Diplomacy and International Politics

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

In this installation of 'Conversations in Diplomacy,' recorded during the Future of Diplomacy Project's annual Europe Week series, guests Muriel Rouyer and Boris Ruge speak with Professor Nicholas Burns about the rise of populism in Europe, the potential outcomes of upcoming elections in France and Germany, and the effect of such factors on the transatlantic relationship.

At the AAAS Science Conference, US researchers are wondering how policy under US President Donald Trump will affect their research - both in content and financial terms. US President Donald Trump wants to invest in military and infrastructure, he wants to build a wall to Mexico. All this costs money and US scientists fear that this money could be taken out of funds currently designated for research and development. Adding to their concern is the appointment of Scott Pruitt, former Oklahoma Attorney General, as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an organization he has consistently criticized in the past. We spoke about the situation with Cathryn Clüver, a political scientist at Harvard University. 

Farah Pandith argues that Donald Trump's anti-Muslim statements have costly consequences that will erode US credibility abroad.

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.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced earlier this month that he has invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address a joint session of Congress on June 8. This will be the Indian leader’s fourth trip to the United States in two years. Although the invitation is a potent reminder of the robust ties between the Washington and New Delhi, its real significance lies elsewhere: it is the final step in Prime Minister Modi’s political rehabilitation in the United States.

"A fascinating aspect of the escalating feud between Iran and Saudi Arabia is the variety of views and actions by the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Two of them (Saudi Arabia and Bahrain) cut off diplomatic ties with Iran, three others only recalled their ambassadors, and Oman has maintained full diplomatic ties.

This instructive variety of responses shows the range of political attitudes and calculations among the GCC members, who follow their own self-interest rather than act like an unthinking herd. Four of the six maintain official communication channels with Tehran because it allows continued direct diplomacy at a moment when this crisis starts to shift towards trying to find a negotiated resolution..."

"The Middle East is in for another tumultuous year. Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Iran after authorities executed a popular Shiite cleric. Anyone watching this meltdown unfold has every reason to think of worse-case scenarios, as it will only deepen the Middle East’s widening sectarian divide, intensify the region’s multiple conflicts, and set back efforts to defeat the Islamic State and end the bloodshed in Syria..."

Paula J. Dobriansky Senior Fellow at the Future of Diplomacy Project and former U.S. Undersecretary of State together with David B. Rivkin Jr., constitutional lawyer who served in the Justice Department and the White House under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. discuss how in recent years racist and scatological salvos against foreign leaders have become a staple of official Russian discourse.