A Paradigm Shift for the Middle East: How Trump Can Build on Israel’s Success and Keep Iran Off Balance (Elliott Abrams)

The Middle East that U.S. President Donald Trump faces today features dangers and opportunities that were not present when he first took office, eight years ago. The greatest dangers are Iran’s advances toward nuclear weapons and the close relationships that the Islamic Republic has forged with Russia and China. The best opportunities have emerged from …

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American Leadership Is Good for the Global South: Why the World Needs to Strengthen—Not Unwind—the U.S.-Led International Order (Jorge G. Castaneda)

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has been cast by many observers as the end of an era. The U.S.-led order, variously described as the rules-based order or the liberal international order, which rose to its feet after World War II and strode triumphantly around the world after the end of the …

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Does DOGE Pose a National Security Risk?: Uncertainty About Access and Authority Will Worry Allies and Tempt Adversaries (James Godgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders)

Just a few weeks ago, the greatest threat to U.S. government computer systems seemed to be that hostile foreign powers could break into them and steal data. In late December, Treasury Department officials sent a letter to members of Congress reporting that a Chinese group had hacked their systems and stolen unclassified documents. The department …

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Ethiopia Peace Observatory: An Initiative to Enhance Local Data Collection Across Ethiopia

The Ethiopia Peace Observatory (EPO) enhances the collection of local conflict and protest data across Ethiopia. EPO data is collected through ACLED and sourced in English, Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya. The ACLED-EPO dataset contains thousands of historical data points drawn from local, national, and international sources, with new real-time data added each week. The EPO regularly …

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Friedrich Merz’s far-right gamble: With Germany’s election only weeks away, the centre-right CDU bet the house on cooperation with the far-right AfD (Ido Vock)

A protest in Berlin on 2nd February against any collaboration between mainstream political parties and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Image: Sipa US / Alamy. German election campaigns usually have a sense of quiet inevitability about them. Accurate polls long in advance give a good idea of who will be chancellor, and with which …

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