RealClearWorld Articles

China’s two-fold climate advantage over the West is unraveling.   The Trump administration’s revocation of the 2009 climate endangerment finding, the UN’s COP30 failure in Brazil, the reappraisals of Jamie Dimon and Bill Gates, and the frank admissions by some in Europe all point to an overdue shift in the West’s position.  Beijing must be devastated because China has benefited absolutely from selling the West green energy technology and benefitted relatively as this technology has reduced the competitiveness of Western nations. On February 12, the Trump...

For decades, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has been miscast as a “separatist insurgent group,” a label that is now outdated and misleading. What began as a movement propelled by political grievances and Cold War intrigue has been hijacked by something far more dangerous. Today, the group operates according to the methods of modern terrorism. It deliberately targets civilians and infrastructure, as illustrated once again by the coordinated attacks in Balochistan on 31 January that killed dozens of civilians and security personnel. Cut off from the aspirations of ordinary Baloch...

After the recent release of political prisoners in Venezuela, Donald Trump once again presents himself as a leader willing to confront authoritarian regimes in Latin America. His message is familiar: pressure works, dictators respond, and Washington can still shape outcomes beyond its borders. While the headlines celebrate Caracas, a harder question emerges in Brazil. When it comes to a country where political persecution comes from judges, not generals, Trump does not go far enough — and the cost of that retreat is measured not in speeches, but in lives. I recently had the opportunity...

Dear Eileen,Like all legendary coaches, every tenure has a natural shelf life. In the world of elite sports, we eventually witness the exact moment a coach’s philosophy loses the room or a star’s "versatility" becomes a liability to the roster. It isn’t a lack of talent; it’s a failure of alignment. It is clear that your involvement in the U.S. has hit that plateau. It’s not you, Eileen; it’s us. Your deafening silence has simply become incompatible with our roster. This is no one’s fault; it’s just timing.We truly admire the utility of your...

Last week, in a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump indicated he may have changed his mind on acceding to the United Kingdom’s deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a deal he recently described as “act of great stupidity.” Doing so would be a mistake. Accepting the handover would gravely imperil America's position in the Indo-Pacific, a legacy any president would not want to own. In his post the president noted, “I understand that the deal Prime Minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could...

America’s largest philanthropic foundations control more than $1.6 trillion in assets—capital forged in the engine of American enterprise and sheltered by a tax code that facilitates the near-untaxed transfer of intergenerational wealth. Yet despite this extraordinary privilege, these institutions remain largely absent from the defining contest of our age: the preservation of the free world’s technological and industrial base. While Washington dithers and Silicon Valley chases valuations, the philanthropic sector—uniquely independent of markets and election...

At the turn of the 21st century, the international system became increasingly interdependent and shaped by rapid technological globalization. The bipolar world order that depicted the Cold War era gave way to a multipolar configuration in which the United States and Russia retained their dominance and China emerged as a geopolitical superpower. In this complex environment, Western Europe has undergone a gradual decline in power and influence. Once the dominant hegemonic power in global affairs for centuries and later a critical partner in helping the United States enforce and promote its...

At 3 a.m. in Kyiv, Dmytro Pavlovsky woke to the sound of his microwave beeping. In most places, that sound means food is ready. In Kyiv, it means electricity has briefly returned. Pavlovsky is a high school teacher, not a soldier. He lives in a city where Russian missiles routinely strike power stations, water pumps, and heating systems. Electricity now arrives unpredictably, sometimes for forty minutes, sometimes for two hours, sometimes not again for a day. When it does, civilians race the clock. They charge phones and laptops, heat water, cook what they can, and fill containers for...

Analyses of dissent in Iran usually point to familiar causes: sanctions, inflation, unemployment, and elite factionalism. These factors undeniably shape daily life. But they do not fully explain the persistence, depth, and emotional intensity of opposition to the Islamic Republic — nor why resistance endures across generations and social classes despite repeated crackdowns. To understand Iran’s mounting unrest, one must look beyond economics and politics to a deeper cultural, emotional, and civilizational divide between society and state. At the heart of this divide lies a crisis...

