Diplomacy and International Politics

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.

Jens Stoltenberg,NATO Secretary General, discussed the future of the NATO alliance during this speech, given at the Harvard Kennedy School on September 23, 2016. He described the alliance as a responsive organization, capable of adapting to changes in the international security landscape but committed to the continuity of its founding values. In particular, he emphasized the necessity of maintaining a policy of absolute solidarity among member states, especially  in light of the exacerbating civil war in Syria and Russia’s aggressive stance toward countries to the East of NATO member state borders.

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

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.

The link between Bollywood and Indian organized crime is as old as India itself, writes author Ronak Desai. The film industry’s intimate relationship with the Indian underworld is considered one of the country’s worst kept secrets whose origins can be traced to a government regulation that rendered the cinema industry ineligible for legitimate forms of financing.

Blaming President Obama for his past mistakes in Syria may be satisfying, and largely deserved, but it’s not a policy. This is the most complicated battlefield the world has seen in decades, and the next moves by the United States and its allies have to be deliberate and carefully considered.

Five years ago, President Obama made a decision that helped topple Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. His policy represented a bet that the democratic surge of the Arab Spring could lead to a stable political transition in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.