Can Liberal Democracy Be Its Own Worst Enemy?

Populists Are Attacking Modern Representative Government and It’s Past Time for Democratic Leaders to Fight Back

The rising populism in today’s Europe is not merely the result of recent decisions by politicians, but also must be understood as a consequence of long-term changes that started more than 25 years ago with the fall of the Berlin Wall, said panelists at a Zócalo/NPR Berlin event.

“This is a transformational hangover to fundamental changes in our modern societies,” said Timo Lochocki, a Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund. He suggested that surging populism set up a challenge for democracies: “We all can learn a lot from the so-called …

By Bruno Kaufmann | October 19, 2016

Don’t Laugh, But Trump May Be Right on Russia

Foreign Policy Elites Are Still Invested in a Cold War With Moscow That No Longer Makes Sense

By Anatol Lieven | September 26, 2016

Donald Trump’s views on U.S.-Russia relations bring to mind something that Shakespeare points out in King Lear—that sometimes the court fool is the only person telling the truth.

Washington’s …

I Could Blame Peter the Great or Warren Beatty, But Either Way The Soviets Got to Me

I'd Better Brush up on My Russian Declensions as Our Cold War Nostalgia Gives Way to the Real Thing … Again

By Andrés Martinez | September 26, 2016

I never stood a chance. Of course Russia would seduce me.

It was the early 1980s and Robert Massie had just published his riveting Peter the Great biography (I devoured …

Why Do Russians Put Up With Putin?

Iron-Fist Control Provides Security in a Chaotic World, Says NPR’s David Greene

By Paul Bisceglio | November 10, 2015

From annexing Crimea to dropping bombs in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has led his country down a path for the past two years that worries many Americans. Given his …

Why Be Afraid of Russia?

Washington and Moscow Have Competing Interests. But They Can Be Overcome.

November 6, 2015

Russia’s recent actions in Syria have raised new questions about the country’s foreign-policy goals and their meaning for the U.S. Doubts remain about the annexation of Crimea and how it …

We Need a Global Refugee Policy

The International Community Isn't Keeping Up With the Need for Humanitarian Assistance

By Phil Orchard | October 21, 2015

Contrary to what you might think given the amount of attention focused on Europe’s response to the surging number of refugees knocking on its door, this crisis isn’t primarily a …

international relations