Regional Directory

Dec. 15, 2016 We examine the three main actors that control territory in Syria.

Dec. 14, 2016 IS’ capture of Palmyra has pulled the cloak back on Russia’s vulnerability.

Dec. 13, 2016 Was Russia meddling in U.S. elections, or is it just politics?

Dec. 12, 2016 Jihadist attacks on minority religious and ethnic groups are part of a deeper strategy to destabilize regimes.

Dec. 12, 2016 Major countries will see economic downturns due to low oil prices and a declining export market.

Dec. 12, 2016 The attack redefined the United States.

Dec. 9, 2016 Athens and Brussels once again find themselves at an impasse.

Dec. 9, 2016 The sheer number of products for which the United States depends on imports from China is striking, as shown in the chart below. In 2015, 21.8 percent of U.S. imports came from China. The U.S. pushed for China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001, the year U.S. imports of Chinese goods took off in earnest. Through trade with China, U.S. consumers gained access to cheaper goods because it cost less to make them in China than in the U.S. China became a convenient one-stop shop for building and selling products of all sorts, and an especially strong electronics supply chain emerged in Asia, centered around China.

China also is exposed to the U.S. markets. With the exception of 2013, the U.S. has been the top destination for Chinese exports for over 15 years (in 2013 the U.S. was a close second to Hong Kong). In that period, the size of the Chinese economy, measured in terms of GDP, has increased by a factor of 10, from $1.3 trillion in 2001 to $10.9 trillion in 2015. Last year, 18 percent of China’s exports went to the U.S., a percentage three times bigger than the percentage of exports received by China’s second-largest importer by country, Japan.

Dec. 8, 2016 Division between Kurdish groups makes them unreliable partners for the U.S.

Dec. 8, 2016 China must have access to U.S. consumer markets, and Donald Trump knows it.

Dec. 7, 2016 Beyond the battles in the streets is a battle over ideas.

Dec. 7, 2016 It has become rare for top military officers to stand up to their civilian leaders.