Defense & Security Archive

Under Chancellor Angela Merkel, the longest-serving head of government in the European Union, Germany has assumed a central role in a changing Europe. But in both the EU and the world beyond, Berlin often seems a reluctant power, even as Merkel’s popularity at home masks underlying challenges. All of the articles linked below are free for non-subscribers until Sept. 17. The View From Berlin: In winning a third term as chancellor in 2013, Merkel extended the Christian Democratic Union’s hold on power and cemented her dominance of German politics. But she was once again forced to form a coalition government […]

In late June, the Thai navy told reporters it had elected to buy three submarines from China. The billion-dollar purchase has yet to be officially finalized, and specifics regarding the decision remain murky. While the deal will move Bangkok one step closer to acquiring a capability it has lacked for more than six decades, it has become caught in a broader debate about Thailand’s perceived drift away from the United States and toward China following a coup last year. Thailand’s submarine quest is neither new nor surprising. The country has lacked a submarine capability since 1951 and has tried since […]

The good times are winding down in much of Latin America, and with them ends not only a period of economic growth but very possibly also one of relative political stability. As the global economy and financial markets strain to adjust to a slowdown in China, for years one of the world’s principal engines of growth, no region of the world will feel a more painful punch from the new reality. In fact, the International Monetary Fund’s growth projections show Latin America and the Caribbean with the slowest economies of any major region this year. Such a sharp deceleration inevitably […]

With Congress preparing to vote on the Iran nuclear deal later this month, the proverbial fat lady in the wings is preparing for her solo. After months of lobbying, millions spent on advertising, hundreds of op-eds, thousands of articles and an incalculable number of tweets, the opponents of the P5+1 nuclear agreement with Iran are on the verge of a major defeat. Indeed, the White House is now pushing for Democrats to filibuster the vote in the Senate and prevent President Barack Obama from having to veto any resolution. Even if not blocked in the Senate, the White House has […]

On the night of Aug. 28, Turkish fighter jets joined U.S.-led airstrikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State for the first time, following through on a long-reluctant commitment to fight the brutal jihadi group. But Ankara’s heightened efforts against the Islamic State have hardly been noticed by many people in Turkey, which is grappling with the deadly renewal of its war with Kurdish insurgents in southeastern Turkey as snap elections loom in the fall. For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the growing chaos comes down to one matter alone: the restoration of single-party rule for his Justice and Development Party (AKP), […]

The victory by Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance in the Indian elections of May 2014 seemed to herald the start of a new era for India’s defense establishment. The new government came to power vowing to strengthen the Indian armed forces and reform the country’s jumbled and sluggish approach to defense acquisition. Such promises were music to the ears of Indian military planners charged with preparing for various conflict scenarios, including the possibility—however unlikely—of a two-front war versus neighboring rivals China and Pakistan. Under the new approach laid out by Modi’s government, the military modernization process was supposed to be […]

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s right-wing Radical Party announced that it was leaving the ruling coalition over a bill that would give more power to the country’s regions, including in eastern Ukraine, which is currently controlled by pro-Russian rebels. Russia insisted on the decentralization of power as a condition for the truce that was agreed upon in February between Ukrainian troops and separatist rebels, which has unraveled bit by bit. The bill has sparked controversy across Ukraine and put President Petro Poroshenko in a tight spot. Russian-backed separatists say it does not give them sufficient sovereignty in the east, while nationalists claim […]

The late-August headlines have been heartrending, from the continued violence of the Islamic State against both people and cultural patrimony, to stirrings of public discontent and rage over government incompetence in several Arab states. The latest of the summer’s tragedies came last week, when the lifeless bodies of 71 migrants, including four children, were found inside a truck in Austria. The horrific discovery moved the ever-expanding tragedy of illegal migration from war zones into Southern and Eastern Europe back into the spotlight. Although many commentators have pointed the finger at Europe’s institutional failings to manage the migration crisis, much of […]