Asia & the Pacific

Fredrik Logevall and Julian Zelizer argue that when thinking about Lyndon Johnson, the negative lessons from his presidency are as important as positive ones.

Fredrik Logevall is one of the experts who was asked by Politico to examine the life and legacy of Henry Kissinger.

The geopolitical implications of solar displacing oil as the world’s major source of energy are enormous. Why has the Middle East been a central arena in the “great game” for the past century? Because countries there have been the major suppliers of the oil and gas that powered 20th-century economies. If, over the next decade, photovoltaic cells that capture energy from the sun were to replace a substantial part of the demand for oil and gas, who will the biggest losers be? And even more consequentially: who will be the biggest winner?

Anatol Klass recounts the severity of the U.S. government's campaign against some of its own leading experts on China in the 1950s and then argues that the recently formed China select committee must understand that a wide range of nuanced, well-informed views on the Chinese Communist Party will inform better policy, whether it be hawkish or engagement-oriented.

Belfer Center experts on the U.S.-China relationship and Middle East issues shared thoughts on the significance of the unexpected Iran-Saudi Arabia agreement brokered by China. 

Fredrik Logevall describes the legacy of the Paris Peace Accords, which effectively put an end to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, as the 50th anniversary of the accords nears.

Grant Golub and Yameen Huq explain how intentional communication at all levels of government can lay the foundation for future cooperation between the United States and China.

Grant Golub argues that the root cause of the so-called pivot to Asia's failure is Washington's continued belief that U.S. power and interests are global and universal. If U.S. decisionmakers truly seek to reorient U.S. strategic priorities, they need a clear hierarchy of the country's interests and obligations.

Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

The authors comment on the Washington Post's recently released 6-part investigative report on the U.S. war in Afghanistan. They conclude that although important, this report is only alarming to the extent that it demonstrates how often U.S. leaders deceive themselves.