Cybersecurity treaties may be nice, but it’s really every country for itself
Robert S. Litwak and Meg King The United States and China are attempting to negotiate what would be the first cyber arms-control agreement to ban peacetime attacks on critical infrastructure. The talks reflect the commitment that Washington and Beijing made at the conclusion of Chinese President Xi …
The 4 Issues That Can Make or Break the Paris Climate Agreement
Michael Dobson As a general rule, governments like to conduct international negotiations in secret. The recent Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program, for example, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, have both been concluded under conditions of utmost secrecy. …
To Fight Inequality, Support Women’s Work
Judith Warner Early this year, a team of distinguished economists, current and former government ministers, academics, labor leaders, and opinion makers gathered at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., to announce an ambitious plan to create “inclusive prosperity” on a transnational scale. The e…
Refugee road to nowhere: the Western Balkans
It has become a corridor, the route thousands of refugees take daily from Macedonia through Serbia to the border with Hungary and Croatia. Beyond that lie Slovenia and Austria and finally Germany and Sweden. The route has become routine, with welcome centres in tents where refugees are counted and f…
There’s no perfect answer to the migrant crisis – and we must face that
Jeffrey Sachs There are no easy answers to Europe’s migration crisis. Perhaps that fact alone – the reality that all options are insufficient – could be the basis to build a consensus out of the bitter divisions that now grip the continent. The answer to the crisis in the longer term will depend les…
The Arab world’s challenge
Marwan Muasher The fact that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet – a group of four organizations that played a key role in Tunisia’s attempts to build a pluralistic democracy after its 2011 revolution – demonstrates how important inclusive policie…
The U.N. at 70: Fix this broken institution
The United Nations turns 70 on Saturday. Its founders, rebuilding the world from the ruins of World War II, had lofty and probably unreasonable expectations for what it could accomplish. President Harry Truman said it was “designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its member…
Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis
Jimmy Carter I HAVE known Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, since he was a college student in London, and have spent many hours negotiating with him since he has been in office. This has often been at the request of the United States government during those many times when our ambassadors hav…
World Weary: Evaluating the United Nations at 70
Stewart Patrick Pity the United Nations, which turns 70 this month. Rather than enjoying a carefree retirement, the UN faces unrelenting demands on its time and resources from threats both old (violent conflict, nuclear proliferation, and infectious disease) and new (climate change, terrorism, and c…
Wat in the World
What is our worst existential fear, worse than any cyber, biological, environmental, or even nuclear threat? It is the threat of a utopian ideology in the hands of a formidable power. Because utopia is, in and of itself, the perfect political and spiritual arrangement, any measures to bring it about…