles Down on U.S. and Israeli Ties  (Vivian Nereim, New York Times)
The United Arab Emirates has borne the brunt of Iranian attacks throughout the war, hardening the government’s resolve to reassess its list of friends and foes.

Hungary’s Election Is Already Paying Dividends for the EU and Ukraine. Is the U.S. Next?  (Igor Khrestin and Andrew Chakhoyan, Just Security)
On April 23, the European Union’s 27 member states formally approved a $106 billion loan for Ukraine, as well as a 20^th sanctions package against Russia. In exchange, Ukraine resumed Russian oil exports through its section of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. Although Hungary had been blocking the aid and sanctions measures long before Ukraine stopped the transit through Druzhba, the issues had become linked.
The deal, however imperfect, is the first result of the resounding victory of Peter Magyar’s party over that of 16-year Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Hungarian parliamentary elections on April 12. The new agreements are an opening demonstration of how Magyar’s election could represent the best chance in a generation to reset relations between Hungary, Europe, and the United States for the benefit of all three. Handled with care, the shift in Budapest could help restore credible deterrence against Russian revanchism, align European and American policy in support of Ukraine, and accelerate an energy strategy that both sides of the Atlantic have long endorsed.

Without Congress, There Is No US Strategy  (Christian Dobson Santiago, National Interest)
An unbounded executive hollows out America’s capacity for coherent long-term deliberation and execution of its foreign policy.

How the US and Europe Can Open the Strait of Hormuz and Empower Ukraine  (Edward P. Joseph and Wolfgang Pusztai, National Interest)
In exchange for European participation in opening the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration could send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine.

Beyond AI: What the Pentagon Is Missing with Its Trimmed “Critical Technologies” List  (Julie George, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
Last November, the Defense Department announced it was paring down a list of 14 “critical technology areas” originally identified during the Biden administration. These areas represent cutting-edge technologies that are expected to “define the future of American military superiority.” Of the original 14 critical technologies, only six were left standing: applied artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, contested logistics technologies, quantum and battlefield information dominance, scaled directed energy, and scaled hypersonics. Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said “the idea is to concentrate back to a number that we really believe is critical.”
This is a step in the right direction, because it prevents funding from being spread too thin across many portfolios, refocuses attention on key technologies, and highlights the Defense Department’s desire to deliver emerging capabilities to the warfighter quickly and efficiently. However, reducing the number of critical technology areas is just one part of the solution. A more important aspect is rethinking the Defense Department’s approach to how it funds these critical technologies. Unfortunately, there has been too little effort to identify and prioritize the capital needs of these emerging technologies, as well as those not retained in the shortened list.