Great Power Competition

The administration’s push to end the Ukraine war could bear fruit, but only if pressure is applied to both sides.

Far from signaling a strong trilateral alliance, their history of often transactional cooperation reveals strategic gaps that Washington can leverage to help curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Riyadh has demonstrated the desire and ability to play a bigger diplomatic role in the Middle East and beyond, so Washington should support these aspirations—while taking care to balance relations with other Gulf states and ensure that Riyadh contributes constructively.

As the new government looks for quick answers to its emergency energy needs, it may turn to sanctioned Russian ship operators and other illicit actors.

Mismatching objectives and means has repeatedly produced failure and undermined consensus, but Washington no longer has the luxury of bad statecraft on pressing issues like Iran’s nuclear program.

A senior NATO official joins U.S. and regional experts to discuss how the Trump administration’s initial peacemaking forays might affect the war’s broader geopolitical stakes, from great power competition in the Middle East to rare-earth minerals and Western counter-messaging.

The Institute’s managing director testified before a Senate panel on U.S. policy post-Assad, explaining how patience, pragmatism, and a willingness to lead can help Washington avoid its past vacillation between excessive intervention and exasperated neglect in the Middle East.

The two leaders can use their personal rapport to solve bilateral and regional problems, but they will also face tough challenges in matters such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dealings with China.

Two sanctioned Russia-linked oil tankers, which were attacked by the Houthis in 2023 and 2024, recently changed their names and are flying the Djiboutian flag amid stricter Western sanctions.