America's Role in the World

What Donald Trump Understands About the World

What Donald Trump Understands About the World

Trump's core strategic argument is that the United States is overextended. The core reason for this overextension is that the United States has substituted a system of multilateral...(full article)

Can the U.S. Lead on Women's Rights?

Can the U.S. Lead on Women's Rights?

If his first weeks in office are any indication, Donald Trump's presidency could mark a dramatic shift in the United States' approach to women's rights globally. As one of his firs...(full article)

American Strength in the World Starts at Home

American Strength in the World Starts at Home

For this generation of American leadership, the unipolar moment of American power, which already was destined to be an interregnum, has proved far too much to handle. And the capst...(full article)

The Lonely Lament of the Globalists

The Lonely Lament of the Globalists

2016 proved to be a challenging year for globalists. The stunning summertime decision by Britons to leave the European Union, coupled with the equally unexpected election in the Un...(full article)


Most Recent Articles

What Donald Trump Understands About the World - George Friedman, RealClearWorld

Trump's core strategic argument is that the United States is overextended. The core reason for this overextension is that the United States has substituted a system of multilateral...

Can the U.S. Lead on Women's Rights? - Erica Ngoenha, RealClearWorld

If his first weeks in office are any indication, Donald Trump's presidency could mark a dramatic shift in the United States' approach to women's rights globally. As one of his firs...

American Strength in the World Starts at Home - Joel Weickgenant, RealClearWorld

For this generation of American leadership, the unipolar moment of American power, which already was destined to be an interregnum, has proved far too much to handle. And the capst...

The Lonely Lament of the Globalists - Kevin Sullivan, RealClearWorld

2016 proved to be a challenging year for globalists. The stunning summertime decision by Britons to leave the European Union, coupled with the equally unexpected election in the Un...

America Is a Maritime Nation - Robert Kaplan, RealClearWorld

The United States, bordered by two oceans, is a maritime nation. Not only is its Navy the largest in the world by far, but its coast guard would qualify as the 12th largest fleet i...

Pence Quietly Becoming Foreign Policy Power Player - Josh Rogin, Washington Post

He is a voice for traditional hawkishness inside an unconventional administration....

The Real Target of Trump's Address: George W. Bush - Matt Purple, National Interest

The failed attempt by Bush to rid the world of evil is one of the reasons Trump is president today....

Trump Must Speak Loudly for Peace and Carry a Big Stick - Dan Negrea, Wash Times

The United States needs a grand strategy to guide its foreign policy. The Trump Doctrine should announce boldly that America is back in the world leadership business and that it st...

Beware the Blob: How Not to Oppose Trump - Robert Malley & Marc Lynch, Politico Mag

Those alarmed by the president's blundering around the world should be careful who they empower....

Trump Isn't Sounding Like a Russian Mole - Walter Russell Mead, American Interest

Trump's core global strategy is intended to destroy any illusions in Moscow that Russia is a peer competitor of Washington's....

Make the Liberal International Order Great Again - Michael Anton, American Affairs

Trump's campaign was driven by the basic awareness of ordinary citizens that American peace, prestige, and prosperity were not being served by our foreign policy. Among the many re...

The Trump Bubble Bursts in Moscow’s Markets - David Ignatius, Washington Post

Financial markets have been sending an interesting message about President Trump and Russia. After Trump's election, investors seemed to be betting that sanctions against Moscow wo...

The Logic of Trump's Foreign Policy - Michael Auslin, Wall Street Journal

AEI's Michael Auslin writes that the basic contours of a consistent approach are beginning to take shape....

Poll Finds DC Out Of Touch With Americans on Foreign Policy - Jeremy Lott, Fed

When asked if America's foreign policy since 9/11 has made us more or less safe, a non-dangling-chad majority (51 percent) said 'less safe.'...

Why Does Congress Accept Perpetual Wars? - Andrew Bacevich, American Cons.

To exercise real oversight, our representatives must take ownership of foreign entanglements....

