Anyone who has followed the antics of American politics this year has probably gotten used to periodic furors over Donald Trump doing or saying something that is outlandish and unconventional. So when he takes a phone call from the leader of a country...

The South China Sea represents one of the world’s simmering conflict zones. The economic, political, and military interests of a dozen nations overlap in an area that is a significant transit zone for world commerce. In recent years a rising China...

The world can offer many challenges to nation-states seeking to assert their influence. While we often think of navies, rockets, and columns of armed troops, that can distract us from what really matters: who will win the World Cup every four years. Billions...

There are no subjects for international disputes that are more contentious than the question of territory. Control of geographic space by nation-states is one of the most critical subjects in international relations. Territory is among the most common...

From February 4 – 8, India hosted an impressive event that brought together ships from over 50 navies and showcased the modern military power of several Asian nations. Fleet reviews are formal ceremonies with a long tradition. Originally a means...

The Republic of China (ROC), commonly called Taiwan, elected its first female president this past weekend. In a vibrant democratic election that saw three major parties compete over a complex set of domestic and international policies, the Democratic...

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came under criticism by politicians in the United States and a number of independent experts on nuclear security in the past week as it has emerged that the IAEA did not actually inspect a key Iranian nuclear...

Today in Beijing, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a historic agreement to reduce carbon emissions. After 2020, the United States will reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions to 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025. This...

The Chinese district of Macau is the only district in China in which gambling is legal. Macau's economy expanded 14 percent last year and shows no signs of slowing down ( click here for more ). The Macau district is known for gaming, money laundering...

Above airport workers watch as the FedEx Panda Express aircraft carrying two giant pandas taxis along the runway at Edinburgh airport in Scotland on Dec. 4. Photo: David Moir/Reuters Regular readers of this blog will recognize the focus on hard...

Could a visit by Japanese prime minister to a shrine created in Meiji era (1869) be an act of aggression? On Thursday 26 December 2013, Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, did just that - he made an official visit to a shrine in Tokyo . ...

Newspapers across Europe today read, " England humiliated by Pakistan ." To a student of international relations, headlines like these may indicate state-to-state tensions or a diplomatic slight or perhaps even an overt and intended coercive...

On Saturday, February 11, 2012, an 18-year-old Tibetan nun, Tenzin Choezin, at the Mamae nunnery in Sichuan province, set herself on fire to protest Beijing's handling of the Tibetan people and territory. Such acts of suicide are escalating and...

It is amusing (and a bit frustrating) to watch the primitive communications (landline phones, typewriters, and teletype machines) in the Carter-ear movie Argo ( click here for more ). Watching CIA officers waiting for someone to answer a landline...

The East Asian Summit which convenes today in Indonesia, recently expanded its membership to 18 countries, including the United States and Russia. President Obama (pictured above) is the first US president to attend an East Asian Summit. "This...

China is Iran's biggest oil customer. China imports over half a million barrels of Iranian crude each day to feed its hungry economy. The United States is applying diplomatic pressure on Beijing this month in an attempt to persuade China to...

There are now over 7 billion of us on this pale blue dot . With many humans facing real struggles for survival the world environment and specific endangered species do not easily rise to the top of the list of urgent priorities. How can we raise the...

The USS USS Cowpens was forced to come to a "full stop" in the South China Sea last week to avoid a collision with an aggressive Chinese Navy ship ( click here for more ). The Chinese commander while in direct conversation (bridge to bridge...

Above North Korea's "Supreme Leader" Kim Jong-un: photo: AP "We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us,"...

In the 1980s, there were about a million African elephants in the wild. Today, the existing population numbers less than 600,000. The population of elephants in Central Africa has declined by more than 50% since 1995, primarily due to poaching ( click...

As much as 70 percent of China's rivers, lakes and reservoirs are affected by toxic water pollution. The NGO Greenpeace has identified links between a number of major clothing brands - including the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas and the fast...

Above: an Iranian man walks past a currency exchange shop in Tehran. The Iranian rial has fallen to a record low against the dollar after US President Barack Obama signed a bill imposing sanctions against the country's central bank (photo: Morteza...

Over the weekend, President Obama kicked off the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers and Economic Leaders' Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. Regional trade regimes, like APEC, are seen as a way to promote economic growth. Examples...

North Korean nuclear weapons have been a serious concern for quite some time. From President Clinton and Bush to the current Obama administration, the United States has repeatedly negotiated to persuade North Korea to terminate its nuclear weapons...

Surya P. Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia (UN Photo). From national security to humanitarian relief foreign aid is allocated to developing countries for many different reasons. Increasingly, donors allocate...