Preparing for 2018: The UN Sending States Agenda to Deal with North Korea

12/28/2017
On December 19, 2017, the United States and Canada said that nations from around the world would convene January 16 to show solidarity against North Korea's nuclear program. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, meeting in Ottawa, said the meeting would take place in…

Reflections on the Australian Foreign Policy White Paper: Facing the Challenge of Global Engagement, Conflict and Realignment

12/18/2017
2017-12-05 By Robbin Laird During my last visit to Australia, I spent time with colleagues in the Australian government discussing various aspects of the strategic environment in flux and what the impact of such an environment has on Australian interests. The newly released Foreign Policy White Paper provides a public…

The New Australian Foreign Policy White Paper: The Perspective of the Australian Institute of International Affairs

12/16/2017
2017-12-05 By The Australian Institute of International Affairs Australia’s first Foreign Policy White Paper in 14 years opens with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s declaration, “change, unprecedented in its scale and pace, is the tenor of our times”; and it is the changes in global power dynamics, international trade, security, technology…

The Danes, The Russians and Shaping a Deterrent Strategy

11/28/2017
2017-11-17 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Denmark is a small country, but an important player in the NATO Alliance and part of the reworking of Nordic defense with Norway, Sweden and Finland to deal with resurgent Russia. Notably, in mid-October 2017, the Danish government released its proposed new six-year…

Putin Sets the Stage at the Valdai Conference: Driving Demand for Enhanced Missile Defense

11/10/2017
2017-11-01 By Richard Weitz President Vladimir Putin made one of his most anti-American presentations at the Valdai Conference in Sochi since his February 2007 speech to the Munich Security Conference. His comments suggest the prospects for future Russian-U.S. arms control are bleak due to fundamental differences between Moscow and Washington.…