• In Trade War with the U.S., China Holds a Lot More Cards Than Trump May Think − in Fact, It Might Have a Winning Hand

    While Trump’s tariffs will inevitably hurt parts of the Chinese economy, Beijing appears to have far more cards to play this time around, compared to the tariff conflict between the two countries during Trump’s first term in the White Houser. It has the tools to inflict meaningful damage on U.S. interests – and perhaps more importantly, Trump’s all-out tariff war is providing China with a rare and unprecedented strategic opportunity.

  • Trump Thinks Tariffs Can Bring Back the Glory Days of U.S. Manufacturing. Here’s Why He’s Wrong

    Trump’s “liberation day” tariffshave one thing in common – they are being applied to goods only.They are the perfect example of Trump’s peculiar focus on trade in goods and, by extension, his nostalgic but outdated obsession with manufacturing.Trump’s thinking is likely related to a combination of nostalgia for a bygone (somewhat imagined) age of manufacturing,and concern over the loss of quality jobs that provide a solid standard of living for blue collar workers – a core part of his political base.But nostalgia is not a sensible basis for forming economic policy.

  • Can Europe Defend Itself Against a Nuclear-Armed Russia?

    National security expert details what’s being done, what can be done as U.S. appears to rethink decades-long support. Regarding the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which has covered Europe since the 1950s, Richard Hooker says: “Is it reliable? I wouldn’t think so. If Putin were to threaten or actually use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine or, let’s say in Estonia, would the administration respond with nuclear threats of its own? Personally, I have my doubts.”

  • “A Catastrophic Blow”: U.S. Shuts Unit Investigating War Crimes in Ukraine

    Offering more support for Russia’s policy goals, the Trump administration has cut all funding for efforts to document and gather evidence on Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine. Experts described the administration’s move as a “a catastrophic blow” to efforts to document war crimes and bring people to justice.

  • Congress: Retake Control of Tariffs and Let Businesses Get Back to the “Vision Thing”

    The Trump administration’s recent tariff actions are undermining congressional authority and sowing chaos for U.S. businesses. Lawmakers should reassert their constitutional power to correct course.

  • Could the EU Become a Military Superpower?

    Only two weeks after a European Union summit where the bloc’s leaders pledged to spend billions on defense in a “watershed moment for Europe,” they are returning to Brussels to solidify plans for strengthening Europe’s defense autonomy amid ongoing doubts about the US commitment to protecting European nations and sustaining military support for Ukraine.

  • To Avoid a Ukraine-Style Quid Pro Quo, Australia Needs to Work with the U.S. on Critical Minerals

    With Donald Trump back in the White House, Washington is operating under a hard-nosed, transactional framework in which immediate returns rather than shared values measure alliances. For Australia, this signals a need to rethink its approach to the US relationship. A key step would be to work with the United States in the extraction and processing of Australian critical minerals.

  • Europe Will Need Thousands More Tanks and Troops to Mount a Credible Military Defense without the U.S.

    Implementing a new defense strategy will mean answering many difficult questions, including whether an EU defense force would involve all EU member states, the potential roles of antagonistic EU members like Hungary and Slovakia (both pro-Trump and pro-Russia), and those of non-EU NATO members such as the UK, Norway, or even Canada.

  • French Nuclear Deterrence for Europe: How Effective Could It Be Against Russia?

    Does France have the capacity to defend Europe? Would the deployment of the French nuclear umbrella in Eastern Europe make Europe strategically autonomous, giving it the means to defend itself independently?

  • Undermining Post-Cold War U.S. Foreign Policy: The Trump-Vance Approach to Ukraine and Russia

    The U.S. post-Cold War foreign policy has been built on principles of deterrence, alliance-building, and the defense of democratic nations against authoritarian threats. Trump and JD Vance’s approach to Ukraine and Russia represents a fundamental departure from these principles, undermining decades of bipartisan commitment to countering Russian aggression.

  • How Trump’s Spat with Zelensky Threatens the Security of the World – Including the U.S.

    After the catastrophic press conference on February 28 between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US president Donald Trump, it is clear that there has been a global realignment. What the press conference revealed was that Trump’s position is a lot closer to Russian president Vladmir Putin than long-time US ally Ukraine, and also that other US allies cannot count on Washington to promote the global world order.

  • America’s Trade Wars: Past and Present

    Trump’s trade dispute with China has expanded to Canada and Mexico. But this isn’t the first time the U.S. has conducted trade wars with adversaries and allies alike

  • The Intellectual Origins of Trump’s Economic Policies

    The Trump administration’s tariff announcements revive the age-old policy of import substitution industrialization (ISI) to protect domestic industries and stimulate growth. However, ISI could lead to significant economic disruptions for the U.S. and its trading partners.

  • The United States Goes Rogue

    Openly taking sides with a dictator while purveying the same dictator’s verisimilitudes and brazen distortions is a different matter. 

  • Time to Reassess the Costs of Euro-Atlantic Security

    The undeniable truth is that security comes at a cost. If Europeans fail to invest more now to deter Russia and China, the alliance will face far greater expenses and risks. The problem is that Europeans, with few exceptions, fail to grasp the immense costs such a scenario would inflict on allied security.