Do We Still Want the West? - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal

Mr. Lavrov understands something that ought to be increasingly clear to American and European audiences: The West—as a geopolitical bloc, a cultural expression, a moral ideal...

Trump’s Jekyll and Hyde Admin Has Europe Spooked - Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast

While the reasonable-sounding Jekylls—Pence, Mattis, Kelly—try to reassure the Europeans that Trump doesn't mean what he says, the Hydes are pushing an agenda that will...

The Consequences of Abandoning American Exceptionalism - Michael Gerson, WP

We will not find security, only darkness, by dousing America's sacred fire....

Trump and Russia: Lessons From the Red Scare - Uri Friedman, The Atlantic

Quite often the facts get lost in the hysteria....

Donald Trump: Mideast Peace Processor - Robert Danin, Council on Foreign Relations

President Donald Trump's evolving views on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appear to be coming into greater focus as ......

Donald Trump Has No Foreign Policy - Jon Finer, Politico Magazine

There's no such thing as a Trump Doctrine, folks -- just an incoherent mess....

The World Needs a Trump Doctrine - Zbigniew Brzezinski & Paul Wasserman, NY Times

A vulnerable world needs an America characterized by clarity of thought and leadership that projects optimism and progress. “Make America Great Again” and “Americ...

Can Trump and Putin, Despite Uproar, Still Make a Deal? - Richard Weitz, Yale Global

Most commentators see the resignation of US National Security Michael Flynn this week as presenting a major setback to Russia-US relations, but a more balanced perspective suggests...

3 Dangerous Superpowers -- and UK Is Stuck in the Middle - Simon Tisdall, Guardian

An uncomfortable phenomenon underlies the numerous existential dilemmas facing world leaders gathered at this weekend's Munich security conference: it is the scary sight of three s...

The Trump-Netanyahu Alliance - Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post

When they met on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin were both walking wounded.Netanyahu arrived in Washington the center of a criminal investigation...

Trump the Reluctant Multilateralist - Barry Eichengreen, Project Syndicate

U.S. President Donald Trump did not take office as a committed multilateralist. But even a president committed to putting America first now seems to recognize – at least with...

Is America No Longer the Middle East's Greatest Power? - Fontaine & Singh, TNI

Russia's intervention in Syria has won Putin a measure of grudging respect from regional leaders....

Jim Mattis Appears to Be Making His Own Russia Policies - Zack Beauchamp, Vox

Trump: Russia didn't hack the US election. Mattis: Yes, it did....

'Make America Great Again in Africa - Rosa Whitaker, The Hill

A substantive U.S.-Africa partnership would inevitably lead to another crucial benefit: the strengthening of America's security intelligence and cooperation needed to counter the g...

Why "America First" Resonates - Robert Merry, American Conservative

A new poll shows that the public wants a foreign policy grounded in the national interest....

I Told Bannon: "We Are Not at War With Islam." He Disagreed - Flemming Rose, HP

I was the target of Islamist ire for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. But a war against all Muslims is not the solution....

Change Has Not Come to the Middle East - Michael Singh, The Cipher Brief

At first glance, it would appear that the Middle East President Donald J. Trump now faces is far different than the region which confronted President Barack Obama in 2009. The...

What Will Netanyahu Tell Trump? - Ben Caspit, Al-Monitor

With combative coalition partners watching his every move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might focus on the Iranian issue when meeting US President Donald Trump, as thi...

Trump vs. the Globalists - Blake Hounshell, Politico Magazine

At the first major international gathering of Trump's presidency, America's new president topped the agenda even though he wasn't there....

Flattery Gets Justin Trudeau Everywhere With Trump - John Ivison, National Post

The two men are unlikely to become golfing buddies, but the foundations have been laid upon which a constructive rapport can be built....

Why Europe Is Warning of Pax Americana's End - Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg View

The Munich Security Report paints a world in which the U.S. is retreating from its superpower ambitions....

North Korea Tests a Missile, and Donald Trump - Bruce Klingner, Daily Signal

Responding to the growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats is like a military version of playing whack-a-mole....

