Syria and Irresponsible Protection
The ongoing massacre of protesters and rebels within Syria by the Assad regime has, naturally, produced an increasing drumbeat of calls for intervention – or at least the contemplation of intervention...
View ArticleInterests, not morals, explain China’s isolation
Minxin Pei has an interesting article out in foreign policy on China’s diplomatic isolation. At first, his article has solid argumentation: China is in a fiercely competitive neighborhood, and as a...
View ArticleThe World’s a Mess, It’s In My Kissinger
Henry Kissinger recently put out some commentary in the Washington Post on the uprisings in the Arab world, arguing for – you guessed it – a continued role for U.S. national interests in guiding...
View ArticleAn Insular Life: Offshore Policy & Posture
There are two interesting pieces worth reading on offshore balancing that have come out recently, both of which deserve a read. First, there is Christopher Layne, a stalwart defender of the policy,...
View ArticleA Brief Comment on the Drezner-Saunders Debate
Recently, Dan Drezner criticized a post by the Center for the National Interest’s Paul Saunders. Saunders asserted that the Obama administration had failed to demonstrate realism because of its...
View ArticleRussia and Syria: Imperfect, but Plausibly Realist
Dan Drezner recently made a good point that a number of realists, in self-flagellating fashion, use Russia’s assertive defense of its own national interests as a foil for America’s woolly-headed...
View ArticleDiscretionary wars in a small world
The distinction between necessity and choice in arguing about war is a very prominent one – and the kind of categorical thinking that I and many other realist-sympathetic commentators have slipped into...
View ArticleOn the Imaginary Illiberalism of the Obama Administration
Will Marshall has a strange argument in Foreign Policy making the case that the problem with Obama’s foreign policy is… too much realism? The Republicans’ disarray gives Democrats a chance to occupy...
View ArticleDread Sovereign?
The protection of American lives, particularly of those exercising their rightful privileges under international law and duties under U.S. law, is a paramount concern of American policy and one with a...
View ArticleHere’s Your Future
What are the plausible futures for the U.S. defense posture? Regardless of how the budget shakes down, change seems afoot. But adequately grappling with its consequences requires more clarity about how...
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