Pretoria just booted Israel’s top diplomat for an unforgivable offense: trying to help rural South Africans access clean water. Instead of focusing on the well-being of its citizens, the South African government is picking fights with the United States and its allies. In its January 30 announcement, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) declared Israeli Charge d’Affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata, giving him 72 hours to vacate the country. DIRCO accused Israel of committing “a series of unacceptable...

While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shops his country to China and Qatar, Americans should revisit an idea the Founding Fathers first proposed: welcoming Canada into the Union.   Donald Trump is not the first president to entertain the idea of Canada joining the United States. That title goes to George Washington. In his 1775 open letter to the Inhabitants of Canada,  Washington invited Canadian colonists to support the Revolution against British despotism: “Come then, my brethren, unite with us in an indissoluble Union”.   Later,...

Iran stands at a historic crossroads. After weeks of nationwide protests, the clerical regime has been shaken but not yet dislodged. Mass arrests, executions, and brutal repression have temporarily halted demonstrations, yet they have failed to silence a society that has fundamentally rejected dictatorship. Iran is approaching a decisive moment that requires a clear, realistic path toward a secular democratic republic rooted in the will of the people. History offers a hard lesson. Regimes do not collapse because they are despised, isolated, or morally bankrupt. They fall when...

Since President Trump’s successful removal of Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro as head of state, the sachems of foreign policy have worried that the U.S. will again begin a program of nation-building.  Their concern is no doubt enforced by recent Presidential promises to make Gaza a flourishing economy.  As with so many ideas in foreign affairs, nation-building once seemed like the thing to do -- the purpose of America abroad.  Iraq played a key role in the idea falling from fashion.  One reason was that there was little evidence that the U.S. could restore a...

In a rapid maneuver, Syrian government forces recently consolidated power over the northeastern areas of their country following the collapse of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The military operation, which followed a December 31 deadline for the Kurds to reintegrate and months of Kurdish refusals to do so, has prompted bitter accusations that the U.S. has “abandoned” the Kurds by allowing President Ahmed al-Sharaa to proceed. While Americans should feel compassion for the Kurds in Syria, the narrative of U.S....

President Donald Trump’s address at the World Economic Forum in Davos was predictably met with a mix of applause, skepticism, and outright hostility, particularly over one flashpoint: Greenland. But reducing the speech to a single geopolitical controversy misses its broader significance. At Davos, Trump delivered not only a familiar defense of his economic record, but also a more revealing message about how he sees America’s relationship with Europe and the future of the transatlantic alliance. “I am derived from Europe,” the President said, citing his Scottish and...

Wealth taxes are increasingly popular. Across Europe, wealth tax proposals are par for the course in economic policy debate. In the U.S., recent proposals include Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act and the 2025 Billionaires Income Tax Act. While it sounds appealing to “tax the rich”, the U.S. should resist the apparent quick-fix of taking money from the wealthy to plug gaps in public finances. With rising wealth inequality and governments struggling to fund their programs, politicians and voters want the wealthiest to provide a larger share...

The Department of State recently announced that the U.S. had committed $2 billion in humanitarian assistance to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The aid is focused on 17 countries in crisis and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, with initiatives in other regions including the “occupied Palestinian territory.” Per the State Department, the funds are part of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) implementing “vital reforms  to make that work more impactful, efficient, and accountable to the...

Last month, conservative Jose Kast defeated communist Jeannette Jara to become the next president of Chile. While Kast is a social conservative, he ran on a platform centered around illegal immigration and crime, two of the issues voters were most concerned about. In addition, Kast promises deregulation, tax cuts, and expansion of mining in the country. The election of Kast provides an opportunity for President Trump to further his own agenda. For one thing, Kast’s focus on crime and immigration is shared with Donald Trump. Closer cooperation between US law enforcement and Chilean...

On January 17th, President Trump told Politico that “it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran.”  He’s right.  The U.S. should unabashedly support such change.  Ayatollah Khameni already blames the U.S. for fomenting all the recent social unrest in Iran.  Let’s help him prove his point.   Sadly, some of our partners in the region are worried about regime change in Iran because it could lead to regional instability.  Really?  As if the current Iranian regime that has been in power for...