Politics | RCP Story Stream

Poland is a Model U.S. Ally – Let’s Act Like It March 25, 2025

Earlier this month, Elon Musk inserted himself into another political debate about Russia’s war on Ukraine. In his comments, he noted his Starlink system as the “backbone” of the Ukrainian army, asserting that, “their entire frontline would collapse”...

Poland

Ukraine

history

The Gulf Way To Engage With Africa March 25, 2025

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have longstanding political and security interests in north and east Africa. ...

United Arab Emirates

How Istanbul’s Mayor Became Erdogan’s Prime Target March 25, 2025

It was around six years ago, when newcomer Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu called election board officials "idiots" for cancelling his initial victory at the polls, that President Tayyip Erdogan noticed him as a serious political threat....

Turkey

Why Everyone Thinks Their Government Has Failed March 25, 2025

Incumbency was once a powerful electoral advantage: A sitting leader could cement bonds with constituents and donors that translated into support at the ballot box. ...

Foreign Affairs

Who’s Afraid of the China Select Committee? March 24, 2025

Recently, the House Select Committee on the Competition with the Chinese Communist Party released a video highlighting the whirlwind of bipartisan accomplishments and groundbreaking investigations they’ve undertaken. The CCP’s decades-long political ...

How Campus Activism on Israel-Palestine Warps Global Security Priorities March 24, 2025

Thanks to university-driven activism over the Israel-Palestine conflict, the war in Gaza has politically sidelined the West’s commitment to global security in other regions of the world.Israel-Palestine is one of the few conflicts that inspires activ...

The Reverse Nixon/Kissinger… Finally March 24, 2025

For nearly 13 years, well before the Maidan/Crimea crisis and even Trump’s initial run for President, this author has argued for a “Reverse Nixon” or “Reverse Kissinger” tilt to Russia to balance China.In light of the recent dust-up with Ukrainian Pr...

Trump Puts the System on Trial March 24, 2025

President Trump’s supporters have denounced the federal judges seeking to stall or stop this administration’s government overhaul. But there is at least one person who, despite a show of outrage and condemnation, is neither surprised nor intimidated:...

Trump

judiciary

Politics

Department of Justice

Israel’s New Doctrine: Crushing Hezbollah March 24, 2025

Israel's new doctrine in Lebanon: Provoke us, and the consequences will be severe • After months of strikes, Hezbollah is silent, fearing retaliation ...

Israel

Three Myths That Shape Canadian Politics March 24, 2025

Changing political tides in Canada mean fierce competition between competing visions for the Arctic nation’s future. ...

canada

U.S.-South Africa Diplomatic Crisis Provides an Opportunity for a New Beginning March 22, 2025

U.S.-South Africa relations sank to a new low last week after the South African ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, accused the Trump administration of “supremacy” on four occasions during an online lecture on U.S. foreign policy to a South Afr...

South Africa

Trump administration

foreign policy

Western Leaders Should Think Twice Before Removing Foreign Dictators March 22, 2025

Libya. Iraq. Syria. All were countries that suffered under the decades-long reign of brutal dictators. All have been swept up into anarchic spells of violence and terror after the West moved to overthrow those dictators. With last weekend’s news of t...

The Quid Pro Quo for Peace in Ukraine March 22, 2025

President Trump promises a rapprochement with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Before we dismiss this as a pipedream, we should understand the options that Trump has in dealing with President Putin. What will be the quid pro quo for peace in Ukraine...

Reciprocal Tariffs Are Just What the U.S. Needs March 22, 2025

Reciprocal tariffs are coming soon. Many economists and trade experts are concerned that they may backfire on President Donald Trump. But if you take the politics out of the issue, reciprocal tariffs could be an important first step toward fixing lon...

tariffs

Political Fighting in Taiwan Stalls Part of Defense Budget Rise March 21, 2025

America Should Talk to Hamas About Hostages March 21, 2025

Axios recently reported that Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer “lashed out” at U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler in a “tense” phone call for negotiating with terror group Hamas for the return of a kidnapped U.S. citizen.In February, the U....

Europeans Lacking Manpower in Its Militaries March 21, 2025

One of the biggest problems in today’s politics (at least in the West) is the tendency by politicians to compartmentalise everything. Now the optimist could say this is clear evidence that they are not totalitarian....

defense

Trump Ignores the Power of Nationalism at His Peril March 21, 2025

US President Donald Trump has exploited American nationalism as effectively as anyone in living memory. What sets him apart is his use of national humiliation as a political emotion. Any presidential candidate can talk their country up, but Trump kno...

Donald Trump

Why Russia Poses a Threat Well Beyond Its Neighbors March 21, 2025

Europeans might be focused on deterring Russia’s military might—but they also need to consider the danger of its political gamble...

Russia

South Korea Showing Tell-Tale Signs of Terminal Decline March 20, 2025

Sandwiched between China’s tech juggernaut and Trump’s tariffs, Korea’s political paralysis couldn’t come at a worse economic time ...

South Korea

The Soft Face of Zimbabwe’s Dictatorship March 20, 2025

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to select a new president this week to succeed Thomas Bach. In a field of seven candidates, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, Africa's most decorated Olympian, could make history as the first woman to head t...

Trump Must Consider a Stronger Lithuanian Partnership March 20, 2025

As a first-generation American of Lithuanian descent, I have a strong connection to this Baltic country. My parents fled Lithuania in 1985, then under Soviet control, and arrived in America in 1986 for a shot at the American dream.Like millions of fa...

Trump Calls Canada to Action March 19, 2025

The U.S. is beating up on Canada.The friendship between the U.S. and Canada is historic but has fallen into an inexplicable confrontation. Bizarrely, President Trump has proposed that a fellow member of the powerful Group of Seven major economic powe...

canada

Donald Trump

economics

Diplomatic Masterclass From Jordan's King February 27, 2025

On February 11, King Abdullah II bin al-Hussien of Jordan became the first Arab leader to meet with President Donald Trump since his inauguration on January 20, marking the fourth consecutive time he has been the first Arab head of state invited to t...

End ‘Pandemical Nervosity’ in Europe Over Trump February 27, 2025

This has been an eventful political week for Europe. The German Social Democratic Party (SPD), as expected, the party of Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, and Gerhard Schroeder, has been thrown out of office with only a sixth of the total vote, its worst...

Europe

Trump administration