McMaster as national security adviser. In the latest Brookings 5 on 45 podcast episode, Michael O'Hanlon contextualizes Trump’s appointment of Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security adviser and explains what makes him an exceptional pick.

White House officials and Islam. McMaster’s nuanced views on Islam will likely be at odds with those of the president’s chief political strategist, Steve Bannon, among others, and is a break from his predecessor Michael Flynn. William McCants explains what it might mean for combating jihadism.

The European Union first. Despite recent crises and the hard blow dealt by the Brexit vote, the EU may be the world’s best line of defense against today’s most serious threats: isolationism, protectionism, nationalism, and extremism in all forms, argues Javier Solana.

A watershed moment for Europe. The February 2017 Munich Security Conference was a watershed moment for the trans-Atlantic alliance, observes Constanze Stelzenmüller. But looking back, it will be defined as the moment in which the parties fundamentally reassessed not just the division of their responsibilities, but the reliability of their allies.

Pay no attention to the president? When Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Europe for various high-level meetings, they brought with them a clear message, observes Jeremy Shapiro: pay no attention to the president of the United States. But only the president can truly make foreign policy, he reminds readers.

Expecting the unexpected in 2017. Federal Executive Fellows Adrienne Janetti and Maria Langan-Riekhof write that with the beginning of a new year, it is important to explore plausible if not probable events that could be on the horizon, particularly for the tumultuous Middle East and South Asia where societies remain extremely fragile and susceptible to sudden changes.

What if the U.S. withdraws from the Paris agreement? Qi Ye writes that in the event of a U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement, global cooperation on climate change could be endangered. He argues that it is time for the international community to consider a new global climate governance that works in the Trump era and beyond.

What the Ninth Circuit ruling doesn't do. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling to uphold a temporary restraining order on President Trump’s much-protested immigration order did not address what is arguably the most sweeping component of the order, observes Jessica Brandt: a steep, across-the-board cut in the number of refugee admissions the United States will allow next year.

Netanyahu's meeting with Trump. Sarah Yerkes argues that in last week’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, Trump’s remarks were, at worst, counter to the interests of Netanyahu and his coalition. Netanyahu’s supporters in Israel and the United States should view the meeting with caution, she contends.

Jordan's troubles in its own backyard. King Abdullah II of Jordan's visit to Washington was only a temporary distraction from the ongoing security and political crisis that has been unfolding in Jordan for the last year, observes Beverley Milton-Edwards.

Japan’s trade policy in an era of growing anti-globalism
Monday, February 27 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EST

The future of the European security order
Wednesday, March 1 at 9:00 PM to 12:15 PM EST