South Asia

Last week when President Donald Trump threatened to impose new sanctions against Iran—OPECs third largest crude producer—commodity markets reacted swiftly. In the face of new tensions in the Middle East, the focus is again on the critical link between foreign policy and energy markets.

That is the focal point of Windfall, a new book written by Harvard professor Meghan O’Sullivan, who convincingly presents strong evidence against U.S. declinism in the context of the newfound energy abundance.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, states with nuclear energy programs are not more likely than those without them to seek or acquire nuclear weapons.

Although cyber weapons can usually be employed in a far less lethal manner than guided missiles shot from a drone, they have been deployed less frequently and under rules of engagement that are far less clear, at least to the public.

The international opprobrium heaped on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, for her inactivity on the Rohingya crisis front, obscures an uncomfortable truth.

"With tensions high, small missteps can turn into serious crises, which could further destabilize the already fragile country. To avoid such an outcome, it’s more necessary than ever for the United States to understand what’s driving Iran’s Afghanistan policies. This can ensure a sustainable peace in Afghanistan as the United States considers the future of its presence there. To help manage tensions, the United States should at a minimum contemplate reestablishing a channel of communication with Iran—preferably one that avoids high-profile meetings and ensures some level of continuity—similar to the one created during the Obama administration."

Sovereign wealth funds – large state-owned investment funds – are key players in international finance, but little is known about their underlying political drivers. Why do some states with surpluses choose to create sovereign wealth funds, while others advocate private finance institutions instead? This article speaks directly to this question by investigating the variation in sovereign wealth fund choices across nations with excess reserves. 

In “The American War,” Washington Post Opinion columnist Alyssa Rosenberg interviews the filmmakers of the new PBS documentary, "The Vietnam War." Professor Fredrik Logevall, an adviser to the film, shares why Americans’ historical understanding of Vietnam is so limited to their own experiences.

In Emissaries of Empowerment, the authors examine the de-politicizing, and re-feminizing impact of contemporary empowerment-based interventions in the developing world and how these programs often reinforce, rather than combat, the deep marginalization of women.

Windfall is the boldest profile of the world’s energy resources since Daniel Yergin’s The Quest. Harvard professor and former Washington policymaker Meghan L. O’Sullivan reveals how fears of energy scarcity have given way to the reality of energy abundance. This abundance is transforming the geo-political order and boosting American power.

President Donald J. Trump’s tweet this weekend that the U.S. might terminate all trade with countries doing business with North Korea was widely derided on the grounds of realism. Given that 90 percent of North Korea’s trade is with China, the tweet was little more than a veiled threat to terminate all U.S. trade with Beijing, ending a bilateral trade relationship valued at $650 billion a year. It would, as many correctly pointed out, mean economic disaster for North Korea -- and also for the U.S.