Who Will Save the Amazon (and How)?
Aug. 5, 2025: In a televised address to the nation, U.S.
Research
Philip Roessler, Ethnic Politics and State Power in Africa: The Logic of the Coup–Civil War Trap
Coups are more common, but civil wars more costly. As a leader, which would you rather risk facing?
Yesterday’s Cold War Shows How to Beat China Today
Commentators of many stripes increasingly refer to the deteriorating relationship between the United States and China as a new “cold war.” As some readers may recall, I think analogies to the earlier
Restraint Isn’t Isolationism—and It Won’t Endanger America
Americans have repeatedly expressed their frustration with the overly ambitious and mostly failed strategy of liberal hegemony that has been in place since the end of the Cold War.
Improving the Accuracy of Geopolitical Risk Assessments
Whether man-made or naturally occurring, large-scale disasters can cause fatalities and injuries, devastate property and communities, savage the environment, impose significant financial burdens on in
Dear President Trump, Let’s Talk About Iran
Dear President Donald Trump: We’ve never met, and given that you’re not much of a reader, I doubt you even know who I am.
How to Step Back from the Brink with Iran
As the Trump administration accuses Iran of attacking oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, rising tensions create a real danger of stumbling into a catastrophic war neither side wants.
When Zombie Neoconservatives Attack
This might be disturbing news to some readers, but the New York Times columnist David Brooks is very unhappy with the American people. Why?
Inside the Five-Sided Box: Lessons from a Lifetime of Leadership in the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the single largest institution in America: the Department of Defense. The D.O.D. employs millions of Americans.
Nobody’s Asking for Trump to Be a Genius
When we teach, write, or think about foreign policy, there’s a tendency to focus our attention on extremes, either on prominent examples of extraordinary success or cases of abject failure.
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