Diplomacy and International Politics

The Trump administration has never shown much interest in human rights. Last year, it pulled the United States out of the U.N. Human Rights Council. In 2017, within months of President Trump’s inauguration, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said diplomats should not let human rights values become “obstacles” to achieving national goals. Trump has spoken favorably about some of the world’s most vicious dictators.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian recounts his 544 days in an Iranian prison during a talk with R. Nicholas Burns of the Harvard Kennedy School.

Trump administration claims of progress in talks with the Taliban have sparked fears even among the president's allies that his impatience with the war in Afghanistan will lead him to withdraw troops too soon, leaving the country at risk of returning to the same volatile condition that prompted the invasion in the first place.

President Donald Trump, convinced that he alone can break stalemates with adversarial counterparts on trade and security, will put his theory to the test in Argentina this week. Global markets and foreign capitals are eyeing him anxiously.

The grisly assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of a Saudi murder squad — and the Saudi regime’s delays, denials and ludicrous falsehoods about the killing — forces the United States to grapple with our traditional role in upholding human rights worldwide.

Former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos spoke at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics on Thursday, reflecting on his experiences pursuing peace in Colombia and offering advice for attendees in light of the current international political climate.