James Carden

Tbilisi – It was Lincoln who once said “I would like to see someone proud of the place in which they live.” The 16th president never made it to the South Caucasus, but here reside a people quite justly proud of the place in which they live. Among the most striking differences between the vision … Continue reading “Democracy in Georgia Is Under Threat by the US Congress and the Helsinki Commission”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. The discursive rhetoric President Trump deploys when speaking about Russia and its apex-leader, Mr. Putin, risks lending the impression that once the unfortunate business of the war wraps up, he and Mr. Putin will at last be free to guide US-Russian relations to unimaginable levels of peace, prosperity … Continue reading “Toward a Policy of Restrained Pessimism”

The last vice president to serve during wartime was also the last president to have done so: George H.W. Bush (1924-2018). Bush’s presidency, unlike that of his son’s, was marked, mainly, by a prudential approach to foreign affairs. Bush’s warning about the dangers of unleashing the demons of “suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred” in … Continue reading “The Vance Doctrine”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review The term “revolving door” has long been used to describe the practice of Washington lobbyists and defense contractors circling in and out of government, enriching themselves as they impoverish and debase the country they are ostensibly here to serve. Today I’m using the term to refer to something … Continue reading “Revolving Door: Why Can’t Trump Quit the Neocons?”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. May 8th marks eighty years since the end of the Second Word War in Europe. While the British, Soviet and American alliance emerged victorious in the war against Hitler’s Germany, we soon found ourselves in the midst of a new and dangerous Cold War with our erstwhile allies … Continue reading “How Truman Lost The Postwar Peace”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. Much has been made of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s tête-à-tête in Saint Peter’s Basilica over the weekend. If nothing else, the optics were stunning: The US and Ukrainian president looked to be patching things up – perhaps the spirit of Pope Francis awakened the better angels of … Continue reading “The Path to Peace: Europeanization Then Normalization”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. You’re thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don’t, I think that’s old Europe. If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east and there are a lot of new members… ~ Donald H. Rumsfeld, January 2003 In … Continue reading “New Europe, Same Old Problems”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. Only three months into his second term, Donald Trump’s national security team looks to be seriously divided. As I reported late last year as the administration was taking shape, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who led the transition and is known to have played a major role in vetting … Continue reading “Trump’s National Security Team Is a House Divided Against Itself”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. Asked about the state of the war in Ukraine during a press gaggle last night on Air Force One, President Trump responded that the war is “a horrible thing that never should have started.” That war is horrible is an idea that seems lost on the Democratic foreign … Continue reading “The Unnecessary War”

Reprinted with permission from The Realist Review. Adam Entous’ “blockbuster” New York Times report confirmed what only a few of us reported only weeks into the war, that Washington has been a co-belligerent in the war in Ukraine in all but name. In a widely neglected article for the Asia Times on April 19, 2022, … Continue reading “Will China Seal Zelensky’s Fate?”