Saudi Arabia is destabilizing the world
JUST A FEW months ago, the governor of Indonesia’s largest city, Jakarta, seemed headed for easy re-election despite the fact that he is a Christian in a mostly Muslim country. Suddenly everything went violently wrong. Using the pretext of an offhand remark the governor made about the Koran, masses of enraged Muslims took to the streets […]
My Foreign Policy Mixtape
THIS SPRING BRINGS exciting news for those of us who study America’s role in the world: U2 is on tour. I like the band’s music reasonably well, but that’s not why this tour grabs me. U2 is named after an American spy plane that was at the center of a major Cold War confrontation. That means […]
New allies for a new world
ATLANTIC NATIONS HAVE dominated the world for the last 500 years. That long historical moment is now ending. East Asian countries will return to the position of dominance they once enjoyed. This will create new roles for them, us, and everyone else. In the last few months, our progress toward decline has quickened. President Trump favors […]
Old Debts Come Due in North Korea
MANY CRISES THE United States now faces are the result of unwise choices we made years ago. Our escalating nuclear confrontation with North Korea is a terrifying example. The roots of this crisis lie in Washington. When the Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan in 1979, the United States resolved to create a force that would […]
In the twilight of the Castros
SANTA CLARA, Cuba — THIS PROVINCIAL CAPITAL in central Cuba throbbed with life on a recent Saturday night. In one plaza, a Beatles cover band sang “Ticket to Ride” for an enthusiastic crowd. Exuberant groups of gay men made their way toward a club that stages drag shows and welcomes patrons of all sexual orientations. In […]
