US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of imminent Russian assault on Ukraine, scrambling to get allies to rally. (File photo) A special press briefing in unseemly hurry by the US state department to warn an imminent Russian assault on Ukraine; a surprise call by state secretary Blinken to his …

The United Nations has no standing army, despite its initial plans to create one. Instead, when it launches a peace operation—the best established tool the international community has to address security threats—it relies on member states to voluntarily contribute personnel and troops. These U.N. deployments have grown in number and …

Amid the looming threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Western nations continue to use a wide-ranging toolkit of policy options, including diplomacy and security assistance, to avert the risk of a full-blown war in Eastern Europe. The U.K. is supplying short-range anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Canada is deploying a …

In September 2021, the Polish government declared a state of emergency along its border with Belarus, which is also the European Union’s eastern frontier, in response to a large influx of migrants from countries including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. The route and timing of the migrants’ journey into Europe was …

A series of deadly explosions in Abu Dhabi, the normally placid capital of the United Arab Emirates, has created a strategic quandary for the UAE government. Its leaders are in the midst of a major diplomatic reinvention, seeking to develop good relations with all of their regional neighbors, including, notably, …

On the menu today: President Biden’s comment about minor incursions by Russian forces into Ukraine is a big deal, much bigger than he realized when he said it — another indication that vast swaths of the American foreign-policy cognoscenti really are unable to understand Vladimir Putin. Elsewhere, Greg and I …

Why Constitutional Crises and Political Violence Could Soon Be the Norm When Joe Biden was sworn in as president a year ago today, many Americans breathed a heavy sigh of relief. President Donald Trump had tried to steal the election, but he had failed. The violent insurrection he incited on …

A Year In, His Foreign Policy Is Too Cautious and Conventional On August 31, 2021, a little more than two weeks after the government in Kabul fell, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a scorching defense of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “To those asking for a third decade of war …

While Tehran is proceeding slowly when it comes to establishing official ties with the Taliban government, recent talks highlight Iran’s interest in expanding its role in Afghanistan. On his first official visit to Iran, the Taliban government’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in Tehran Jan. 9 for talks …

Recent airstrikes on areas close to the Iraqi capital as well as the killing of Islamic State fighters there have received scant attention as Iran-linked groups continue to carry out persistent attacks. Tarmiya, roughly 50 kilometers north of the Iraqi capital, has in recent weeks been the scene of suicide …