Opting for a phased approach to relations with North Korea, rather than ramping up pressure, offers the best opportunity to curb the North Korean threat and serve the interests of the United States and its allies, writes Robert Einhorn.
Separately, Michael O'Hanlon argues that while the United States should not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, it should "put to the side" Pyongyang's existing nuclear arsenal of a few dozen bombs.
The threat of white supremacy in America is dangerous, but the white supremacist movement as a whole has many weaknesses, some of which can be exploited, Daniel Byman and Mark Pitcavage write.
In a new Institute for Integrated Transitions study, grounded in first-person interviews with negotiators, Vanda Felbab-Brown and Mark Freeman find that the best of theory and practice regarding peace talks with militant groups appears largely absent from actual application.
"Increasingly on the U.S. side, my concern is that Americans are going to talk about Israel only in terms of liking Bibi or not liking Bibi, and not in terms of where our common interests, shared values and shared concerns are."
Taiwan. In an interview with Ryan Hass, retired CIA officer John Culver discusses the risk of future conflict in the Taiwan Strait, how Taipei is responding to rising pressure from China, and steps the United States can take to support the country.
China strategy. While America and Europe will not agree on how to react to every challenge from China, there is ample room to advance an agenda of democratic resilience and rules-based order, writes Torrey Taussig in Internationale Politik Quarterly.
The Greater Middle East
Power-sharing in Afghanistan. The best approach for the Biden administration's strategy toward Afghanistan is to test both the Taliban and the government with concrete proposals for power-sharing, contend Michael O'Hanlon and Omar Sharifi.
Syria, a decade on. In an interview marking the 10th anniversary of the Syrian uprising, Steven Heydemann discusses the socio-economic roots and consequences of the war.
International affairs
America and the IMF. On an episode of the Dollar & Sense podcast, Mark Sobel joins David Dollar to preview the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings and discuss the effects of the United States' recent $1.9 trillion recovery package.
Cannabis laws.Vanda Felbab-Brown discusses Mexico's recent legislation to legalize the production of cannabis for industrial, medical, and recreational purposes and compares its legalization efforts to those of Lebanon, Colombia, and Canada.
Proxy forces.Rodrick McHaty and Joe Moye consider what measures Washington should take to protect U.S. interests against the growing use of private military companies in certain countries around the world.
Satellite technology. By taking full advantage of commercial geospatial intelligence, the United States can better meet its security challenges and those of its allies and partners, write Mir Sadat and Michael Sinclair.
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