Middle East & North Africa

Stephen Walt details how Europe is suddenly facing serious questions about its future role in world politics—and even in the trans-Atlantic relationship.

Speech by French Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, at the Harvard Kennedy School on January 28, 2020.

Stephen Walt writes that the United States' unusual historical experience, geographic isolation, large domestic market, and general ignorance have weakened its ability to make viable foreign-policy strategies.

Stephen Walt writes that several important events occurred in 2019, but few did anything to significantly alter global trends.

Stephen Walt asks what makes for a good ally? What are the qualities that make a foreign power an especially valuable partner and therefore justifies a U.S. security commitment? After all, not all allies are created equal, and the value of any commitment is likely to wax or wane over time.

Morgan Kaplan writes that the decision to remove U.S. troops from northern Syria may drive Kurds further from America's political sphere, harm broader U.S. credibility in the region, and lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State.

The New York Times' David Brooks thinks Americans' foreign-policy ideas "stink." Stephen Walt writes that public discontent with U.S. foreign policy is well justified.

To discuss the future of the world order, America's relations with Europe, the status of Russia, and a Realist's assessment of the China challenge, Soli Özel, Institut Montaigne's Visiting Fellow in international relations, met Professor Stephen Walt in March in his office at the Harvard Kennedy School.