United States
The pitfalls of North Korea’s summitry spectacle
The third meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korea Chairman Kim Jong-un has come and gone, again without much substantial progress, but its symbolism has…
The US does more in the Pacific than it gives itself credit for
What counts as aid? Whether it’s disaster relief, infrastructure, or a much longer term and less visible type of development assistance, in the end it all comes back to money.
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US states pushing for Roe v Wade test case in Supreme Court
The last abortion clinic in Missouri is running on borrowed time. At the end of May, the state let the license lapse for Planned Parenthood of St Louis. On 21 June, the…
The burden of friendship: Germany, Trump and NATO
“Burden sharing” has long been a totemic term in discussions about NATO. Behind the happy paeans to shared values and mutual security interests uttered publicly by national…
Iran’s dangerous gamble
Iran has announced that it has exceeded its enriched uranium limit under the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. This follows the…
The Republicans’ post-Iraq dilemma: the hollow threats
US President Donald Trump is sliding into an increasingly obvious pattern in his dealing with small or rogue states who oppose the United States. In his presidency so far, Trump…
Iran: Australia’s deliberate ambiguity
Ambiguity in foreign policy is no bad thing, and on Iran, the only certainty Donald Trump has displayed after a week of heightened tension was his weekend declaration …
Five factors will decide the survival of the US-led alliance system
In a recent column in Foreign Policy, a slightly bewildered Stephen Walt asked two related questions: (1) Why do we not have better answers to major, overarching questions about…
The challenge to legal abortion in the Trump era is global
Last month Alabama passed a law that would imprison doctors for up to 99 years for performing abortions, with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Even televangelist Pat…
The limits of unilateral action against Iran
As Washington is finding, maximum pressure campaigns have their own limitations, even with the most coherent and experienced foreign policy teams. But with the Commander-in…