In the 1930s, the Soviet humorists Ilf and Petrov entertained their readers with observations of their travels across the Depression-era United States in One-Story America (published in English as Little Golden America). In the following essay, I return the favor, describing the energy of renascent Russia.
Can a U.S. Ambassador to Russia be expelled? The pending case of Michael McFaul
In the countdown to the nearly certain Senate confirmation of U.S. Ambassador to Russia designate Dr. Michael McFaul, it might pay to consider why, if he follows his instincts and his experience, he may be the first U.S. Ambassador to be declared persona non grata in Moscow since October 3, 1952. Read on to find out why….
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Belgium at the Tipping Point
Historians will one day look back at the past week as a decisive tipping point which headed Belgium into split-up. Read on…
Foreign Affairs magazine: the Ancien Régime
In this essay I try to come to grips with the leading publication of the American foreign policy establishment, paying homage to its strengths while highlighting its weaknesses and asking what can be done to use its franchise more beneficially under new management. Read on…
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Playing with Matches: the Musée de Flandre, Cassel, France
Is there a hidden agenda of some Greater Flanders patriots within the local administration of France’s Département du Nord? Or are the local officials and citizenry simply blind to what is going on in neighboring Belgium? Read on….
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The European Council on Foreign Relations: a Think Tank Like No Other
Bearing a name which could easily be confused by unsuspecting readers with the world-renowned Council on Foreign Relations based in New York and Washington, the ECFR has been issuing some attention grabbing studies on foreign policy challenges facing the Old Continent. In this essay we examine one of its latest opuses…
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More on Russia in NATO: Mr Putin Tips His Hand?
In the midst of the brouhaha over the arrest of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, which provided a platform for Russian push-back over America’s democracy agenda, and following closely upon the release of U.S. diplomatic cables revealing NATO’s recent approval of an operational plan to repel a Russian invasion of the Baltics, which contradicts the official identification of Russia as a friendly power posing no threat to the Alliance, Vladimir Putin has chosen to drop the mask and call openly for Russian accession to NATO. Read on….
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More Wikileaks: Public versus secret diplomacy in the 21st century
In her programmatic statement of July 2009 about the future conduct of U.S. foreign policy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton explained why the Obama administration favored transparent, public diplomacy. In the person of Julian Assange and Wikileaks, civil society has taken her at her word and bitten back. Read on…
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To Meddle or Not to Meddle: Boris Nemtsov’s Visit to the U.S. Poses Questions over America’s Commitment to Re-set
The Russians in power and out acknowledge their many problems and will solve them at their own pace and with their own resources. For an argument against outside meddling, read what follows…
A Nomination for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize: WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
Should WikiLeaks founder Assange be nominated for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize? The essay below opens the debate. Read on
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Gilbert Doctorow 