A hydrogen pumping station for hydrogen-powered cars stands on June 10, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

What Will Green Hydrogen Mean for International Relations?

Storing and transporting excess renewable energy as hydrogen could reshape global energy politics.
Funeral of Qasem Soleimani, Tehran, Iran on 6 January 2020.

Iran in the Trump Era

President Trump's decision to order the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani has backfired in spectacular fashion. Why?
Richard Nixon at the Great Wall of China

Why Did Nixon Burn the China Hands?

Nixon targeted Foreign Service officers who served in China in the 1940s as communist sympathizers and "fellow travelers." Then he opened trade relations.
Pedestrians & Vendors On Pottinger Street, Hong Kong, 1946

Hong Kong Was Formed as a City of Refugees

The story of Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated places on Earth, can't be separated from its international situation.
U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meet in Hamburg, Germany in July 2017.

Can the US and China Avoid the Thucydides Trap?

The "Thucydides trap" refers to the theory that when a rising power threatens a ruling power, the result is often war. Are the US and China headed there?
Digital illustration of connected cities

Do Sister Cities Matter?

Sister cities may seem like mere symbolic pairings, but many actually share meaningful ties that are deliberately instituted and sustained.
US Embassy Havana Cuba

The Science Behind Sonic Incidents

U.S. government employees stationed in Havana, Cuba, and Guangzhou, China, have experienced mysterious symptoms. Could the culprit be a sonic weapon?
Cornel West

Cornel West: Neoliberalism Has Failed Us

West speaks on Obama’s legacy, the failures of American empire, and the role of race in Trump’s election.
Cairo street scene

Is it Smart To Cut Foreign Aid Because of Human Rights Abuses?

Recently, the US denied Egypt nearly $96 million in international aid, as chastisement for the country's abysmal human rights record.
SOS Venezuela Protest

What Venezuela Can Teach Us About Saving Failed States

Outside intervention in Venezuela is built on the idea that the fallout of a failed state has ramifications beyond its national borders.