Kim's Missile Came at the Perfect Time for Japan - Mary Dejevsky, The Independent

With uncertainty afflicting Europe on three fronts – over Brexit, relations with Russia and the future of the transatlantic alliance – it is easy to forget that similar...

America Is Not a "Safe Country" for Refugees - Simon Lewsen, The Walrus

It's time for Trudeau to sever ties with a U.S. system that goes against Canadian values and international law....

A New Era in Israel's Relationship With the U.S. - Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post

Less than a week after he was inaugurated into office, President Donald Trump announced that he had repaired the US's fractured ties with Israel....

The Kremlin Is Starting to Worry About Trump - Ivan Krastev & Stephen Holmes, FP

Vladimir Putin's entourage cheered the outcome of the U.S. election – until they saw exactly what they were dealing with....

Here Comes Fortress America? - Jacob Heilbrunn, The National Interest

Should Washington intervene abroad to promote liberty and prosperity -- or look inward?...

Ambassador Sarah Palin? No, Thanks - Michael Taube, National Review

Sarah Palin has been called many things in her political career, including a few that shouldn't be repeated in polite company. Diplomatic isn't one of them....

Out With Globalization, In With Tillerson - James Jay Carafano, The National Interest

Rex Tillerson needs to realize that soft power is not necessarily smart power....

Why Trump Can't Bully China - Kenneth Rogoff, Project Syndicate

As U.S. President Donald Trump proceeds to destabilize the post-war global economic order, much of the world is collectively holding its breath. While Trump's supporters defend the...

Trump Is Right to Repair the U.S.-Russia Relationship - Lawrence Solomon, Nat'l Post

President Trump wants to hit it off with Vladimir Putin, hoping to make Russia a friend of the United States. He's right to try. Contrary to the common perception that Russia is a ...

Abe Should Steer Trump Toward Internationalism - Hirotoshi Sako, Asahi Shimbun

Abe had two options: either distance himself from Trump, who had become a threat not only to universal values such as freedom and human rights, but also the global order, or move c...

World Leaders Must Contain Trump's America - Andrew Coyne, Vancouver Sun

For forty-odd years after World War II, the policy of the free world towards the Soviet Union was one of containment: a strategy of collective resistance, rather than (on the one h...

ISIS Sees Chance to Revive Fortunes in Trump Presidency - Samia Nakhoul, Reuters

President Donald Trump has set out to crush Islamic State when it is already at a low ebb, but Islamists and some analysts say his actions could strengthen the ultra-hardline group...

Think Before Shooting, Mr. President - John McLaughlin, Ozy

Tough-mindedness requires consultation, strategy and loads of planning....

Revenge of History: Fukuyama Fears for Democracy - Ishaan Tharoor, Wash Post

Francis Fukuyama is worried about Trump....

China Needs a New Grand Strategy - Minxin Pei, Project Syndicate

Donald Trump's US presidency has already upended the key assumptions underpinning China's post-Cold War grand strategy. While the ideological threat to China has now all but dissip...

Why Rushing Into Yemen Is a Dangerous Idea - Jon Finer, Foreign Policy

The first foreign-policy crisis of the Trump administration may be in a country most Americans could not find on a map....

How Trump Can Make Trade With China Work for America - Derek Scissors, NRO

Trump should harness economic competition to make trade and investment with China work better for America....

Refugees in the Mind of the West - Bruce Stokes, RealClearWorld

The Trump administration's executive order temporarily banning admission to the United States for refugees and emigres from seven Muslim-majority countries was a reminder...

The End of the Cold War Changed Everything - Charles Pena, The American Conservative

The end of the Cold War changed everything....

A Trump-Modi Relationship Could Change the Trade World - Shalabh Kumar, TNI

New opportunities are on the horizon for the U.S.-India relationship....

Iran Is Now More Powerful Than Ever - Liz Sly & Loveday Morris, Washington Post

The administration's confrontational rhetoric against Iran has been welcomed by U.S. allies, but risks sparking a major regional war....

