Recent Posts

What Is NATO’s Article 5?

The article, as the cornerstone of a treaty signed in 1949, establishes solidarity among member states and has been invoked only once. Article 5 is the cornerstone of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all of …

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US-allied Syria Kurdish commander warns of growing IS threat

The Islamic State group is a growing threat in northeastern Syria despite the killing of its leader in a U.S. commando operation last week, says the chief commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish-led force. Mazloum Abdi, who heads the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, warned that IS fighters are still very …

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Bipolarity is Back: Why It Matters

Bipolarity is no longer returning—it is here, and it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. News today is dominated by US-China relations, indicating a recognition of today’s bipolar system, and China continues to close the gap in the economic realm. The effects of this bipolarity have substantially deepened …

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Ukraine, NATO, and Putin’s Self-Made Predicament

Putin could have gotten out of this trap, had the Russian side positively evaluated the limited Western concessions that are on the table: arms control of medium-range weapons systems, as well as confidence-building, transparency, and verification measures in the NATO-Russia borderlands, and measures of crisis communication. A specter is haunting …

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To Change Putin’s Behavior, the West Needs a New Strategy

Although the response in Western capitals to Russia’s aggressive military posturing on its border with Ukraine has been couched in clear diplomacy-first terms, military contingency planning has stepped up a notch in recent weeks. The intent of these moves, at least judging from the rhetoric of U.S. and NATO leaders …

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Ukraine Crisis: The Big Picture

Tensions between Russia and the US-led NATO alliance are soaring over the possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Although Russia has repeatedly said that it does not intend to invade Ukraine, however, the Western alliance is beating war drums for the last few weeks. Diplomatic efforts have not made a …

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