Egypt’s transitional military regime threw down a direct challenge to the Obama Administration on Monday when government prosecutors announced that 43 people, including 19 Americans, will stand trial for allegedly interfering in Egypt’s internal politics. Egyptian officials claim that they illegally funded political groups in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, while the… Read more
Abstract: Iran will remain a hostile power that poses threats to its neighbors, the United States, and its own people as long as the current regime remains in power. International sanctions have weakened the Iranian economy, but sanctions alone will not halt Iran’s nuclear… Read more
Heritage hosted House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) to discuss President Obama's performance on matters beyond U.S. borders. We spoke to her about the Obama Doctrine, her concerns about U.S. policy toward Cuba and Israel, and why she is trying to reform the United Nations. Read more… Read more
Garry Kasparov, a leader of the Russia opposition, spoke at Heritage about why Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is immune to the Obama administration's reset strategy. In an interview at Heritage before his speech, Kasparov said Obama's approach was misguided. Read more… Read more
Known globally for headlines about brutal military crackdowns on protestors, incarceration of over 2,000 political prisoners, rampant corruption, ethnic war, press censorship, and shady dealings with North Korea—involving potentially the development of nuclear weapons—the reclusive nation of Burma has recently attracted attention for nominal reforms, among them the November 2010… Read more
Abstract: The U.N. Human Rights Council has failed to consistently fulfill its mandate to hold governments accountable for violating basic human rights and fundamental freedoms and to promote and protect human rights. Two years of U.S. membership on and engagement with the council have… Read more
The United States faces a world that is ever more dangerous, with the looming specter of a nuclear-armed Iran, mounting turmoil in North Africa, a resurgent and increasingly aggressive Russia in Europe, a rising authoritarian China in the East, a malevolent rogue state in North Korea, and the global threat… Read more
During his self-appointed mission to North Korea this week, former President Jimmy Carter engaged in yet another sanctimonious effort to impose his vision onto U.S. policy. His trip was the latest iteration of a predictable pattern of coddling dictators and blaming the shortcomings of those regimes on the United States… Read more
As the “Jasmine Revolution” continues to unravel traditional power structures in the Middle East, Chinese authorities have been cracking down on dissidents and activists on a scale not seen in over a decade. On the eve of the next round of Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks, and with much less… Read more
With all of the upheaval in the Middle East, the question naturally arises: What lessons are the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and especially the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), likely to have learned from all of this upheaval? Particularly, are the Chinese likely to interpret it as underscoring the need… Read more
In just over a generation, Ireland has evolved from one of the poorest countries in Western Europe to one of the most successful. It has reversed the persistent emigration of its best and brightest and achieved an enviable reputation as a thriving, knowledge-driven economy. As a… Read more
I'm pleased to be presenting these ideas to those affiliated with the Heritage Foundation because much of what I know probably came from their policy papers and books that I've read over the last ten years. As you know, Washington is a town where everything that could be said has been said,… Read more
As the United States and India seek to build a stronger partnership and take full advantage of the diplomatic opening created by the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal, one of the areas with the greatest potential benefit to both sides is counterterrorism cooperation. The multiple terrorist attacks in Mumbai between November 26 and November 29, 2008,… Read more
Can you name the greatest mass murderer of the 20th century? No, it wasn’t Hitler or Stalin. It was Mao Zedong. According to the authoritative “Black Book of Communism,” an estimated 65 million Chinese died as a result of Mao’s repeated, merciless attempts to create a new… Read more
It has been revealed that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton is pushing for the lifting of the EU’s 1989-imposed arms embargo on China. EU leaders failed to reach agreement on the issue at their summit in Brussels in December, but Lady Ashton is reported… Read more
With the completion of the U.S.-India civil nuclear agreement earlier this year, Washington's ties with New Delhi stand on the threshold of great promise. China's attempt to scuttle the agreement at the September 2008 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) meeting was evidence for many Indians that China does not willingly accept India's rise on the world… Read more
Whittaker Chambers once described the Cold War as the "critical conflict of…the two irreconcilable faiths of our time-Communism and Freedom."[1] Freedom prevailed in that grave clash of the 20th century, but it remains embattled in a new cold war of ideas. As the United States defends its freedom at home and… Read more
In just over a generation, Ireland has evolved from one of the poorest countries in Western Europe to one of the most successful. It has reversed the persistent emigration of its best and brightest and achieved an enviable reputation as a thriving, knowledge-driven economy. As a result of sustained efforts over many years, the past of declining population,… Read more
Estonia is a small country in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea, at the crossroads of East and West, South and North. Samuel Huntington states that the Estonian border is a border of Western civilization, a border where civilizations clash.[1] This has made Estonia interesting to historians but hard for… Read more
The Obama Administration must avoid wishful thinking about an “easy button” policy for liberating Libya from the oppressive and murderous Qadhafi dictatorship. The hope that a quick Western intervention through imposing a no-fly zone would ensure the toppling of the regime, reassert American leadership in the “fight for freedom,” or… Read more
The killings and other atrocities committed in Libya, if confirmed, likely rise to the level of crimes against humanity, which are under International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction in the Rome Statute. But the ICC is supposed to be a court of last resort, becoming involved only if national authorities prove… Read more
Many Americans will not recognize the name Abu Qatada. Qatada is a radical Muslim cleric currently behind bars in the...… Read more
Last week, I again had the privilege of traveling to Guantanamo Bay to observe a military commission proceeding as an...… Read more
Throughout the world, countless violations of basic human rights occur every day, but, as Representative Frank Wolf...… Read more
With economic issues dominating the domestic political agenda and much of our foreign policy focused on combating...… Read more
Cuban citizen Wilman Villar Mendoza, age 31, belonged to small dissident group, the Cuban Patriotic Union. He reportedly...… Read more
As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrated a birthday this month, it is worth noting how this...… Read more
In recognition of the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, President Obama proclaimed...… Read more
What explains such passionate philosophical disagreement between the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party? The...… Read more
Since the U.S. first enacted sanctions against Cuba in 1962, the island nation has been dependent on allies for...… Read more
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Health held a hearing asking the question, “Do New Health Law...… Read more
Deputy Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies
Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy
Bernard and Barbara Lomas Fellow
Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
Director, Asian Studies Center
Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom
Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs