All in Soft Power

Analysis | Where Domestic Meets Foreign: Domestic America and U.S. Foreign Policy

Analysis | Where Domestic Meets Foreign: Domestic America and U.S. Foreign Policy

USFP Programme
American Politics, Democracy, Domestic Policy, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Soft Power, United States, U.S. Foreign Policy

Domestic factors are substantially affecting the way the U.S. engages international affairs and will carry long term implications for the face of American power, values, alliances, and grand strategy abroad. Surveying the U.S. political landscape for ways to restore the foundations of American democracy is as important for the future of U.S. foreign policy as analyzing the global system within which the country operates.

Analysis | Geopolitics in the Era of Connectivity: Beijing and Brussels Compete for Central Asia

Analysis | Geopolitics in the Era of Connectivity: Beijing and Brussels Compete for Central Asia

Cameron Vaské
European Union, Foreign Policy, Soft Power, Grand Strategy, Economic Policy, Eastern Europe, China, Central Asia, Geopolitics, Connectivity, National Security

Both Europe and China recognize the potential for economic growth at home and abroad by bringing the two ends of Eurasia closer together. Yet Beijing and Brussels have diverging views for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and are poised to compete for infrastructure investment. Connectivity — and the means to control it — is the new currency of geopolitics.

Analysis | Refining Strategic Autonomy: A Call for European Grand Strategy

Analysis | Refining Strategic Autonomy: A Call for European Grand Strategy

Cameron Vaské
European Foreign Policy, European Politics, European Reform, European Union, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Security Affairs, Soft Power, Grand Strategy

Terms like strategic autonomy and defense union have become commonplace in the face of wavering American commitments to NATO and the transatlantic alliance. The shift in the discussion hints at a move towards greater European collective action on the world stage. With the resurgence of China, the return of Russia, the retreat of the United States, and the rise of the rest, Europe needs to define its own grand strategy.

Commentary | Coquetry in the Far East

Commentary | Coquetry in the Far East

William Truban
China, American Foreign Policy, Southeast Asia, Soft Power, United States, Xi Jinping

Go, called Weiqi in Mandarin, is a game played in East Asia and considered an oriental equivalent to Chess. Unlike Chess, Go does not focus on seizing parts of the board and successfully eliminating pieces in a tactical manner. Instead, the whole game is built around a strategic effort to encircle and limit the movements of an opponent. That same game was being played in a grander scheme as Donald Trump made his first trip to Asia.