Blog

By Sidita Kushi

The United States has been bullying its staunchest ally and calling it diplomacy. The Trump administration’s strong-arming of the small Balkan nation of Kosovo – inciting a US-backed governmental collapse amidst a pandemic – mirrors a broader trend of declining US diplomatic capacity and international legitimacy. Now analysts with no expertise in the region are coming out of the woodwork to defend the administration by rewriting history. But no amount of genocide denial and hyper-partisan delivery of half-truths can cover up the fatal policy flaws.

The CSS Research and Policy Seminar on April 8 discussed America the Bully, an upcoming book co-written by Monica Toft and Sidita Kushi. The new study traces the evolution of U.S. foreign policy, both through historical narratives and data-driven analysis, to understand how the United States has relied on different tools of statecraft to achieve its political objectives across pivotal eras. In particular, the book evaluates America’s reliance on its armed forces to achieve its strategic interests, questioning the country’s blurred foreign policy objectives and its bullying tactics.

By Polina Beliakova

As autocrats current and aspiring grab more power, Russian President Vladimir Putin has withdrawn from policymaking and expanded the authorities of Russia’s regional officials. This unusual development signals that the Kremlin has reached the limits of its power at home.

Professor Monica Toft, director of CSS, presented two draft chapters for her new book, Death by Demography, at the Research

By Lima Halima-Ahmad

The victimization of Afghan women, once useful for the US to justify its intervention in Afghanistan, seems to be irrelevant in the new romanticized relationship between the US and the Taliban. Since, the Taliban has announced that they will not attack the US and its coalition forces, but will continue their violent targeting of Afghans only. This new episode in the Afghan conflict seems to be acceptable by the current US Administration.

By Xiaodon Liang

The sacking of Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly highlights the recent damage done to an underappreciated yet critical principle of civil-military relations in a healthy democratic society: civilian officials have a “right to be wrong” in their management of military affairs.

By Benjamin Denison

Attempting regime change in Tehran would harm not only average Iranian citizens and future relations between Iran and the U.S., but also the utility of various tools of American foreign policy in future contexts.

Thomas P. Cavanna recently published a 2,500-word piece for an H-Diplo-ISSF roundtable on “Teaching Grand Strategy.” In this piece, Cavanna explains how he has conceptualized his course “Grand Strategies in history: from the Ancient Greek City-States to America’s 21st Century Hegemony,” which he has taught at the Fletcher School since spring 2019.