A nation must think before it acts.
March 22, 2024
Orbis Editor’s Corner: Facing Future ChallengesSince taking over the editorship of Orbis four years ago, I have wanted to keep the journal’s orientation faithful to the course laid out by the founding editor, Ambassador Robert Strausz-Hupé. He felt that covering geopolitical shifts and technological changes... Read more |
March 15, 2024
The Fire That Didn’t Burn: Transnistria’s Unanswered Call for Russian SupportOn February 28, the legislature of Transnistria, a pro-Russia, de facto independent state internationally recognized as part of Moldova, appealed to Moscow for “protection” from the pro-European government in Chisinau. This preceded Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual address the... Read more |
March 13, 2024
The “Day After” in Gaza: Bridging the American and Israeli VisionsThe divisions between Israel and the United States over the Gaza War seem to have deepened in the aftermath of the release of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for post-war Gaza. The plan did not include a reference to... Read more |
March 6, 2024
From Protests to Prosecutions: A Tale of Modern Hong Kong“This is how the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper.” The most famous line from T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” might fairly be applied to the fate of Hong Kong since 1997. China’s slow strangulation... Read more |
March 5, 2024
The Realignment of the Middle EastExecutive Summary In the Middle East, reality can change in the blink of an eye. Misconceptions and misrepresentations that dominate the public discourse have it that the region has been embroiled in war since time immemorial. Still,... Read more |
March 5, 2024
Conflict in Gaza: The Law of War and Irregular Warfare in Urban TerrainNote from Philip Wasielewski, director of FPRI’s Center for the Study of Intelligence and Nontraditional Warfare: The conflict in Gaza is a classic example of irregular warfare, a form of warfare in which one side fights another to achieve... Read more |
February 27, 2024
Putin’s Warped Idea of Russian HistoryThe total wartime losses of Russia and Ukraine are difficult to estimate. Neither country publishes accurate data, exaggerating the enemy’s losses and downplaying their own. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukraine allegedly lost 406,000 people killed and... Read more |
February 26, 2024
NATO Needs to Get Serious at Seventy-FiveNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently arrived in Washington seeking to persuade the White House and Congress to successfully negotiate legislation that would free up $60 billion to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian forces. He delivered his remarks... Read more |
February 23, 2024
The Visegrád Four: Disunity in Central EuropeWhen the Russian army rolled into Ukraine in late February of 2022, it was clear that the invasion would create serious political and security repercussions for countries across the region. In addition to the immediate threat to Ukraine’s independence,... Read more |