Diplomacy and International Politics

"The power shortage is a symptom of the inability or refusal of key actors to govern the territory."

Senior Fellow of the Future of Diplomacy Project, David Ignatius examines the Navy’s energy diet that began seven years ago with an edict from newly appointed Secretary Ray Mabus, who issued five goals for radically changing how the Navy bought and consumed fuel.

The tensions unsettling the Saudi royal family became clear in September, when Joseph Westphal, the U.S. ambassador to Riyadh, flew to Jiddah to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, nominally the heir to the throne. But when he arrived, he was told that the deputy crown prince, a brash 30-year-old named Mohammed bin Salman, wanted to see him urgently. Senior Fellow, David Ignatius, discusses Mohammed bin Salman opportunity to transform Saudi Arabia.

With Venezuela spinning into chaos and collapse, the Obama administration has pondered how to nudge the imploding nation toward political change -- without making Uncle Sam a target. The administration appears to have found the right formula this week. FDP Senior Fellow, David Ignatius examines US diplomatic options in relation to the South American country's crisis and critical time constraints to protecting our interests.

"The total potential annual costs of climate change direct damage impacts under the highest emissions scenario, the report says, would reach $2.8 billion a year by 2040 and a staggering $23 billion a year by 2080. The total cumulative costs of direct damage impacts and forgone economic growth potential would reach figures that are almost incomprehensible for a small state like Lebanon: $139 billion by 2080..."

The agreement to freeze production was geopolitical not economic, writes Meghan O’Sullivan in the Financial Times.