International Security

Stephen Walt writes that those who favor foreign policy restraint believe the United States should trade and invest in other countries, encourage other states to do the same, and be open to managed immigration instead of building walls in a fit of xenophobia.

Kelly Greenhill argues that by exploiting political divisions that exist within targeted states, the threatened or actual deployment of engineered flows of migrants has long been a distressingly effective policy instrument, and it is unlikely to go away anytime soon. Unless policymakers begin to confront the forces that enable weaponized migration, the favored policy responses seem destined to increase, rather than curtail, its use.

Stephen Walt writes: So if some political leader came to me for advice or wanted to know what I thought about some foreign-policy maneuver they were contemplating, I'd ask them if they took nationalism into account, and I'd remind them of what happens when major powers ignore it.

Stephen Walt writes that the migrant crisis in Belarus is a window into the failure of today's global order to solve a growing problem.

Stephen Walt suspects that what really bothers European allies about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is what it might reveal about America's willingness to keep subsidizing allies who aren't pulling their weight. 

Guest Balsa Lubarda joins Right Rising to walk us through the basics of what scholars mean by "ideology" and how it relates to far-right ecologism. Along with host Augusta Dell'Omo, Balsa takes us on a deep dive into the world of what he calls "far-right ecologism." He explains how various ideological threads of the radical right, far right, and Christian ecology intersect in far-right ecologism. In today's discussion, Balsa and Augusta consider some of the implications of the growth of far-right ecologism for the environmental justice movement and national green parties.

Stephen Walt describes how the United States' rise was fueled by fortunate circumstances that seem unlikely to last much longer. He lists four reasons why the country's luck just might be running out.

Despite the far-reaching effects of the current pandemic,  the essential nature of world politics will not be transformed. The territorial state will remain the basic building-block of international affairs, nationalism will remain a powerful political force, and the major powers will continue to compete for influence in myriad ways. Global institutions, transnational networks, and assorted non-state actors will still play important roles, of course, but the present crisis will not produce a dramatic and enduring increase in global governance or significantly higher levels of international cooperation. In short, the post-COVID-19 world will be less open, less free, less prosperous, and more competitive than the world many people expected to emerge only a few years ago.

Juliette Kayyem points out that despite the good works of many elected officials, the heroic efforts of nurses and doctors, and months of dutiful hand-washing, social-distancing, and mask-wearing by millions of Americans, the United States is being judged by its sickest states and most reckless politicians. Becoming a global pariah isn't just embarrassing: It could also limit Americans' economic activity and freedom of movement in ways that citizens of the world's leading power are unaccustomed to seeing.

Joseph Nye advises skepticism toward claims that the pandemic changes everything. China won't benefit, and the United States will remain preeminent.