As President Vladimir Putin tests Europe’s resolve during the crisis over Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s admiration for Catherine hints at the complex ties binding Germany and Russia together that give her sway over Putin yet constrain her response. Read Here – Bloomberg
Indeed, once the winds of war start blowing, they are impossible to tame. Even if Ukrainians and the West force Putin to retreat, this is not the end of Putin’s revanchism. He is stubborn, determined and vengeful. He may at some point back down, but he’ll be back later. Read Here – Moscow Times
The more the United States turns out to be a fickle, unreliable ally of its longstanding friends in the Middle East—especially Saudi Arabia and Israel—the more the leaders of South Korea and Japan will worry whether they can rely on the United States’ defense umbrella. Read Here – The Diplomat
In his compelling essay “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell links the decline of civilizations to a self-reinforcing relationship between muddy thinking and bad writing. “If thought corrupts language,” he writes, “language can also corrupt thought.” Read Here – National Interest
A confident-looking Abdel Fattah el-Sisi strides across the tarmac at Almaza Air Base, dressed in a blue blazer and his trademark sunglasses. He is not yet Egypt’s head of state, but certainly looks like one Read Here – Politico
Will deepening ties between India and Japan hurt the U.S. foreign policy view in Asia? Read Here – The National Interest
Faced with growing expectations, China’s foreign policy is actually becoming more insecure. Read Here – The Diplomat
History matters, but in different ways. In some places and for some people, history means eternal clashes that are shaped by profound geopolitical forces: four centuries ago is the same as yesterday. Elsewhere and for other people, history suggests a need to find ways to escape from ancient predicaments and outdated prejudices. It is this […]
Last weekend, Helmut Schmidt and Henry Kissinger participated in a discussion at the Munich Security Conference – just as they did a half-century ago, when they took part in the first Internationale Wehrkunde-Begegnung (the forerunner of today’s conference). In the meantime, many developments around the world have given us reason to rejoice – but also to reflect. […]
There’s a natural fit between the two putative partners: Japan’s technological prowess and wealth complements India’s size, and a New Delhi-Tokyo duet would stretch China’s power across two widely separated fronts (and more if the partnership can be complemented by the United States, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia, something that Japan would like to see) while […]
