Jan 15, 2020

Ambassador Nicholas Burns speaks to CNN's Anderson Cooper about the possible surveillance of Ambassador Yovanovitch.

Jan 16, 2020

Lawmakers released documents and messages this week that appear to show associates of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer surveilling the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch, amid a campaign to oust her from her job. They are the latest documents at the center of the impeachment investigation into Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential rival.

Jan 24, 2020

Since Watergate, presidents and their aides have warned that impeachment is destabilizing to foreign policy. But history suggests otherwise. Presidential scandals create uncertainty abroad, but the impeachment process itself seems to bring clarity and resolution.

Jan 30, 2020

John Bolton is no hero. He has just been playing the part lately, given that he’s all but unique among top Republicans in his willingness to tell the truth about President Donald Trump. That’s admirable.

Feb 20, 2020

Director of the Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship and the Future of Diplomacy Project, Cathryn Clüver Ashbrook speaks to WDR 5 on micro-multilateralism and the impact of urban diplomacy global diplomacy, particularly on climate change.

Mar 3, 2020

Trump must balance the critical military and economic ties the United States is building with India against the repudiation by the Modi government of the very principles that are at the foundation of the friendship itself.

Mar 16, 2020

European capitals are taking a variety of steps individually to try to beat back the outbreak. But few countries are working together to combat the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. 

Mar 20, 2020

The pandemic will change the world forever. We asked 12 leading global thinkers for their predictions.

Mar 23, 2020

What role does diplomacy play in the modern world order, and what are the characteristics of a good diplomat? Which countries are the great powers today, and which will lead in 2050? Does NATO have a role in helping manage the political, economic, and military challenges facing the United States? And why is morale reportedly at a low ebb in the State Department? In this episode, former ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns, the Goodman Family professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at Harvard Kennedy School, answers these questions and more, based on his long career in government service.

Mar 24, 2020

The Geopolitics of Energy project is pleased to welcome Adnan Amin as a Senior Fellow this year. Ambassador Marcie Ries, a career diplomat with nearly four decades of experience in the U.S. Foreign Service, served in Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Susan M. (Sue) Gordon was Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence until August 2019.

Mar 25, 2020

The world has never before confronted a crisis quite like COVID-19, one that has simultaneously tested both the limits of public health systems everywhere and the ability of countries to work together on a shared challenge. But it is in just such moments of crisis that, under all prior U.S. presidents since World War II, the institutions of U.S. foreign policy mobilize for leadership. They call nations to action. They set the agenda for what needs to be done. They chart a path beyond the point of crisis.

Mar 26, 2020

Nicholas Burns speaks to BBC World about how global politics will change as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Mar 27, 2020

Nicholas Burns: Facing Two Global Crises, We Need Thoughtful Leadership In Every Country

Mar 31, 2020

This report will address four questions in the Pacific NATO debate. First, is there a historical precedent for a Pacific NATO? This report does find a precedent in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), though it was largely unsuccessful due to its lack of regional adoption, weak mutual defense provisions, and ultimately became tainted by the Vietnam War.

Second, would such an alliance be necessary given the plethora of existing multilateral partnerships in the region? While there is a broad multilateral landscape in the Indo-Pacific, there is currently no agreement that combines both the wide reach and deep obligations of a hypothetical Pacific NATO. However, the Quad and RIMPAC do bring together many of the key Indo-Pacific powers and serve as an important foundation for U.S.-oriented multilateral regional security.

Third, how could such an alliance be structured? This report examines three options: expanding NATO’s mandate beyond Europe, building on its Enhanced Opportunity Partner (EOP) program, and creating a new alliance system. It also uses the case of Montenegro’s NATO accession to generate a broad set of criteria for future membership.

And fourth, how would Indo-Pacific nations, including China, respond to such an alliance? This would be exceedingly difficult. China has significant economic leverage over even our closest allies, like Australia and Japan.

Intractable internal disputes abound, particularly between South Korea and Japan and four nations—Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam—with competing claims in the South China Sea. Two of the United States’ most important partners in the region, India and Singapore, have a longstanding aversion to exactly this type of alliance system. And for newer partners, like Malaysia and Indonesia, the value proposition is even less clear. The Chinese are likely to respond to any attempts at a multilateral military alliance in its backyard with a whole-of-government effort to stop it. If that alliance includes Taiwan, it could result in even more aggressive action.

Apr 1, 2020

The Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center this week launched a new initiative, The American Diplomacy Project: A Foreign Service for the 21st Century.

Apr 2, 2020

Dear America,

In London there is much talk of a new “spirit of the Blitz” in the face of another deadly threat to us all.

But 80 years on, that spirit is expressing itself very differently. When the Luftwaffe bombs fell, to continue with normal life was an act of patriotic defiance. Now as COVID-19 spreads, to continue with normal life is an act of punishable deviance.

