News Abroad

• 
• 1/19/20
  

  Poles Apart: Putin, Poland and the Nazi-Soviet Pact

  by Geoffrey Roberts

  As the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches, two of that war’s main victims – Poland and Russia – are once again embroiled in a highly emotional dispute about its origins. At the heart of the matter is the perennial controversy about the Nazi-Soviet pact of 23 August 1939. 

• 
• 1/19/20
  

  The World is Losing another Historic Generation

  by Robert Mark Spaulding

  We cannot prevent the passing away of China’s last generation from the pre-communist era, but we can do our part in helping to preserve the ancient culture they knew, so that it does not vanish completely with them. 

• 
• 1/16/20
  

  Stepping Back From the Brink of War

  by Alon Ben-Meir

  Trump’s order to kill General Soleimani is one of the most reckless acts taken by a president, who once again has put his personal political interest above the nation’s security.

• 
• 12/22/19
  

  Divisions Mark 30th Anniversary of the Opening of the Brandenburg Gate—Symbol of German Reunification

  by Jennifer Redmann

  Through its historic association with the surrounding region of Brandenburg, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate serves as a reminder that in 2019, the German population remains politically and economically divided, even as Germany celebrates three decades as a united entity. 

• 
• 12/22/19
  

  Brexit and the End of the United Kingdom

  by Ed Simon

  Because of Boris Johnson’s ascendancy, it must be considered that it is not only inevitable that there won’t be a United Kingdom again, but that it’s necessary that there shouldn’t be. 

• 
• 12/22/19
  

  China Needs to Change Strategy After Hong Kong Elections

  by Kevin M. Shanley

  With the depth of dissatisfaction in Hong Kong now made patently clear at the ballot box, China and Xi now face a difficult choice. Will it double down on repression or listen to the people and choose a new course that will require some compromise?

• 
• 12/19/19
  

  2020 Will Be More Turbulent Than 2019, Unless…

  by Alon Ben-Meir

  The year 2020 will most likely be as turbulent if not more so than 2019 due mainly to the lack of American leadership and the rush of other powers, especially Russia, China, and to a lesser extent Turkey and Iran, to fill the vacuum the US is leaving behind.

• 
• 12/15/19
  

  A Real Red Wedding Massacre Puts Lie to Trump's Claim That he "Obliterated" ISIS

  by Brian Glyn Williams and Javed Rezayee

  The human cost of the war in Afghanistan. 

• 
• 12/10/19
  

  30 years after Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution, have we come full circle?

  by Gideon Remez

  History is repeating itself as Havelian satire rather than farce. Again, an autocratic Moscow is working to expand its sphere, weaken its adversaries and break up their alliances.

• 
• 12/8/19
  

  What the Trump Impeachment Inquiry Means for the Rest of the World

  by Kevin M. Shanley

  America’s political crisis comes at a time of rising global instability.

• 
• 11/26/19
  

  The History Behind the Rocket Used in the Latest Attack Against Israel

  by Gideon Remez

  Israel wielded a similar "mega-rocket" against Egypt 50 years ago. How Soviet advisers dealt with it.

• 
• 11/24/19
  

  Trump Skips ASEAN Summit, Continuing a Presidential Tradition

  by Ang Cheng Guan

  President Trump’s decision to skip the ASEAN meetings in Southeast Asia this month must feel like déjà vu to the leaders in the region.

• 
• 11/24/19
  

  The Mysterious Assassination That Unleashed Jihadism

  by Thomas Hegghammer

  The story of Abdallah Azzam suggests that a root cause of modern jihadism was the collapse in respect for religious authority among young Islamists in the late 1980s.

• 
• 11/24/19
  

  Russian Victories in the Post-Cold War Era

  by Albert M. Camarillo

  Putin’s Russia is winning battles to destabilize the U.S. that former USSR leaders such as Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev had tried but failed.

• 
• 11/21/19
  

  Coexistence and Sectarianism in the Modern Arab World

  by Ussama Makdisi

  In the case of the Middle East, the need to demythologize communities and their ideological underpinnings needs to go hand in hand with evoking a dynamic history of coexistence that transcends communalism. 

• 
• 11/19/19
  

  Too Important or Too Irrelevant? Why Beijing Hesitates on Hong Kong

  by Kevin M. Shanley

  Two competing narratives possibly explain why Beijing’s authoritarian communist rulers have not so far interfered in the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, now six months old and heading into a deadly new phase.

• 
• 11/17/19
  

  The Runway for Global Warming: The Suez Canal's 150th Anniversary

  by On Barak

  The largest infrastructural project of the nineteenth century annexed the Middle East into the fossil-fuels complex. Reexamining its history is indispensable for decarbonization today.

• 
• 11/12/19
  

  Muslims Should Reject Indian Supreme Court's Land Offer

  by B. Z. Khasru

  In a mockery of justice, India's top court gives orthodox Hindus a way to avenge their humiliation under Muslim rule for a thousand years.

• 
• 11/10/19
  

  The History Behind a Recently Defaced French Holocaust Memorial

  by Norman JW Goda

  The memorial plaque at 12 rue Sainte-Catherine in the central part of town contained the names of the 86 Jews arrested at that address on 9 February 1943. It was the largest single roundup of Jews in the city. On the plaque, black paint was used to cross out their names. 

• 
• 11/3/19
  

  A History of Why Trump Abandoned the Kurds

  by Ed Simon

  That the Kurds are associated with socialism, anti-fascism, and radical democracy isn’t incidental to Trump’s abandonment of them – it’s the reason why he has.