Great Decisions in Foreign Policy

As alliances in the Middle East are shifting, the U.S. has found itself between a rock and a hard place. In a series of conflicts that are far from black-and-white, what can the U.S. do to secure its interests in the region?

Born out of an umbrella organization of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) burst onto the international stage after it seized Falluja in 2013. What is ISIS, and what danger does it pose to American interests?

Kurdistan, a mountainous region made up of parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia and Syria, is home to one of the largest ethnic groups in West Asia: the Kurds. What does the success of Iraqi Kurdistan mean for Kurds in the surrounding region?

As a record number of migrants seek refuge in Europe, the continent is struggling to come up with an adequate response. Today, with the number of displaced people is at an all-time high, a number of world powers find themselves facing a difficult question: How can they balance border security with humanitarian concerns?

At the end of World War II, Korea was divided in two. The northern half of the Korean peninsula was occupied by the Soviet Union, the southern by the United States. Today, North and South Korea couldn’t be further apart. With such a wide gap, some are asking if unification is possible, even desirable.

The United Nations stands at a crossroads. This year marks a halfway point in the organization’s global effort to eradicate poverty, hunger and discrimination. With the appointment of the ninth secretary-general in the near future, the next President is bound to have quite a lot on his or her plate going into office.

A rapidly changing climate has already impacted the United States. Now, it’s expected that the presidential election will be one of the first ever to place an emphasis on these environmental changes. What can the next president do to stymie this environmental crisis? And is it too late for these efforts to be effective?

After decades of isolation, America has begun taking major steps to normalize relations with Cuba, its neighbor to the south. The move marks a dramatic shift away from a policy that has its roots in one of the darkest moments of the Cold War — the Cuban missile crisis. Although the U.S. trade embargo is unlikely to end any time soon, American and Cuban leaders today are trying to bring a relationship once defined by a crisis in the 1960s into the 21st century.