A number of commentators have criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest peace summit in Jeddah for failing to produce tangible deliverables. What these criticisms miss is that Ukraine is playing a game of diplomatic attrition aimed at… Read more
In recent weeks, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has dispatched ships and other maritime forces to the disputed Spratly islands near the Philippines. The goal has been to coerce the Philippines into withdrawing from the contested Second Thomas Shoal… Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin relies on the manipulation of media narratives and limiting access to information to maintain popular support and acceptance of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has pruned Russian news to convey afirehose of… Read more
Amid the global challenges to building international stability and peace, a crisis increasingly forcing itself to the foreground — even amid those of record human displacement, climate degradation and unresolved wars — is the plunge by six countries… Read more
Military officers in Niger are rushing to consolidate the power they seized 15 days ago, while West Africa’s elected governments and regional institutions are seeking ways to reverse the July 27 coup d’état. Niger’s coup seems a particular setback for… Read more
While Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion has global attention on the battlefield, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government is also busy advancing a diplomatic initiative: a peace summit to build momentum and cohesion among… Read more
Three years of coups around Africa’s Sahel region — eight of them in six nations, from Guinea on the Atlantic to Sudan on the Red Sea — leave many African and other policymakers frustrated over how to respond. The Sahel’s crises have uprooted more than 4… Read more
The People’s Liberation Army, which celebrated its 96th birthday on August 1, is one of the largest, most potent and fast-growing militaries in the world. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made it a goal for the PLA to “modernize” by 2035 and to be a “world… Read more
Senior Biden administration officials are back in the Pacific Islands region this week. Once a seemingly far-flung corner of the globe, the United States has in recent years prioritized engagement to counter China’s foothold in a region Washington long… Read more
Russia’s Vladimir Putin has again made his invasion of Ukraine an effective war on global food supplies. Having scuttled the year-old deal to allow grain exports via the Black Sea, Putin is attacking Ukraine’s ports to cripple the ability of a major food… Read more
While NATO’s recent summit consolidated the transatlantic consensus that a peaceful Europe requires a democratic and inclusive Ukraine, Ukrainians’ heroic struggle for that democracy must overcome old corruptions, plus new traumas inflicted by Vladimir… Read more
Against the backdrop of renewed great power competition and an emerging multipolar world, it is crucial that the United States prioritize its engagement within multilateral institutions, including those in the United Nations system. As China looks to… Read more