Europe Must Defend Itself Against a Dangerous President - K. Brinkbaeumer, Spiegel

The United States president is becoming a danger to the world. It is time for Germany and Europe to prepare their political and economic defenses....

Trump Foreign Policy May Put U.S. Back on Right Track - Peter Morici, Wash Times

Donald Trump as a real estate dealmaker thrived on chaos -- creating and then exploiting it to achieve his goals. Now as president, Mr. Trump is upsetting allies and disrupting int...

Trump Bows to Russia Again - Max Boot, USA Today

Republicans once scorned 'moral relativism,' but now they defend it....

Don't Take the Oil: It's Time to Ditch the Carter Doctrine - Daniel Davis, Nat'l Interest

Middle Eastern oil is no longer a vital national interest....

Yemen: First Battleground in Trump's Iran Confrontation - De Luce & McLeary, FP

The administration has its sights set on checkmating Tehran's ambitions across the region. Iran's proxies in Yemen are in the crosshairs....

Europeans Back Trump's German Grievances - Walter Russell Mead, American Interest

In taking on the destructive consequences of Germany's export economy, the Trump Administration has a real point....

Trump Isn't Repeating Obama's Middle East Mistakes - Jonathan Tobin, NRO

Contrary to mainstream-media reports, the new president is already taking a tougher stance on Iran and a friendlier stance toward Israel than his predecessor....

Bannon Is Right: War in South China Sea Is Possible - Sean O'Grady, Independent

Here's a ghoulish game we can all play: guess where the next major war will break out. Or, more apposite; where will Donald Trump start his first war? Not a thermonuclear one with ...

We Must Reclaim Patriotism From Leftists -- and From Trump - Robert Kaplan, FP

On rescuing Andrew Jackson from the extremists and restoring both pride and prejudice to America's great history....

Steve Bannon Now Gets to Help Decide War and Peace - Yochi Dreazen, Vox

Trump gave a political guru a seat on the National Security Council for the first time ever....

The United States: Between Isolation and Empire - Rodger Baker, Stratfor

Since taking office less than two weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump has moved quickly to put his policy directives into practice, from placing a temporary ban on the admittanc...

Trump's Travel Ban a Blow to the Atlantic Alliance - Frances Burwell, RCWorld

President Donald Trump's executive order halting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries puts at risk U.S. relations with America's European partners. ...

The Myth of the Muslim Country - Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Boston Review

Calling the nations subjected to the ban Muslim is sloppy, misguided, and dangerous....

India's Great Trump Hope - Sarosh Bana, Washington Times

President Trump may be in a hurry to overturn many measures of the previous Obama administration, but he appears to seek continuity of the increasingly close partnership America ha...

Can Jim Mattis Fix Asia? - Michael Auslin, Politico Magazine

The first major Trump adviser to venture abroad has a delicate task ahead of him....

What Trump Should Seek in Syria Negotiations - Goldenberg & Heras, War on the Rocks

President Trump appears committed to negotiating an agreement with Vladimir Putin to get on the same page in Syria....

Trump's Mideast Fans Get Caught in Global Blowback - Julian Pecquet, Al-Monitor

Political leaders from Israel to Saudi Arabia are quickly finding out that siding with Trump comes at a price....

After Trump Sows Chaos, Canada Picks Up the Pieces - Ishaan Tharoor, Wash Post

Canada can take the mantle of moral leadership from the U.S....

NATO Narcissism Needs a Reality Check - Joshua Johnson, RealClearDefense

The Graeco-Roman adage is “If you want peace, prepare for war.” The modern world is no different from the Roman Era--the West with its enormous wealth and technology is a potenti...

Trump Should Fire America's Mischief-Makers - Robert Merry, Washington Times

President Trump declared in his inaugural address, We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone. There's one thing he could do, above all others, that would herald the seriou...

Where Was the Uproar Over Obama's Mideast Wars? - Michael Dougherty, The Week

On the list of enormities inflicted on the Middle East by American policy in the last 20 years, President Trump's visa ban, for all its crudity, would not rate in the top 25....

