It's Debatable
Intervention or Restraint? A Washington debate on pressing issues for policymakers.
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Servicemen salute as their tanks move through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2021. Is Russia Preparing to Invade Ukraine?
Moscow’s military buildup is raising eyebrows in Washington as Belarus ups the ante in its standoff with the EU.
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U.S. President Joe Biden listens to the speakers during the World Leaders' Summit "Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment" session on day three of COP26 on Nov. 2, in Glasgow, Scotland. Will COP26 Solve Anything?
Climate apocalypse still looms while world leaders haggle over haggis in Glasgow.
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Military vehicles carry China's DF-41 nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles in a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Will China’s New Missile Lead to Escalation or Stability?
Beijing’s FOBS delivery system could provoke an arms race—or a more stable deterrence relationship.
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A Taiwanese soldier waves a flag. Is Defending Taiwan Worth the Risk?
Chinese incursions and U.S. training of Taiwanese forces raise the specter of war. Is it a conflict the United States can handle?
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Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Sheean arrives for a logistics port visit on Apr. 1 in Hobart, Australia. Will AUKUS Hit China Where It Hurts?
The submarine deal could reshape the balance of power in the Pacific—and draw Australia into future conflicts.
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Flags of Lithuania, the United States, and NATO are hoisted in front of a U.S. Air Force plane carrying U.S. soldiers at the air force base near Siauliai Zuokniai, Lithuania, on April 26, 2014. Is Lithuania the West’s First Line of Defense?
The small Baltic nation is facing down threats from authoritarian regimes in Russia, Belarus, and China.
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A U.S. soldier shoots in the air with his pistol while standing guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug. 20. What Should Biden Have Done in Afghanistan?
Withdrawal was always bound to be chaotic, but wishful thinking, poor planning, and glacial bureaucracies have made a difficult situation worse.
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A Belarusian athlete arrives at an international airport. The Geopolitical Stakes of Olympic Perfection—and Defection
The Tokyo Games have brought a surge of nationalism and laid bare the methods of autocrats like Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko.
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bezos rocket Can the World Avoid War in Cyberspace—and in Space?
Billionaire rocket launches and ongoing cyberattacks reveal that, without norms governing conflict, there could be chaos.
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Performers dressed as soldiers dance in front of a screen showing rockets being launched during a mass gala marking the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on June 28 at the Olympic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, China. Does Beijing’s Belligerent Birthday Party Herald a New Arms Race?
The Chinese Communist Party’s anniversary celebration is taking place amid a nuclear buildup.
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Swiss President Guy Parmelin (C) leads U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet media during the U.S.-Russia summit at Villa La Grange on June 16, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. Biden is meeting his Russian counterpart, Putin, for the first time as president in Geneva, Switzerland. Was the Biden-Putin Summit a Success?
The White House set clear red lines on cyberwar, but don’t expect much progress in the months to come.
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U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive at Cornwall Airport in Cornwall, England, on June 9. What’s the Point of the G-7?
As Biden attends the summit, it’s worth asking whether this group—or other alliances of democracies—can really get anything done.
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A woman holds a banner during a protest against the detention of the Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich in front of the European Commission representative office on May 24, 2021 in Warsaw, Poland. Can Biden Do Anything About Belarus?
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s brazen air piracy and increasing closeness to the Kremlin demand a response, but Washington’s next move isn’t obvious.
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Firefighters extinguish fire in Acre, Israel. Can Biden Pivot to Asia While Israel and Gaza Burn?
Violence between Israelis and Palestinians is dragging the United States back into a conflict it hoped to avoid as it refocuses attention away from the Middle East.
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U.S. President Joe Biden addresses Congress. Can Biden Sell His Domestic Agenda as a Win Against China?
From climate change policy to COVID-19 relief, Biden’s domestic and foreign-policy goals are coming under fire.
