Over the course of 33 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has transformed into an independent regional player. Its neighbors in Armenia fear that Azerbaijan’s ambitions will eventually lead to another war. Average Azerbaijanis, meanwhile, wonder when the military achievements will translate into economic prosperity.  Regaining Territory Through War It’s impossible to […]

China is steadily increasing coercive measures against Taiwan, but they remain to date below the threshold of military conflict. What is the point at which China’s coercion transitions to the use-of-military force consistent with war? Essentially, when does coercion end and conflict begin? Making that determination will be critical to United States responses. Enhancing understanding of […]

Since the terrible events of October 7th, some Israelis claim there is no longer any distinction between left and right – Israelis were massacred regardless of political affiliations. At the same time, around the world  there is an increasingly binary view of political identity, which claims that a person can be either a Zionist or […]

Guatemala could become a key partner in the US efforts to manage migration flows from Central and South America. Looking ahead, whoever is elected the next president of the United States, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, will look to Guatemala to help manage migration in the countries south of Mexico.  Guatemala has been a […]

When a country’s government enacts sanctions against another country, individual firms in the country are left to determine whether to comply or seek sanctions-flouting workarounds to keep goods and services flowing. This is the reality faced by thousands of firms worldwide that buy from and sell to Russia, the world’s twelfth largest economy by nominal […]

The deep partisan divisions in the United States affect many public issues, including the ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East. The Israeli war of self-defense in Gaza commands strong support among Republicans but elicits less enthusiasm among Democrats. By contrast, Democrats generally endorse Ukraine’s war of self-defense against Russia, following the lead of […]

Suriname, a small, resource-rich country with a population of 600,000, faces a consequential election in May 2025, when its current president, Chan Santokhi, seeks re-election. Owing to limited polling data, the outcome remains uncertain. But these elections will be pivotal for the country’s economic reform agenda and oil prospects and thus its economic future, as highlighted […]

Beijing has argued for a truce and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv since the Russian invasion began two and a half years ago. Ukraine’s occupation of parts of Russia’s Kursk region could lend new urgency to the Chinese position.  If the Ukrainian offensive is not quickly and completely repulsed by Moscow, the Ukrainian bargaining positions […]

This summer country-wide student protests led to an uprising that toppled the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and her secular nationalist Awami League political party. Militant Islamist groups have taken advantage of the turmoil to target minority Hindus (and Christians) in Bangladesh. But apopleptic predictions are uncalled for. A better understanding of the […]

Is the “Alt Reich,” the London Spectator recently asked on its cover, about to make a comeback?  Germany, a model of stability for decades, has been thrown into turmoil by the steady rise of the Alternative Party for Germany, especially in its eastern states. On September 1, the 85th anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of Poland […]

Four decades in the undeclared conflict between Israel and Iran, the storm of war looms even larger over the Middle East, threatening to engulf its citizens in an unprecedented turmoil. If the confrontation between Israel and Iran escalates, the mediator most trusted by both sides may not hail from Beijing, Moscow, or Washington, but from […]

Development of the Trans-Caspian corridor would shift trade and energy routes between Europe and Asia to favor Western commercial and strategic interests. Over the past decade, global trade infrastructure has been transformed by China’s economic rise and its strategic investments in trade routes. Central Asia, the “belt buckle” on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is […]

In the tumult that always accompanies a US presidential election – with each side fearing the end of “democracy” or “America” if the other side prevails – some Americans have lost sight of what admirers see clearly from afar: A remarkable, resilient country on which turns the hopes and inspirations of the world. Every US presidential election is billed as “the most consequential […]

In July 2015, much of the world exhaled with the announcement that a nuclear deal had been struck among the United States, its partners, and Iran. Although the terms of the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) were — and remain — contentious, for many, the deal denied Iran the ability […]

Jackson-Vanik was a cornerstone of the US response to the Soviet Union during the Cold War. But it is time for Congress to remove this outdated policy in order to strengthen relationships with Central Asia and present a US commercial alternative to Russia and China.  The Jackson-Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 denied US […]

Gadi Taub: I believed in Oslo [the 1990s Palestinian-Israeli peace process] because I imagined the Palestinians to be like us. I imagined their national liberation movement to be a national liberation movement just like ours. Then reality just exploded outside my window. Tel Aviv is small. So from where I lived back then, when a […]

Ksenia Svetlova: You see how time and again people in the West Bank and in Gaza, even more so in the West Bank than in Gaza, say yes, we support Hamas. Samer Sinijlawi: I would not rely on polls very much during these days, not to test the feelings of the Palestinians and not to […]

The JST’s Ksenia Svetlova interviews Israel’s former National Security Advisor Uzi Arad, about a strategy to counter Iran and the current war in Gaza. This transcript is lightly edited for clarity and concision.  Ksenia Svetlova: Did Israel ever encounter something similar to Iran’s power, determination and also the number of proxies spread around the Middle East […]