Will Mexico Build a Wall and Make Trump Pay for It? - Ethan Epstein, Weekly Stand.

A report in a Mexican newspaper earlier this month suggested that, as part of a mooted NAFTA re-negotiation, the Trump administration may offer to help Mexico bulk up border securi...

Like It or Not, Europe Still Needs America's Protection - Natalie Nougayrede, Guardian

For all Europe's misgivings about the new president's isolationism, we will need him to ensure our security....

Can Donald Trump Defeat ISIS? - Charles Lister, RealClearWorld

Charles Lister, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, sits down with RealClearWorld to discuss President Trump's pledge to eradicate the Islamic State....

Malevolence Tempered By Incompetence - Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare

This document is the implementation of a campaign promise to keep out Muslims moderated only by the fact that certain allied Muslim countries are left out because the diplomatic re...

Why It Would Be Wrong to Undo the Cuba Opening - Eric Olson, RealClearWorld

The United States cannot be naive -- it should not romanticize the relationship with Cuba. The United States has legitimate concerns about Cuba's political system, its human rights...

Trump Has Reinvigorated the "Special Relationship" - John Bolton, Boston Globe

The potential for a dramatically different trade and investment agreement between America and Britain should be the most immediate priority....

Trump's Immigration Order Is Bad Foreign Policy - FitzGerald & Martin, Conversation

President Donald Trump banned the entry of people from seven majority Muslim countries last week. Leaders as far apart ideologically as former Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. B...

Donald Trump Is Handing China the World - David Axe, The Daily Beast

While Trump focuses on building up the U.S. Navy to counter China, Beijing is gobbling up the other segments of global relations that used to be dominated by the U.S....

Russia Intends to Test Trump in the Middle East - Jed Babbin, Washington Times

Mr. Trump would do well to add a corollary necessary to dealing with Mr. Putin: “trust has to be earned.”...

The Globalists Have No Answer to Trumpism - Eric Bovim, Daily Caller

Until Democrats can formulate a winning defense of globalism, and temper their coastal base, Trump will stampede through the world for the next four years, unopposed....

What Has Made America Great - Robert Kaplan, RealClearWorld

The full interview with author Robert Kaplan. Kaplan talks about his latest book, "Earning the Rockies," published on Jan. 24....

Trump's Folly a Once-in-a-Century Opportunity for Australia - Peter Hartcher, SMH

After less than a fortnight in power, Trump has sown enough fear and loathing to enfeeble America's magnetic pull. For many, attraction is turning into repulsion. ...

Bad Foreign Policy at Root of Refugee Crisis - Mead & Gallagher, American Interest

The world does not need lectures from Susan Rice and Samantha Power on what we should do about Syrian refugees; the best way to deal with refugee flows is to prevent them from happ...

Can Trump Manage North Korea? - Christopher Hill, Project Syndicate

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has had a rocky start; but the most pressing challenges are yet to come. Among them will be North Korea, whose leader, Kim Jong-un, rec...

America Needs a Corporate Foreign Policy - Parag Khanna, Politico

How Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson can bring business savvy and order to the messy task of running the world....

America Needs a Strong Partnership With Mexico - Ana Quintana, RealClearWorld

Few things are more important than having friendly, prosperous and secure neighbors on both sides of the border. The first scheduled meeting between Trump and Mexican President Enr...

Trump's Foreign-Policy Revolution - Charles Krauthammer, National Review

The flurry of bold executive orders and of highly provocative Cabinet nominations (such as a secretary of education who actually believes in school choice) has been encouraging to ...

U.S. Foreign Policy Has Huge Flaws That Trump Can Fix - Ted Galen Carpenter, Nat'l Int

The next Hitler is not hiding under every bush....

FDR Started the Long Peace. Trump Could End It - Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post

Trump has begun to reverse the stable world order established by FDR....

The U.S. President Is Not a Rational Actor - Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy

Whether by accident or design, Donald Trump is isolating himself and erratically unraveling the world order....

