Barack Obama’s Excellent Adventure
David J. Smith | April 01, 2009
This is a marathon foreign policy week for US President Barack Obama. The next six days will leave a bold imprint on how American foreign policy is perceived in the world, indeed, on what Obama can achieve during his term.
G20 Solves Financial Crisis and More!
James Joyner | April 01, 2009
Tufts University political economist Dan Drezner passes on news of what he terms "The Miracle of London." Your humble blogger has learned that, in an amazing reversal of fortune, the leaders of the G-20 have heeded President Obama's call to embrace a "responsiblity to co-ordinate our action and find our common ground."
Russia Must Also Hit the Reset Button
Damon Wilson | April 01, 2009
In London today, President Obama will begin to test whether he can hit the reset button in U.S.-Russian relations during his first bilateral meeting with President Medvedev. This is not the first time the United States has tried to “reset” relations with a post-Soviet Moscow.
Will Summit Week End European Obamamania?
James Joyner | March 31, 2009
Barack Obama has headed to Europe for a few days of summitry, marking the new president's first visit to that continent since taking office. In all likelihood, it will also mark the beginning of the end of the unreasonable expectations for a sudden transformation of transatlantic relations.
"Yellow Card" for Turkey's AK Party?
Valerie Nichols | March 31, 2009
Sunday’s local elections in Turkey resulted in another Justice and Development Party (AKP) victory. Winning just shy of forty percent of the national vote was, however, less than what Recep Tayyip Erdogan hoped for. As BBC notes, “The prime minister had boasted that his party would surpass the 47% share of the vote it gained in 2007, but instead suffered its first fall in support since sweeping to power in 2002.”
Ricks' The Gamble: Much Better Than Fiasco
Magnus Nordenman | March 31, 2009
Thomas Ricks’ new book The Gamble is an excellent account of how the US strategy in Iraq changed in late 2006 in response to the near disaster that was the US occupation of Iraq starting in 2003.
Why Climate Change Is So Hard
Robert Manning | March 31, 2009
As climate negotiators gather in Bonn for a key preparatory meeting for the UN post-Kyoto climate talks in Copenhagen next December, international expectations are high that the Obama administration will bring the U.S. back into the fold.
G20 Expectations: The View from Europe
Valerie Nichols | March 30, 2009
European expectations about the upcoming G20 summit are rapidly on the decline. Although most European nations began preparations with a relatively rosy outlook, many are now warning against an all-encompassing economic agreement coming out of the summit.
Obama: Need to Refocus on Al Qaeda
James Joyner | March 30, 2009
President Obama told CBS' "Face the Nation" that the Bush administration had lost its focus in Afghanistan and that his team will "refocus attention on al Qaeda."
Erdogan Says Rasmussen Pick Would Damage NATO
James Joyner | March 30, 2009
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, widely seen as the faraway front runner to replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as NATO secretary-general, came under fire this weekend from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
