Meeting the Pacific Threats: Japan and the US Rework Their Defense Relationship

10/23/2014
2014-10-15 By Richard Weitz Last week, the Japanese and U.S. governments released an interim report on their progress in revising the guidelines for their militaries’ roles and missions in the joint defense of Japan. 20141003_INTERIM_REPORT The interim report does not identify specific threats or discuss detailed scenarios for joint military…

In Iraq: Back to the Tribes

10/10/2014
2014-10-10 By Amatzia Baram In October 2006 and more so since early 2007, more than three years into the insurgency in Iraq the US decided to approach the Sunni tribes in a systematic way for cooperation against al-Qa`ida. By late 2008 with the Surge and through cooperation with the Sunni…

A Look at the Eurozone After the Vote on Scottish Independence: More Fissures on the Way?

10/10/2014
By Harald Malmgren Eurozone politics are currently being reformulated as the result of a rise in right-wing economic nationalism sentiment and growing Euro-skepticism. In Germany, the FDP pro-market, conservative minority party had for decades been an important counterbalance to left socialist pressures in German economic policy.  Today, the FDP has…