President-elect Donald Trump at a roundtable discussion on national security, New York, Aug. 17, 2016 (AP photo by Gerald Herbert).

In the most shocking political upset in American history, Donald Trump has won the presidency. Now there are major questions about whether someone who has never held elected office or exercised leadership in a system based on consensus-building and a division of power can learn to do so on the job, at a time when so much is at stake. Trump’s learning curve will be particularly crucial in the realm of national security strategy, where the president faces fewer checks and balances, and where mistakes can have a cost in blood and even precipitate outright disaster. It is hard to […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Cabinet meeting, Moscow, Russia, Sept. 7, 2016 (AP photo by Mikhail Klimentyev).

Historians and politicians will mine the astonishing 2016 U.S. election for years to come, drawing countless lessons about voter dissatisfaction, political acrimony and resistance to social change, among many other mostly domestic problems brought to the surface by the tumultuous campaign. But one of the unexpected mileposts marked by America’s electoral exercise this year lies in the use of a new weapon in global power politics: weaponized social media as an aggressive tool of foreign policy. If war is politics by other means, as the 19th-century military strategist Carl Von Clausewitz famously said, the U.S. election demonstrated that in the […]

President-elect Donald Trump gives his acceptance speech during his election night rally, Nov. 9, 2016, New York (AP photo by John Locher).

Does Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States signal an existential crisis for the liberal internationalist global order? Will it usher in a period of heightened barriers to trade and dialogue, with one-sided ultimatums replacing diplomatic negotiations and compromise? Will the U.S.-backed security architectures in Europe and Asia crumble into the kind of epochal chaos currently on display in the Middle East? It is easy at times like these to fall prey to panic and despair—to believe, in essence, one’s own campaign rhetoric. But while all of the above scenarios remain possible, for now they are off in […]

Worshippers on their way to perform Friday afternoon prayers in the courtyard of Ezzitouna Mosque, Tunis, Tunisia, Oct. 23, 2015 (AP photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy).

As the U.S. presidential campaign finally wraps up, the Middle East is taking away some very negative messages about American culture that will diminish America’s ability to be a model for good governance and to influence outcomes in the region. Iran’s media has even used a broadcast of the U.S. presidential debates to validate the regime narrative of America’s corruption and weak moral values, and Iran’s own preference for strict religious codes of conduct. But Arab states working to avoid extremism and authoritarianism still seek virtue in the American experience, even if they are not yet ready to embrace democracy […]

Syrian rescue workers after an airstrike in the town of Darat Izza, western Aleppo province, Syria, Nov. 5, 2016 (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets photo via AP).

Russia is planning to confront the next U.S. president with the dilemma of how to manage a bloody defeat in Syria on his or her first day in office: As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hurtle around America looking for last-minute votes, Moscow has been positioning its forces for a final assault on Aleppo. Despite pushes by rebel forces to gain ground, there is a very high chance that the Russians and their Syrians allies will secure total control of the city before the next president’s inauguration. Moscow is likely to dismiss residual efforts by the Obama administration, and other […]

A voter fills out paper work during early voting for the U.S. presidential election, Augusta, Georgia, Nov. 3, 2016 (AP photo by Michael Holahan).

After more than 18 months of following a heated campaign, Americans head to the polls on Tuesday to elect the next president of the United States. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton faces Republican nominee Donald Trump in a race that polls show is closer than many expected. This compilation of WPR’s analysis looks at what’s at stake in the election and what a Trump or Clinton presidency would mean for U.S. foreign policy. The following seven articles are free to nonsubscribers until Nov. 18. The Foreign Policy Debate That Wasn’t The Populist Revolt That Propelled Trump Won’t Fade Away If He […]

U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump during the third presidential debate, Las Vegas, Oct. 19, 2016 (AP photo by Mark Ralston).

When Dwight Eisenhower took office as president in January 1953, he was deeply concerned about the trajectory of America’s security strategy. Much had changed in the years leading up to his election the previous November, as hopes that the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France and China—would collaboratively manage global security were dashed by the emergence of the Cold War. By the time Eisenhower moved into the White House, no one doubted that containing the Soviet Union was America’s most pressing strategic task. What worried him was how to […]

Trump supporters during a rally at the Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City, Nov. 1, 2016 (AP photo by Rick Bowmer).

In less than a week, Americans will vote for their next president. The choice this year is stark, particularly with regard to the two candidates’ character and qualifications. For all her flaws, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is clearly qualified and prepared to assume the presidency. By contrast, her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, has demonstrated a lack of seriousness and a cavalier amateurishness that makes him ill-suited for the office. This is not so much an endorsement of Clinton as a statement of fact for most unbiased observers of international affairs and national security. It is also unfortunate, since the campaign—while […]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeting at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Oct. 26, 2016  (AP photo by Issei Kato).

Last week, Rodrigo Duterte, the combative and mercurial new president of the Philippines, made high-profile visits to China and Japan, which have the two largest economies in Asia. In Beijing, Duterte offered alarming comments about his desire to “separate” from the United States, the Philippines’ sole military ally and security guarantor. In his typical off-the-cuff manner, he publicly mused that it would be preferable to join in some trilateral relationship with China and Russia, rather than focus on Manila’s relationship with Washington. China, looking to seize on Duterte’s vitriol against the U.S., offered him a massive suite of soft loans, […]

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