If Prime Minister Putin decides to run in Russia's 2012 presidential elections, there will be wide-ranging implications for both Russia and the international community.
While President Obama’s speech on the Middle East expressed support for the dramatic changes going on in the region and compared those changes with the U.S. experience of nonviolent civil disobedience, it did not set out any bold policy shifts.
To overcome the large trust deficit that exists between Washington and Islamabad, the leadership in both countries must recognize that the strategic interests of their two nations do not always align.
By shuffling existing high ranking members of its national security team to cover the departure of the Secretary of Defense, the Obama administration maintains continuity, but risks creating a circle of insiders.
As the international community pursues a range of activities to help end the violence in Libya, analysts and politicians should avoid creating a false dichotomy between imposing a no-fly zone on the country and doing nothing to prevent the deaths of Libyan civilians.
As international pressure grows for the imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya, it is crucial to consider how foreign military intervention might affect the narrative of Arab independence and what long-term consequences such an intervention might have, both regionally and globally.
Regardless of who takes over after Egyptian President Mubarak's resignation, the United States should do what it can to support a transition to genuine democracy and free and fair elections.
The long-standing U.S. relationship with Egypt makes it problematic for the Obama administration to remain silent on violence committed by the regime as the protests continue.
The United States should not allow apprehensions about a democratic Egypt’s potential foreign policy to hinder its support for free and fair elections.
In the wake of the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, the United States has an opportunity to assist countries transition into stable democracies and to pressure allies in the Arab world to implement reforms before it is too late.