Under the best of conditions, international negotiations are often likened to herding cats. The peace talks over Syria are taking place in an environment that is far from the best of conditions. Negotiations to end armed conflicts can often be like herding...

Monday, February 15 marked the start of an unusual type of international summit meeting. The ASEAN-US meeting at the Sunnylands resort in California is a meeting of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States...

As a source of examples of international relations in the news, you just can’t beat the conflict in Syria. This point was demonstrated again this week as Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that had strayed into its airspace. Russian intervention...

Civil wars can be complex, involving many sides whose grievances can drive sustained conflict over many years. Foreign intervention can add even more complexity as the civil war becomes internationalized and the interests of foreign intervenors become...

On September 28 the Seventieth Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly began with an opening speech by the Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon. The Secretary General extolled the virtues of the UN and highlighted its successes in anti-poverty efforts...

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...

Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 major powers have played a role in the conflict. Russian support for the Asad government has been continuous with military equipment, trainers, and diplomatic support in the United Nations Security Council...

A quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the relationship between the United States and Cuba still felt like the Cold War. All that may be changing as President Obama has announced historic steps to chart a new course in US relations...

On 7 August, President Obama said , “Yezidi women, men and children from the area of Sinjar have fled for their lives. And thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- are now hiding high up on the mountain, with little but the clothes on their backs...

Last week one Iraqi cried to the world, “there is no one coming to help.” “Well,” said President Obama, “today America is coming to help.” Above: President Obama meets with his national security team in the Situation...

For more than ten years the United States has worked to rebuild and stabilize the state of Iraq. In Iraq the US took down a ruthless military regime, rebuilt Iraq’s military, paved roads, built schools, and worked to create an inclusive and stable...

In just 15 days athletes from all around the world will gather in London - in fact, many have already begun to arrive. These athletes will compete with body, mind, and with fierce patriot pride from countries as different as Botswana and Japan and the...

Americans are generous people. When a disaster occurs Americans will send money and help - to places like Haiti, Japan, Somalia - all over the globe. However, when asked about foreign aid - allocating tax dollars to help developing nations - many American's...

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...

China plans to impose duties as high as 22% on large cars and SUVs from the U.S. for the next two years. Above, a General Motors dealership in Shanghai. ( PETER PARKS, AFP/Getty Images / December 15 , 2011 ) Although average tariff levels have greatly...

Photo showing the front of the Iranian 100,000 Rials bank note (Reuters file photo). On New Year's Eve (2011) U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law even tighter sanctions on Iran. These new sanctions do not allow financial institutions...

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel has no roots in the Middle East and would be "eliminated" ( click here for more ). The quest for nuclear arms continues to create serious international tensions. The nations...

The leaders of Iran greeted 2012 with a test missile launch. In the coming decades, world leaders must address and handle three very critical policy questions: 1) whether they should develop and maintain nuclear weapons, 2) whether they should use...

Above: Screen grab from video of Mr. Amir Mirzaei Hekmati as seen on Iranian TV. At the very foundation of international law one finds the principle of state sovereignty. Since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), states have held fast to the right to...

The 911 attacks on the United States demonstrated that terrorists are capable of executing catastrophic attacks almost anywhere. Those attacks also featured a new type of enemy - an enemy that lacks a specific geographical location, state, or even...

In this 2009 file photo, a column of Russia's Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles rolls across Moscow's Red Square, during the annual Victory Day parade. Ivan Sekretarev/AP/File The United States and its NATO allies have proposed a...

Money and energy flow wherever our attention goes. We spend on the things we value. Republican presidential candidates, from left, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, businessman Herman Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney...

On September 23, 2011, President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application to the U.N. Secretary-General for Palestine's admission as a full state member of the United Nations. This application is very strongly opposed by Israel and the United States...

By Sunday 16 October 2011, there were more than 950 "Occupy Wall Street" protests held in over 80 countries around the world - some large, others small. The protests have been inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in New...

Relations among the states of our global village are often about finding and keeping friends and partners. This coming week, Myanmar's President Thein Sein will visit the Washington. Aung San Suu Kyi (was at the White House earlier this year) will...