Lewis Hamilton insists he is not out of the running at the Korean Grand Prix, despite qualifying fourth and admitting he was baffled by the Red Bulls' pace

Fernando Alonso said his main priority is to finish the Korean Grand Prix and collect points after qualifying third on the grid

Jenson Button has blamed a lack of tyre temperature for his seventh place qualifying position for the Korean Grand Prix

Robert Kubica insists he pushed his Renault to the limit to take eighth place on the grid at the Korean Grand Prix

Not for the first time this season, Rubens Barrichello has found himself on the wrong end of an incident involving former team-mate Michael Schumacher

Nico Rosberg said he extracted the maximum possible out of his Mercedes after qualifying an outstanding fifth for the Korean Grand Prix

Under pressure Tonio Liuzzi was left lamenting severe tyre graining after qualifying a disappointing 18th on the grid for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso won a dramatic if curtailed Korean Grand Prix to blow the title race wide open as Mark Webber crashed into retirement and Sebastian Vettel's engine blew with a handful of laps remaining

Fernando Alonso said it had been one of the best results of the year for Ferrari after he won the Korean Grand Prix and took the lead of the divers' standings thanks to the retirements of both Red Bull drivers

Lewis Hamilton said it was still a great result to finish second behind Fernando Alonso and remain firmly in the title hunt

Sebastian Vettel remained upbeat about his chances of winning the world championship despite his late retirement in Korea

Jenson Button complained of a lack of front end grip for his disappointing 12th place finish in the Korean Grand Prix that almost certainly rules him out of the title race

Ferrari is not underestimating its rivals Red Bull and McLaren heading into the final two rounds of the season, despite Fernando Alonso taking an 11 point lead in the drivers' championship with victory at the Korean Grand Prix

New championship leader Fernando Alonso believes Red Bull still has the advantage in the title race and is expecting the championship to go down to the wire at the final round in Abu Dhabi

Red Bull driver Mark Webber is relishing the challenge of coming from behind in the final two races of the season to take the championship

Valtteri Bottas is sure Williams has more one-lap pace in the bag after he finished behind both Ferrari's during Friday's qualifying simulations in Australia

Valtteri Bottas remains a doubt for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after spending the night in hospital with soft tissue damage to his back

Valtteri Bottas remains a doubt for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix after spending the night in hospital with soft tissue damage to his back

Valtteri Bottas says he is taking the "necessary measures" to ensure he is declared fit to race in this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix

Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley believes there is nothing wrong with Mercedes dominating the sport this year and says it is down to the other teams to catch up

Valtteri Bottas has been passed fit to return to racing this weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix

Williams has changed the positioning of Valtteri Bottas' seat and pedals to ensure he does not suffer a repeat of the back injury which ruled him of the Australian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas is keeping a close eye on Ferrari after it showed much more Friday pace than Williams expected to see in Malaysia

Daniel Ricciardo says he and Red Bull enter the Australian Grand Prix with far greater confidence than last year despite a rather indifferent winter testing campaign

Red Bull's Adrian Newey says there is no light at the end of the tunnel for Renault as the manufacturer starts another season on the back foot compared to its rivals

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has called on the FIA to rein in Mercedes' advantage over the rest of the field after admitting Renault had a 100bhp deficit to the world champions at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix

Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul has responded angrily to Adrian Newey's suggestion that the engine is the only thing holding Red Bull back in 2015

Daniel Ricciardo says Renault has solved many of the driveability issues which hampered Red Bull so drastically in Melbourne

Daniel Ricciardo thinks Red Bull can be happy with a spot on the second row on the grid in Malaysia after struggling at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix

Jan 3, 2020

Nonviolent resistance scholar Erica Chenoweth explains the key ingredients of successful social movements.

Jan 4, 2020

Americans would be wise to brace for war with Iran, writes Susan Rice.

"Full-scale conflict is not a certainty, but the probability is higher than at any point in decades. Despite President Trump’s oft-professed desire to avoid war with Iran and withdraw from military entanglements in the Middle East, his decision to order the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran’s second most important official, as well as Iraqi leaders of an Iranian-backed militia, now locks our two countries in a dangerous escalatory cycle that will likely lead to wider warfare."

Jan 9, 2020

The International Security Program (ISP) is still accepting applications for 2020–2021.  ISP is a multidisciplinary research group that develops and trains new talent in security studies by hosting pre- and postdoctoral research fellows. 

Jan 15, 2020

The events surrounding the US assassination of Iranian Quds Force leader Major General Qassem Soleimani brought to the surface the two main ideological forces that now battle each other across the Middle East - the anti-imperial "resistance" of Iran and its Arab allies, and the freedom "revolution" of domestic protesters in the same lands. 

Jan 21, 2020

Joseph Nye's new book rates the efforts of presidents from FDR to Trump.