Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
The Surprising Resurgence of Russia as a Great Power
In a world full of surprises — the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the weakness in the Chinese economy, the battles within the European Union, the making of the Iran deal, the slide in the American stock market — one of the greatest surprises of all has been the sudden rebirth of Russian power under Vladimir Putin. This even as Russia...
Is Donald Trump the Best the Republicans Can Do on Foreign Policy?
Donald Trump has wrecked the best plans of nearly a score of “serious” Republican presidential candidates. Conservative activists who view themselves as insurgents find themselves treated as the new GOP establishment. Party professionals are debating how to derail a candidacy which they had expected to implode by now. It is wondrous...
20 Years Ago Today, Hillary Clinton Gave A Rallying Cry For Women’s Rights
On Sept. 5, 1995, then-first lady Hillary Clinton gave a forceful defense of women’s rights, declaring that “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights” in a famous address at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing.“If there is one message that echoes forth from this...
Weekend Roundup: China Bares Its Teeth
China’s reformist leader Deng Xiaoping famously counseled that his nation should “hide its strength and bide its time” as it grew to the top ranks of the global economy. President Xi Jinping has taken a different course. He is seizing the moment and baring China’s teeth. Not unlike Ronald Reagan who declared in the 1980s...
The New Middle Passage
Peter, a Sierra Leone migrant living in Hungary, is one of the lucky ones. He has a job. He has a supportive community of friends. After seven years in the country, the Hungarian government approved his application for asylum. He started a very successful NGO devoted to helping other migrants make a new life in Hungary. I interviewed Peter in...
Seduction Diplomacy
As nationalism may seduce the masses, so may vanity have the same effect upon individual diplomats engaged in conflict resolution. While some may debate what strategic interests, conspiracies or prejudices are at play in motivating policy, too frequently it may be the egos of the personalities involved. During the conflict(s) in the former...
What It’s Like on the Front Lines of the War in Ukraine
DONETSK — “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our concert!” It was 6:34 p.m. when the staccato of mortar fire rounds began, and Alexandr, a 33-year-old Ukrainian soldier who goes by the nom de guerre “Grom” (Thunder), and his joke invited everyone inside. In Zenit, a Ukrainian army position on the front...
The Iran Nuclear Agreement: A Test of U.S. Leadership
Co-authored by Gordon Thompson, Executive Director of the institute for Resource and Security Studies. The July 2015 Iran nuclear agreement is a turning point in current history. The world waits to see how the US will act. Congress has given itself until September 17 to endorse or reject the agreement. While numerous qualified experts have...
Why Ignoring China’s Commemoration of War Against Japan Is a Foolish Mistake
BEIJING — China is commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of its “War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression” and its “World Anti-Fascist War” with great fanfare. The climax of these celebrations will be the grand military parade on Sept. 3. This upcoming parade is unusual in that it has departed from...
Clashes At Protest In Ukraine Amid Vote On Giving East More Power
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Clashes have broken out between police and protesters outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev after a controversial vote to give greater powers to separatist regions in the east.The decentralization of power was a condition of a truce signed in February aimed at ending the fighting between Ukrainian government troops and...
