Foreign Policy

After a year in office, Modi’s gestures of conciliation toward Islamabad have gone nowhere. That’s because India’s founding fathers set Pakistan up to fail.

Gerard Araud, the French ambassador the United States, says an emerging nuclear deal with Iran will impose tough restrictions on the Islamic Republic and improve regional security across the Middle East. But on Tuesday, Araud acknowledged that it could also pose a potential risk: spurring an array Arab countries to develop their own civilian nuclear programs.

Burma may be getting closer to ending its 60-year-old civil war. But there's still a long way to go.

Following an agreement between the Nicaraguan government and shadowy Chinese billionaire Wang Jing, there may be a new canal in the Western Hemisphere. The possibility of a transoceanic canal through Nicaragua has been discussed for almost 400 years. Nicaragua was almost the place for the U.S.-built canal until, for a number of reasons, Panama became more ...

The Syrian government's efforts to suppress the rebellion against it have been described as war crimes.

Their main complaint: Swiss-born Blatter’s support for Russia’s hosting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, “despite Russia’s ongoing violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”

Shiite militias and Iraqi government forces have started to move into place around the Islamic State-held city of Ramadi in preparation for a highly-publicized but hastily-planned push to wrest the city from the fighters who chased the Iraqi army out earlier this month. U.S. military officials believe that the militants had been carefully planning the ...

The government says it’s taking “incremental” steps toward reform, but the plan to reshape payouts for the poor is nothing short of a revolution.

To keep up with Democracy Lab in real time, follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Howard W. French argues that President Obama’s choice to run the United States Agency for International Development exposes the bankruptcy of Washington’s thinking on Africa. Juan Nagel profiles Venezuela’s top comedian, whose act exposes the absurdity of his country’s regime. ...

May/June Visual Statement

Modi's China visit was a triumph of style over substance, but cultural diplomacy may produce a meaningful shift in the relationship.

Over the weekend I did a quick interview with Ryan Crocker, the veteran American diplomat. Here it is: Was the current situation in Iraq inevitable?  No. Actions have consequences to the 60th order and beyond. The consequences of what we set in motion were beyond imagination. But inaction also has consequences. Our inaction since 2011 ...

A friend who is a retired Army officer makes this point: “We (the U.S.) have maneuvered ourselves into a position where tactical/operational victory in Iraq (neutralize ISIS) translates into strategic defeat — Iraq firmly under the influence of the Iranians.”

Gideon Rose’s 2010 book, How Wars End, suggests that when confronting a strategic challenge, it can be helpful to start with the desired political end state and then think backwards to determine the steps needed to get there.

Afghanistan Afghan envoy met Taliban officials in China A peace envoy from Afghanistan met with former Taliban officials in western China last week in an effort to keep formal peace negotiations alive (NYT, WSJ). The meeting, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday, was held in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and was partly organized ...

But what looks like a scary arms race with Washington may not be what it seems.

Ban Ki-moon says he is not interested in running for the South Korean presidency. The polls say he is the front-runner.

By Paul McLeary with Ariel Robinson   Here it comes. In what may be the biggest test yet of the Iraqi armed forces’ strength — and the ability of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to wrangle the various Shiite, Kurd and Sunni factions — Baghdad on Tuesday launched what it says is a major offensive in ...

A U.N. spokesman announced on Sunday that peace talks between the warring parties in Yemen — set to be held later this week — have been postponed. No new date was mentioned. It had been unclear who would attend the talks, which were only set last week, but the postponement is a serious blow to ...

Last year, on the Friday before Memorial Day, I was robbed on the train to Brussels, losing most of valuables including my passport, wallet, and laptop.