National Interest | RCP Story Stream

The National Interest Is What the President Says It Is August 30, 2024

Leaders around the world justify their foreign-policy decisions in the name of the “national interest.” ...

Ukraine’s Offensive: No Turning Point, Problem for Putin August 30, 2024

Ukraine took the initiative on the ground for the first time since last year’s failed counteroffensive. If sustained, the Kursk operation can improve Ukraine’s standing against the aggressor. ...

Ukraine

Israel’s Fight for the Eurasian Heartland August 29, 2024

The Caucasus and Central Asia have emerged as battlegrounds in the new Cold War. Jerusalem and Tehran are jostling for influence. ...

Israel

Is the Russian Army a Spent Force? August 28, 2024

Kyiv announced a significant operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast, capturing nearly 600 Russian soldiers and taking control of over 100 settlements. This marks the first invasion into Russian territory since World War II, forcing Russia to divert aroun...

Russia

What Is the Difference Between Rwanda and Singapore? August 27, 2024

It is hard not to conclude that the reason why the State Department treats Rwanda so poorly relative to peer countries is that it is African. ...

Rwanda

Singapore

Italy’s Middle Power Dilemma August 26, 2024

Rome would be served well by sharpening its strategic objectives and understanding the limits of its cababilities. ...

Italy

Ukraine's Kursk Offensive Is Strategic Malpractice August 26, 2024

Strategic prudence—from nineteenth-century Europe and ancient China alike—urges Kiev to wind down the Kursk operation, and consolidate scarce manpower and resources to defend what matters most. ...

Ukraine

American Strategy and the Red Sea August 24, 2024

Does the Houthi threat to the Red Sea merit tying down a third of the U.S. carrier force? ...

Houthis

Are the Russians Realists? August 24, 2024

A new book attempts to push back against psychological, Putin-centric explanations for Russian behavior and restore realism to the discussion. ...

Russia

It’s Time To Rebuild America’s Industrial Capacity August 23, 2024

America’s strength has always come from our ability to outproduce the world. Our industrial might is what sustains our military superiority, economic might, and technological prowess. This country has all the ingredients, from its people to its bount...

United States

military

Steady as Xi Goes? China After the Third Plenum August 23, 2024

The latest gathering of CCP bigwigs has demonstrated Xi Jinping’s continued hold over the Party and its decision-making processes. ...

china

Russia’s Military Weakness August 22, 2024

The daring attack has shown that Russia is actually unwilling to escalate, contrary to conventional wisdom. ...

Russia

China is Winning the Global South August 21, 2024

While the United States and its allies have focused extensively on the military and technological fronts in competing with China, the third front in the Global South remains critical yet underappreciated. ...

china

Three Cheers for the Military Industrial Complex August 20, 2024

The decline of the much-maligned military-industrial complex has rendered the once mighty America highly vulnerable. ...

Military Industrial Complex

Inside the Taliban’s Afghanistan August 20, 2024

The truth about life in Afghanistan after 2021 is more complex than conventionally understood. ...

Urgently Needed: A Europeanized NATO August 19, 2024

European NATO countries must plan to develop the manpower, weapons, supplies, and transport necessary to defend themselves with limited U.S. support. ...

NATO

Careful: The Next World War Could Start Small August 16, 2024

Deterring China, Russia, and Iran under these circumstances will require NATO and its democratic allies to focus on defending the smaller states on the peripheries. ...

china

A Fourth Joint Communique Would Benefit Washington’s China Policy August 16, 2024

August marks the 42nd anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s Third U.S.-China Joint Communique. Reagan accomplished this feat during a period of intense debate over the United States’ relationship with China to avoid a cross-Strait crisis. While to...

china

Ronald Reagan

Washington D.C.

How Ukraine’s Fight Solves Global Problems August 15, 2024

Kyiv’s struggle, if successful, could reignite worldwide democratization and help speed along political transitions in other nations. ...

Should Israel Cross Russia‘s Rubicon? August 13, 2024

Israel and Russia had long tacitly coordinated their military activities in Syria. October 7 changed that, with important implications for the Russo-Ukrainian War. ...

India’s Russia Option August 13, 2024

India’s absolute tilt in the Western camp will further propel Russia into the Chinese fold. ...

India

Russia

Ukraine’s High-Stakes Gamble August 12, 2024

The recent Ukrainian incursion into Russia may be a bold play to gain bargaining chips against Moscow in future negotiations. ...

Ukraine

Saving Conservative Foreign Policy From Itself August 10, 2024

Over the years, conservatism in the Western world has transformed into ethno-nationalism, limiting membership and making global alliances difficult. ...

conservatism

China vs. America: The Geopolitical Olympics August 10, 2024

Can American and Chinese statesmen find their way to a relationship that is simultaneously a rivalry and a partnership? The Biden administration believes that its strategy of “competitive coexistence” is a big step in that direction ...

china

European Security After the Ukraine War August 09, 2024

Not since 1945 has the outlook for European security been so precarious. ...

Ukraine