Section: The American Interest (USA)
Ending Tax Haven Abuse
Stung by the Panama Papers revelations of worldwide tax evasion by the rich and powerful, President Obama has seized the moment to propose a solution guaranteed to gather headlines—and then fail. But if he wanted to, he could, through the Treasury Department, end the system of offshore tax havens with a stroke of the pen.First, let’s look...
Energizing U.S. Foreign Policy
Despite the turmoil of recent years, when U.S. allies find themselves in tight spots, they still expect that America will come to their assistance. And despite the worries of dwindling military and diplomatic resources, the U.S. government still has many other tools at its disposal—namely, market forces. An emerging case in point is...
Pragmatic Engagement
The United States is exceptionally secure. No country today presents a clear and imminent security threat in the way that Germany, Japan, or the Soviet Union did in the 20th century. In the short and medium term there is also no alternative value system that could displace America’s conception of individual liberty and a market-oriented...
Nord Stream Divides Opinion, Inside Germany and Out
Berlin’s plan to double the capacity of a gas pipeline to Russia has drawn strong criticisms from around Europe, but it’s also drawing the ire of politicians within Germany. The FT reports: Manfred Weber, chairman of the centre-right European People’s party, said the proposed pipeline would undermine the EU’s foreign and...
Odessa on Edge
In a quirk of the calendar, the somewhat ideologically divergent holidays of May Day and Orthodox Easter fell on the same Sunday this year. In Odessa, the Easter Sunday festivities took place on an afternoon so lovely that the citizens of the city could be forgiven for forgetting the generalized sense of dread that had taken hold of the town for...
Stage Hands
Our London Kleptocracy Tours are a simple idea. We rent a bus, invite along the curious, and show them luxurious London properties owned by wealthy foreigners who have bought chunks of the British capital, while expert guides describe the origin of the individuals’ fortunes. In May we will launch tour number three and, if the reception of...
Beijing and Moscow Object to U.S.–Korea Missile Defense Collaboration
Seoul and Washington have been in advanced discussions to install a sophisticated anti-missile system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. The plan, which received a sense of added urgency after North Korea conducted nuclear tests earlier this year, has now prompted vociferous protestation from Russia and China....
The Best Ways to Help Ukraine
The Ukrainian people have made tremendous sacrifices over the past two years, including more than a hundred killed during the Maidan revolution in 2014 and nearly 10,000 killed fending off Vladimir Putin’s invading forces in eastern Ukraine. They have endured disappointment with their own leaders and frustration with the West, which,...
The Hollow Men
Russia’s frozen power structures condemn it to crisis. The adage about power and corruption going hand in hand fits the case, but there is a more ancient one that fits Putin and his immediate colleagues even better, in the Talmud: “Power buries those who wield it.”The Power VerticalWhen he succeeded Yeltsin, Putin did not have to choose...
The Kremlin’s Triad as the Means of Survival
Editor’s Note: How do Russia and the West see one another? What are the experts’ views on the confrontation between Russia and the West? How do the pundits explain the Russo-Ukrainian war and Russia’s Syrian gambit? What are the roots of the mythology about Russia in the West, and why has the West failed to predict and...
