The SAIS Review of International Affairs
Introduction According to Bill Zartman, power is defined as the “ability by one party to move another in an intended direction.”[1]Power relates to physical force, but many aspects of power move beyond force. Weaker parties often form coalitions, appeal to public opinion, use principles and morality, and leverage other strategies to build their power.[2] When parties […]
Is Russia resurgent? Some Kremlinologists would respond “yes” after its saber-rattling over Ukraine, transnational cyberattacks, and nuclear weapon modernizations over the past few years. In January, former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote in Foreign Affairs that U.S. citizens “wrongly assume” Russia is a declining power and that we should “contain” it because it “has more […]
Americans face a broad array of challenges at home and abroad. The physical, economic, and social effects of climate change; the dislocations caused by human migration; the health and economic consequences of pandemic and infectious disease; the impacts of globalization; and the increasing scarcity of natural resources, are a few of the most obvious. It’s […]
The White House declassified one of its most sensitive operational policies, the “U.S. strategic framework for the Indo-Pacific,” as part of the final maneuvers of Donald Trump’s presidency in early January 2021.[1] That decision bewildered diplomats, policymakers, and scholars at home and abroad. After all, it was not only a mystery as to why this national security document […]
If contention describes a state of sustained, massive protest combining peaceful, disruptive, and violent tactics, then the decade of the 2010s may be considered the most contentious in Chile’s history.[1] The decade’s contentious dynamics seem more spectacular and unpredictable considering Chilean citizens’ previous feeble collective action. Chile transitioned to democracy in 1990 following a long and […]
With the new presidential administration in the United States, numerous articles have been published which suggest initiatives for the Biden administration, including from such Washington institutions as the Council on Foreign Relations,[1] the Center for Strategic and International Studies,[2] and Foreign Policy magazine.[3] Many innovative and sound policy ideas are found in these pages. But by examining Africa policy in […]
In the waning days of Hong Kong’s 2014 student-lead Umbrella Movement, a hanging black banner read a prophetic message: We’ll Be Back. In 2019, those words came to fruition. The controversial introduction of a proposed extradition bill, allowing individuals in Hong Kong to face trial in Mainland Chinese courts, rocked the city and drew hundreds […]
For two decades, US military leaders have focused almost entirely on training and equipping the force for counter-insurgency operations. With politicians now intent on drawing down the United States’ involvement in the Middle East, the military has shifted its focus to meeting the next major challenge: conflict with another great power. From a security perspective, […]
Amidst Brexit and a pandemic, the U.K. government announced an ambitious merger of its foreign and development ministries, which took place in September. As the country undertakes a major review of its foreign and defense policy, what do the past and present of UK. aid tell us about the potential trajectory of British foreign policy under the Foreign, Commonwealth and […]
Money laundering serves as an important tool for transnational organized crime groups and terrorist organizations, enabling them to transform profit from illegal activities into clean funds for use in the licit financial system. Malign actors hide their money laundering efforts from law enforcement in a myriad of ways, but the purchase of legal or illegal […]
