Credit: US Department of Defense The Visit On March 20th, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited India, capping off an Asian tour that saw the secretary visit Japan and the Republic of Korea. The visit by Austin constituted part of a larger American effort to show diplomatic strength in the run up to a … Continue reading SecDef to Delhi: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Towards a Non-Nation State
Detail from a poster for the Codesa talks. Credit: Judy Seidman Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minoritiesby Mahmood MamdaniThe Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 401 pp., $29.95 In his probing essay “In Search of a Majority” the late James Baldwin seeks to understand why Black people are treated the … Continue reading Towards a Non-Nation State
Sputnik V is Helping Putin Reach for the Stars
Russian President Vladimir Putin is using “vaccine diplomacy” to improve Russia’s global status. Photo credit: Pixabay The COVID-19 crisis created an opportunity for Russian President Vladimir Putin to expand his sphere of influence. As countries turned inward, consolidating resources and vaccinating their populations first, Moscow chose to embark on a campaign of “vaccine diplomacy.” This … Continue reading Sputnik V is Helping Putin Reach for the Stars
China: Myanmar Is Not Libya
Photo Credit: Reuters. Myanmar's ambassador to the UN, Kyaw Moe Tun, urges action against the military coup at the end of his speech to the General Assembly. Myanmar’s coup earlier this year showcased the fragility of democracy and how quickly things can change for the worse. The United States rightly condemned the coup and imposed … Continue reading China: Myanmar Is Not Libya
The Biden Administration Should Stand Up to Turkish Violations of US Sanctions
Turkish state bank Halkbank has been at the forefront of an effort by Turkish government officials to circumvent US sanctions against Iran. Photo Credit: Flickr On October 15, 2019, the Southern District of New York indicted Turkish-state owned bank Halkbank for violating US sanctions against Iran. The indictment was the culmination of years of investigation … Continue reading The Biden Administration Should Stand Up to Turkish Violations of US Sanctions
What’s New in the 2020 US National Space Strategy?
Photo credit: European Space Agency (ESA) The US National Space Policy (NSP) outlines military, civil, and commercial efforts in space and is the authoritative policy document that guides the space activities of NASA, the intelligence community, and the Departments of Defense, State, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Transportation, and Interior. Therefore, the publication of a new … Continue reading What’s New in the 2020 US National Space Strategy?
Making The Law Work for Women
Photo Credit: Robyn Jay. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (Accessed via UN University Webpage) On Thursday, February 25th, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS), in partnership with the Georgetown Ambassadors for Women, Peace and Security, hosted the second of their five-part webinar series focused on increasing gender equality. The event, entitled Making the Law Work for … Continue reading Making The Law Work for Women
Turkey’s New Joint Operational Concepts Foreshadow the Future of Armed Conflict
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stands in Front of a Bayraktar TB-2 Drone. Photo Credit: AA Following the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and subsequent violent purges, Turkish Armed Forces launched major military operations in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya and continued to expand basing across North Africa.[i] These operations exhibited characteristics indicative of the … Continue reading Turkey’s New Joint Operational Concepts Foreshadow the Future of Armed Conflict
There is No Society: Islamic Action and Activism under the Thumb of the Saudi State
Saudi youths demonstrate a stunt known as "sidewall skiing" (driving on two wheels) in the northern city of Hail, in Saudi Arabia. Photo Credit: Reuters Graveyard of Clerics: Everyday Activism in Saudi Arabia (2020)by Pascal MenoretStanford University Press, 250 pp., $24.00 Saudi Arabia is a country of extremes: extreme heat, extreme wealth, and as Pascal … Continue reading There is No Society: Islamic Action and Activism under the Thumb of the Saudi State
The Recent Rise of the Far-Right
Photo Credit: Getty Images The January 6th events at the Capitol were heinous, lethal, and extreme. They were also predictable. For a nation that touts itself as the beacon of a liberal world order, many were left scratching their heads and wondering, “how could this happen here?” The answer to that question has been hiding … Continue reading The Recent Rise of the Far-Right