Clear geopolitical analysis
The American Empire That Is Not Quite an Empire The United States is rarely described as a colonial power. Unlike Britain, France, Spain or Portugal, modern America does not possess a conventional overseas empire governed through a large network of colonies. Yet the United States does possess territories outside the fifty states, and their political … Read more
Why China May Not Need to Invade Taiwan to Defeat It An island does not have to be conquered to be defeated. That proposition has appeared repeatedly throughout modern history. From the naval blockade of Cuba in 1898 to Germany’s submarine campaign against Britain in the First World War, from the strangulation of Japan in … Read more
The phrase “Taiwan is a rebel province” has become so deeply embedded in discussions of the Taiwan Strait that its historical assumptions are rarely examined. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) maintains that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China, temporarily separated from the mainland by the unfinished consequences of the Chinese Civil War. From … Read more
Donald Trump’s criticism of NATO rests on a simple and politically effective argument: the United States has spent enormous amounts of money defending Europe, while wealthy European countries neglected their own militaries and relied on American protection. There is considerable truth in this accusation. But it is only part of the story. What Trump rarely … Read more
History offers many examples of military victories that failed to deliver lasting political gains. One of the most famous comes from the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), when France won important battles and occupied significant territories, only to return most of its conquests in the peace settlement. Many contemporaries felt that French military achievements had been squandered by diplomacy, giving rise to the expression “bête comme la paix” (“stupid as the peace”). While France had often prevailed on the battlefield, it was Prussia that emerged as the conflict’s principal beneficiary by retaining the rich province of Silesia. Nearly three centuries later, a similar question is being asked about the confrontation between the United States and Iran: did Washington achieve a military victory only to discover that winning the peace may prove far more difficult than winning the war?
What Is ANZUS? ANZUS is a trilateral security treaty signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and United States. Officially known as the ANZUS Treaty, the agreement was created during the early years of the Cold War to strengthen security cooperation in the Pacific region. The treaty was signed in San Francisco on September 1, … Read more
Founded during the Cold War, ASEAN has evolved from a small anti-communist regional grouping into a powerful diplomatic and economic organization representing more than 680 million people. Today, ASEAN sits at the center of some of the world’s most important geopolitical tensions, including the rivalry between the United States and China, disputes in the South China Sea, global supply chain competition, and the future of the Indo-Pacific.