Now that it is clear that geopolitical confrontation is part of the repertoire of U.S.-China relations, there is a danger that this bilateral relationship could divide t But there are alternative dynamics that could pluralize U.S.-China relations by involving other actors, dynamics that could channel the relationship toward more international cooperation at a time when such cooperation is sorely needed. Within the G-20 grouping — which brings together the world’s major economies, which are also the major carbon emitters — there are opportunities for change. The G-20 could become a vehicle for more ambitious concerted global actions and a platform…

The Middle Eastern states, divided not by themselves but by the powers that colonised the region, are reorganising themselves according to their own logic. Of course these new alliances are still fragile, but the West will have to deal with them. What makes the Middle East difficult to understand is that it comprises a multitude of actors with different logics who, depending on the circumstances, make or break alliances. We often think we know the region politically, who our friends and enemies are. But when we return to the same place years later, the landscape has changed dramatically: some of…

Below is the full text of President Joe Biden’s prepared address to Congress:   Madame Speaker. Madame Vice President. No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it’s about time. The First Lady. The Second Gentleman. Mr. Chief Justice. Members of the United States Congress and the Cabinet – and distinguished guests. My fellow Americans. While the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is very different – a reminder of the extraordinary times we are in. Throughout our history, Presidents have come to this chamber to speak to the Congress, to the nation, and to the world. To…

Recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings indicate that frontline Democrat Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL) has seen a flood of corporate cash into her campaign from big multinational companies with deep ties in China. The revelations come after renewed pressure on Murphy to address the fact that her husband’s company manufactures women’s softball pants, the design patent for which she is a partial holder in China rather than in the United States. Murphy refused to be interviewed for that story, and now these revelations of her closeness with various corporate interests that have a penchant for cozying up to the Chinese Communist Party…

Perhaps the most important thing for the Russian leadership in this episode was to prevent the need to actually go to war against Ukraine in the future. Going overkill in terms of military maneuvers on the Ukrainian border now may avoid the need to do terrible things at a later point. The troops are not yet back at their bases, but the war alert along the Russo-Ukrainian border has passed. In fact, a war was never in the cards. Yet the alert, while it lasted, was profoundly disturbing. For the West, it highlighted the dangers of a large-scale direct clash…