Carnegie Connects

The inauguration of the most right-wing fundamentalist government in Israel’s history poses unprecedented and extraordinary challenges. Just the other week, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government introduced new legislation that would weaken the judiciary’s independence.  Meanwhile, the new government‘s hardline policies toward the Palestinians have the potential to jeopardize its relationships with...

Russia’s war against Ukraine continues with no end in sight. Almost a year into the conflict, one of the most intriguing questions is how Russia’s economy has managed to stave off a destabilizing economic crisis in the face of unprecedented economic sanctions. How has the Russian economy survived? What has the impact of sanctions been on the Russian public? And can Russia continue to thwart intern...

The U.S.-China relationship will figure prominently in global politics for decades to come. Getting China right, to the extent that’s possible, is critically important both to minimize the chances of conflict and maximize potential cooperation. Despite its rising power, China is also wrestling with sluggish growth, an aging population, and a failed pandemic policy that has sparked backlash against...

Russian aggression against Ukraine continues with no end in sight. While Ukrainian military offensives have shifted the momentum and recaptured significant swaths of territory, entrenched Russian positions and winter conditions have slowed the tempo of the fighting. Meanwhile, Russia’s air and missile strikes have crippled Ukrainian infrastructure and exacted a severe price on civilians. Where is...

The U.S.-Saudi relationship is going through some of the worst tensions in decades. In the wake of the Saudi-driven OPEC Plus decision in October to cut production, Biden has warned of “consequences” for the relationship. At the same time, the White House has also granted Mohammed bin Salman legal immunity over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a sting to Biden’s calls to uphold human rights. What co...

When it comes to foreign policy, George Will quipped, Americans want as little of it as possible. That much was even clearer this week as American voters had inflation, crime, abortion access, U.S. democracy, and recession fears at the top of their minds in the midterm elections. At the same time, warming temperatures, supply chain breakdowns, and a global pandemic have only reaffirmed the inescap...

Next week Americans will go to the polls in a midterm election that may speak volumes on how voters view the current policies of the Biden administration and provide a snapshot of the state of America’s deeply polarized politics. How will the election results shape the second half of Biden’s term in office? What did the pollsters get right and wrong about voters’ priorities? And what do the midter...

With negotiations over the nuclear deal on hold and Iran facing its most serious protests since 2009, the Biden administration is dealing with a new reality in its relations with the Iranian regime. How have the demonstrations reshaped the administration’s thinking on Iran? Is a revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action still on the table? And what is the most effective approach to deal wi...

The Washington Post describes Susan Glasser and Peter Baker’s new book The Divider as the “most comprehensive and detailed account of the Trump presidency yet published.” From his “American carnage” inaugural address to the January 6th insurrection he helped trigger, the authors argue that far from lurching from one controversy to another, Donald Trump was constantly learning the techniques and pr...

The war in Ukraine is entering a new and more dangerous phase in the wake of the overnight success of Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. A string of major Russian military setbacks is feeding hopes for a once-unthinkable Ukrainian victory in the war. For his part, Putin is moving to formally annex the parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces and is inching closer toward full-scale m...

The United States faces the most challenging trade environment in decades. Amid a complex domestic political environment, a more aggressive China, and varied trade views among U.S. allies to U.S. allies, the Biden administration has championed a new approach. In this complicated and fraught environment, what exactly is the worker-centered trade policy? Can trade really be designed to benefit Ameri...

As Israel approaches its fifth election in four years, it faces a series of challenges and opportunities. Worries over Iran’s nuclear ambitions remain, and a peace with the Palestinians remains elusive. Meanwhile, Israel has an opening to expand relations with the Gulf states and a longstanding relationship with the United States under a Biden administration keen on working together with Israel.  ...

In the prelude to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, intelligence played a critical role in exposing Vladimir Putin’s intentions to the world. Since then, NATO has expanded and doubled down on its efforts to counter Russia, all while keeping its eyes to the east on China. Meanwhile, old challenges persist in the Middle East—talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal have reached an impasse and there appears...

Millions of Americans are frustrated as U.S. gas prices now exceed $5 per gallon at the pump—and are only projected to rise. One of the key drivers behind the global inflationary spike is, of course, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Disruption in the flow of Russian oil and gas, combined with preexisting inflationary pressures, have roiled energy and financial markets and placed a renewed focus on en...

America is in trouble. Even as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues to preoccupy the Biden administration, events at home offer a grim picture. While inflation and a resurgence of COVID-19 continue to darken the national mood, active shooters and mass killings, the rise of white nationalist extremism, and pernicious polarization on issues from gun control to voting rights to abortion seem to hav...

Putin’s brutal attacks against civilians in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have produced a rare moment of bipartisanship in the United States, even as the U.S. midterm elections draw near in November. However, if history is any indicator, the conflict itself is not likely to impact American voters at the polls.  But how important is presidential leadership in shaping voter preferences during an unpr...

In recent weeks, terror attacks in Israel and operations launched by the Israeli Defense Forces have claimed the lives of more than thirty Palestinians and Israelis. Israeli police have also clashed with Palestinians on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This escalation is occurring at a critical moment for the region as negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal have stalled, raisin...

“Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has ended America’s thirty-year holiday from history,” Robert Gates opined in the Washington Post last month, referencing the United States’ reentry into great-power conflict for the first time since the Cold War. No more salient words have been written on the U.S. role in the crisis. Russia’s brutal military campaign against Ukraine and its horrifying war cri...

Across nearly four decades in the U.S. Foreign Service, Marie Yovanovitch has served in far-flung outposts from Mogadishu to Moscow to her last post in Kyiv as the ambassador to Ukraine—a position from which she was abruptly recalled and then drawn into the politics surrounding the impeachment of a U.S. president. This may well have been her toughest assignment and one in which she demonstrated tr...

Truth is said to be the first casualty of war, leaving journalists to play an indispensable role on the front lines and convey the grim reality of conflict. Nowhere has that been more clearly demonstrated than in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, where journalists provide constant coverage at great risk to themselves—and sometimes with tragic consequences.  Aaron sits down with CNN’s senior...

Although not on the battlefield, China figures as a central player in the Ukraine crisis. The strength of China-Russia relations was clearly a factor for Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, as sweeping Western sanctions have only highlighted Putin’s dependence on Xi Jinping. Indeed, China is the only nation of consequence that fully supports Russia. But how enduring is that support? What...

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns has emerged as one of America’s most gifted and prolific storytellers. From baseball to country music and his upcoming film on Benjamin Franklin, Burns explores America’s greatest achievements and most extraordinary heroes. But he also documents the darkest moments of the American republic, such as the Civil War and the national stain of racial injustice....

The U.S. Intelligence Community has played a critical role in predicting Putin’s invasion and countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign as the Biden administration purposefully released intelligence on the Kremlin’s plans and troop movements leading up to the invasion. But what are the challenges of intelligence gathering and analysis in response to a fast-moving crisis? What makes for an effect...

After willfully provoking the crisis in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin seems strangely uncertain about what to do with it. Despite preparing both conventional and hybrid military options, he also seems open to the possibility of using diplomacy to achieve his goals. But what exactly are those objectives? Is there a negotiated outcome that Putin is prepared to accept that would end the crisis? And how doe...

In a recent interview , National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on President Biden’s foreign policy one year into the administration and yet made no mention of the Middle East. What is Biden's foreign policy in the Middle East, a region studded with humanitarian crises and seemingly intractable conflicts that impinge on U.S. interests, from Iran, Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, Syria,...