Political scientists have a name for why only Nixon could open relations with Mao’s China, or why only a Likud hardliner like Begin could make peace with Egypt: they call it the Nixon-to-China effect. The standard account explains why the public finds these moves...
Potentially inflammatory rhetoric should be addressed with dialogue, not bans Recent antisemitic attacks have rightly led to concern among the US Jewish population. Over the weekend a man assaulted...
In January of 2025, the Republican party gained “the trifecta,” controlling the Presidency and the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Since then, congressional Republicans have done little...
On June 19, 2026, as American and Iranian negotiators were set to meet in Switzerland to work through the terms of a fragile memorandum of understanding, Israeli jets struck Hezbollah targets in...
Like everyone else, I’m enjoying the World Cup. I’m not a fan of soccer/football, and honestly haven’t been watching the game. But I love how excited other people are for the tournament. It’s great seeing people gather for watch parties, and chat about the results afterwards. I’ve loved reading about the great interactions between Americans and international fans and players, like Boston’s love affair with Scottish fans, Norwegians’ Viking Row in New York, and Kansas rolling out the red carpet for the Algerian team. As others have said, this comes at a great time. Donald Trump turned what...
President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran may weaken the U.S. ability to deter great power rivals. But not because the recent U.S.-Iranian memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the conflict makes the United States look weak. The damage has already been done. Reactions in the United States largely panned the MOU even as disagreement persisted on the war itself. The MOU consensus points to a damaged U.S. reputation for resolve which can undermine deterrence. Countries, as Thomas Schelling famously argued during the Cold War, should fight to maintain “a...
For Western Christians, Holy Week—the most important time of the church calendar—just finished. Like many other Christians, it is a powerful and challenging time of the year. We are meant to reflect on how we are self-assured in our devotion to Jesus’ teachings one minute and turn on Him the next, seeing ourselves in the disciples who abandoned him. We are supposed to meditate on the simultaneous horrors and hope in His crucifixion. And we spent the weekend waiting for His resurrection (although I admit I rarely make it to the Saturday vigil). But this year was extra difficult to stay...
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) recently published results of a survey of historians on the best and worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history. There are few surprises—wars in Vietnam and Iraq fared poorly, and the post-WWII creation of the institutions we associate with the “liberal international order” receives high marks. Among the most striking results to me is the fact that two of the ten worst foreign policy decisions in this list are related to the Indian Removal Act (one is the act itself; one is the forcible removal of the Cherokee). Even more striking is that...
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference demonstrated he is a better diplomat than Vice President J.D. Vance, although that’s not much of a hurdle to clear. Where Vance gave a bullying lecture, Rubio’s speech focused on emphasizing the importance of transatlantic ties and maintaining the US-European alliance. He argued the goal of this alliance, however, was to defend a common culture against the “threat” of immigration, raising concerns. And one of the ways he attempted to do this—appealing to shared Christian faith and a common Western civilization—will...
In my international relations classes, I encourage my students to not just express their (mostly negative) views of Trump’s foreign policy. I also ask them to reflect on the extent to which Trump’s actions are in line with the history of US foreign policy. Some see the United States as adhering to liberal international norms, with Trump a major break. Others argue the United States was always domineering and aggressive, so Trump shouldn’t be much of a surprise. I thought of that as I read the news about the US intervention in Venezuela this weekend. I started out shocked; this feels like a...
The U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean is confusing the MAGA faithful. With rumors swirling of an imminent operation to topple Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the president’s supporters are asking what happened to “America First”? Tucker Carlson recently remarked it was a “little strange” that the U.S. was telling another country, “we don’t like your leadership — leave or we’ll kill you.” Trump’s former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, asked on his podcast, “Is this just a breeding ground for neocon 3.0?” Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has warned that if Trump pursues regime change, “a lot...
On November 1, 2025, President Donald Trump threatened to end all U.S. assistance to Nigeria and — if he deemed it necessary — launch a military attack against insurgents in the country. As National Public Radio reported: “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media. “I am hereby instructing our...