• 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.

  • Trump’s National Security Tariffs

    Without exemptions, the tariffs President Trump imposed on steel and aluminum imports are likely to negatively impact the U.S. defense sector, critical infrastructure, and U.S. allies. How these trade-offs are weighed hinges on how national security is defined.

  • Calls Grow for U.S. to Counter Chinese Control, Influence in Western Ports

    Experts say Washington should consider buying back some ports, offer incentives to allies to decouple from China.

  • The Costs of Tariffs

    The tariffs announced by President Donld Trump should come as no surprise: Trump was acting on a deeply held belief and fulfilling a key campaign promise. But what’s less clear is what Trump was hoping to get out of this tariff play. The president seems to have multiple goals in mind. Whether he will succeed depends on which he prioritizes.

  • Water Is the Other U.S.-Mexico Border Crisis, and the Supply Crunch Is Getting Worse

    The United States and Mexico are aware of the political and economic importance of the border region. But if water scarcity worsens, it could supplant other border priorities. The two countries should recognize that conditions are deteriorating and update the existing cross-border governance regime so that it reflects today’s new water realities.

  • Ukraine Needs U.S. Weapons. Trump Wants Its Rare Earth Minerals in Return.

    President Donald Trump wants to condition future U.S. aid to Ukraine on getting more access to the country’s valuable “rare earth” minerals — minerals that are in increasing demand for batteries, computers, smart phones, and electric cars, not to mention weaponry.

  • Turkey: The Threat of the Neo-Ottoman Caliphate to Regional Security

    Turkey is swiftly expanding its influence in a rapidly imploding Islamic world, as its ‘neo-Ottoman’ president is whipping up a new wave of Islamism across continents. The country is even intervening in South Asia now, by forging defense deals with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

  • Trump’s Risky New Era of Broken Trade Norms

    For many decades now, the international economy has been backstopped by a reasonably predictable set of rules, led by a United States that believed it had a strong national interest in nurturing that sort of predictability. With President Donald Trump’s decision over the week to declare a specious “emergency” for the purpose of slapping crippling tariffs on his continental neighbors, that era has come to an end.

  • Trump’s Tariff Threats Fit a Growing Global Phenomenon: Hardball Migration Diplomacy

    As an expert on migration policy and international affairs, I have observed the evolution of this global trend: nations leverage migration policies for geopolitical ends. While migration diplomacy does work both ways, richer countries by and large have the upper hand. And Trump’s threats against Colombia –and others –are just one example of this hardball migration diplomacy.

  • Analysts: Rubio Charts a Course for Countering China

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Southeast and East Asia strategies will be aimed at countering China by toughening U.S. policies to secure regional peace and maximize American interests, analysts say.

  • Trump and the Future of the USMCA

    The joint review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be influenced by the discussions to reshape North American trade, migration, and security, as well as the need to address China’s growing influence in regional supply chains.