The U.S. Role in the World: No More Heroes? - Aaron David Miller, RealClearWorld

For those among our readers who long for the glories of yesteryear, when the United States was admired, feared, and respected for a bold and even heroic foreign policy, I have a pi...

The Twilight of a Peaceful World Order - Robert Kagan, Brookings Institution

If history is any guide, the next four years are the critical inflection point. The rest of the world will take its cue from the early actions of the new administration. If the nex...

Why Trump Won't Reopen the CIA's Black Sites - Eli Lake, Bloomberg View

Why build our own secret prisons when we can just turn suspects over to allies who will do our dirty work?...

7 Bargaining Chips Mexico Has Against Trump - Robbie Gramer & Emily Tamkin, FP

The art of the deal goes both ways....

The Rise of Illiberal Globalism - Amitav Acharya, Yale Global

Threats to international liberal order and democratic nations, both external and internal, shape new forms of globalization....

Trump Changes Course in Asia - Guy Taylor & Carlo Munoz, Washington Times

The Trump administration's vow to block Beijing from seizing territory in the South China Sea has sparked outrage among Chinese leaders, and Mr. Trump's rejection of the Trans-Paci...

Fillon Conjures a New European Pragmatism - Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg View

Trump has said the U.S. has been too assertive internationally, pursuing ideological visions and regime change to the detriment of its own interests. In Fillon's view, Europe has t...

5 Bad Reasons for Pulling Back From the World - Eliot Cohen, Politico

And why they're so terrible....

Iranians Believe Trump Will Violate Nuclear Deal - Barbara Slavin, Al-Monitor

A new poll shows Iranian dissatisfaction with economic gains since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action went into effect and apprehension about the policies of the new Trump admi...

America, You Look Like an Arab Country Right Now - Karl Sharro, Politico Magazine

Welcome to the club....

Did John Kerry Hand the Middle East to Putin? - Akiva Eldar, Al-Monitor

Russia has ignored the 2006 decision by the Quartet not to engage in contacts with Hamas until it renounces violence, suggesting another move by Moscow to fill the vacuum left by t...

Trump Just Made the World Poorer and More Dangerous - Sean O'Grady, Independent

A great thing for the American worker what we just did, said Donald Trump as, with the stroke of his pen, he cancelled the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP). Trump will also scrap th...

President Trump, Be Wary of a Mexican Backlash - Jose Cardenas, National Review

In negotiating with Mexico, Trump should be mindful that a populist backlash against him is brewing there....

China Won't Run From a Fight With Trump - Michael Auslin, Foreign Policy

The new U.S. president says he's ready to stand up to China in its own backyard,€” but Beijing won't take that lying down....

Will Trump Stay the Course on Changing U.S. Trade Policy? - Philip Levy, RCWorld

For several decades it has been reasonably easy to predict the direction of U.S. trade policy, even across changes of presidential administration. One could always expect more of t...

What the Saudi Monarchy Wants From the U.S. - Gerald Feierstein, RealClearWorld

Like many capitals around the world, Riyadh is waiting anxiously to understand more about the direction the Trump administration intends to take on Mideast policy. The Saudis undou...

Trump Has Nothing to Offer Asia Except Threats - Hunter Marston, Foreign Policy

The president's all-sticks, no-carrots approach is scaring away allies and empowering America's enemies....

Welcome to World Order 2.0 - Richard Haass, Project Syndicate

Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1848 ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe, the concept of sovereignty -- the right of countries to an independent existence and autonomy -- has fo...

Ben Rhodes Left the World a More Dangerous Place - John Daniel Davidson, Federalist

In a recent interview, Obama's former national security advisor Ben Rhodes reveals he doesn't understand the decline of American power....

Fighting With America: Facing Up to the Unpredictable - James Curran, Lowy Interpreter

If anything has emerged in the time since Donald Trump's election it is the near total absence of any kind of pattern to his decisions or acts as president-elect. In the ...

Geography Is What Made America Great - Jonathan Rauch, New York Times

Maybe the political air is turbulent but the country's tectonic fundamentals remain solid. Maybe American politics and geopolitics rest on a foundation as immovable as the rivers a...