U.S. Foreign Policy

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Foreign Policy Reverberations of the Energy Renaissance
April 24, 2012 4 min. read

If the reality comes anywhere close to matching the hype, then the speeding of Russia’s national decline and the revival of America’s ideological authority will be among the transformative effects As an earlier post suggested, the dramatic rise in U.S. natural gas production is one large reason why fears about America’s strategic decline may well […]

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The Signs Were Clear, They Had No Idea: The Future of U.S.-China-DPRK Relations
April 23, 2012 6 min. read

  Postage stamps commemorating the “successful” delivery into orbit of North Korea’s two satellites, Kwangmyongsong-1 (1998) and Kwangmyongsong-2 (2009) Nearly five months have passed since I last evaluated the situation in North Korea, making predictions and recommendations on how the United States should proceed with the nascent “Kim 3.0.” All those months ago, I argued […]

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Italy’s Little Blogging Problem
April 18, 2012 1 min. read

The Italian blogosphere is on fire with postings about the “ammazza blog” amendment. According to Gigaom, the remnant of Silvio Berlusconi’s days would force online publications (including blogs), to swiftly address complaints–or pay up: The proposed legislation would force online publications, whether large or small, to amend information on their sites within 48 hours of […]

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Tougher than the Rest?
April 17, 2012 6 min. read

If history is any guide, Obama is bluffing on Iran With President Obama describing them as Tehran’s “last chance” for a peaceful resolution, international negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program started up again this past weekend.  Washington has been talking tough with Iran of late, insisting that it is prepared, if necessary, to use military force […]

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The Return of the Ugly American?
April 17, 2012 2 min. read

Often criticized for ignoring our Latin American neighbors, President Obama had been looking forward to the Summit of the Americas as an opportunity to engage in diplomacy and talk up trade deals. Instead, the summit was all but hijacked by what the media is calling the greatest scandal to ever rock the Secret Service. By […]

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Drones on the Cocos Islands: A Cat Amongst the Pigeons
April 16, 2012 3 min. read

According to a report by the Washington Post just over 2 weeks ago, US officials have engaged Australia in informal discussions over a proposed US drone base in the Cocos Islands 2,000 kilometers north-west of Perth. Allegedly, the proposed base would house a fleet of Global Hawk drones. At a unit cost of $218 million […]

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Stalemate in Bahrain
April 11, 2012 4 min. read

The Government of Bahrain and opposition movement are at a stalemate. Last November, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), comprising of individuals selected for their human rights expertise released a damning report outlining the many abuses committed by Bahrain’s government during the February 2011 crisis. While the government has made progress in implementing the […]

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American Dynamism Vs. Chinese Statism
March 28, 2012 4 min. read

One does not have to look hard to find publications or experts pronouncing or describing an America in decline. They have now become ubiquitous and in many circles pass for the conventional wisdom of the day. In a similar vein, it is not that hard to find arguments that other countries, particularly China, have a […]

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to American Decline
March 27, 2012 6 min. read

What James Cameron and SpaceX tell us about the Future of Global Power James Cameron’s solo journey into the ocean’s deepest recesses is being hailed as a tale of personal daring and scientific adventure.  But it also holds a lesson relevant to the debate about whether the global hierarchy is being reshuffled and to what […]

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The Israel-Iran Facebook Lovefest
March 27, 2012 2 min. read
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When you hear people in Israel talking about Iran these days, the hot topic is not whether there will be war or not. It’s whether they have showed any love to, or got any love from, and Iranian. As sappy as it sounds, it’s the truth. At the center of the new fashion in showing […]

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Amelia Earhart & The Spirit of America
March 25, 2012 3 min. read

Do you follow celebrity news? I have to admit that it’s not something I keep up with. I’m not one to care all that much about celebrities or their occasional forays into foreign policy. I know there are people who base their foreign policy views on the well-informed opinions of celebrities like Angelina Jolie, George […]

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The Big Picture of the U.S. Role in the World
March 16, 2012 3 min. read
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My posts for the U.S. Role in the World blog tend to focus on specific expressions of the U.S. role that are current and timely (like foreign aid or defense spending) but I was reminded today that it’s sometimes good to step back from the specific and look at the big picture. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosted […]

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