The terms under which American AI tools are deployed in warfare are being set by some men in a room, with no democratic input and no durability beyond the next change in political winds, Kat Duffy (@rightsduff.bsky.social) writes.

Bombing campaigns alone don’t achieve strategic objectives, and can actually be counterproductive. Trump seems determined to learn that lesson the hard way, @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes in his weekly column for WPR.

My latest column on Macron’s nuclear speech

Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul’s party outperformed every poll in Thailand’s elections last month. Joshua Kurlantzick writes that the conflict with Cambodia was a key factor—and that Anutin now has every incentive to keep it going.

Khamenei is the third top leader of a key Russian ally to lose power in the past two years. Each time, Moscow responded with words alone.

Macron has arguably gone as far as any French president can on a matter that is at the symbolic heart of France’s cherished strategic autonomy, WPR columnist @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

The death of El Mencho marks a definitive break between President Sheinbaum’s security strategy and her predecessor’s “hugs, not bullets” approach. Whether it makes Mexico safer in the long run is still to be seen.

Having won an upset election by stoking nationalist sentiment over the conflict with Cambodia, Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul now has a mandate—and every incentive—to keep up his tough approach toward Phnom Penh.

Since launching his all-out invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly shown that an alliance with Russia is little more than a paper shield, senior columnist @fridaghitis.bsky.social‬ writes.

My latest column for @wpr.bsky.social in which I argue that Macron’s nuclear speech really was groundbreaking and should get more attention (and please: I did not chose the title! All mistakes in the text are mine, but the title is not.)

Macron’s announcement of a new French nuclear posture—including the possible deployment of French nuclear-capable aircraft to allied territories—represents a momentous shift for European deterrence, WPR columnist @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

El Mencho’s death was a laudable development for Mexico—and a perilous one. As Eduardo Arcos writes, the killing of the CJNG’s leader marks a clear turning point in Mexico’s security strategy, but the consequences will be hard to predict and harder to manage.

Anti-American sentiment in France is not new, but it has been supercharged since Trump returned to office. In a new briefing, Robert Zaretsky traces the long history of French ambivalence toward the U.S., and explains why this moment feels different:

Those looking in China’s next five-year plan for a major shift toward domestic consumption or structural reform will be disappointed.

The changes to France’s nuclear posture that Macron announced this week could reshape deterrence on the continent for years to come, @rikefranke.bsky.social writes.

Nepal’s elections today pit a new generation of political challengers against establishment parties that have dominated the country for two decades, @deepakadk.bsky.social writes.

The killing of El Mencho is the most significant development in Mexico’s security landscape in a decade. It is also very likely to unleash a series of events that could further undermine the country’s fragile security environment, Eduardo Arcos writes.

French anti-Americanism predates Trump by more than a century. But as Robert Zaretsky writes, Trump’s impact on France’s political landscape runs much wider and deeper than earlier spasms of cultural anti-Americanism.

China’s next five-year plan is set to double down on manufacturing and industrial policy. As columnist Mary Gallagher, that reflects Xi’s strong sense of confidence that China is on the right path, not from a sense of weakness or fiscal constraints.

Last year’s Gen Z-led protests in Nepal ousted a prime minister and left dozens dead. Now, the country heads to the polls, with young voices for change on one side and a deeply entrenched political old guard on the other.

The El Mencho raid last month put on full display the tension at the heart of the U.S.-Mexico cooperation against cartels, James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

A new poll finds that 42 percent of French respondents now consider the United States an “enemy nation.” As Robert Zaretsky writes, that sentiment didn’t start with Trump’s return to office—but Trump has given it new depth and breadth.

Those looking in China’s next five-year plan for a major shift toward domestic consumption or structural reform will be disappointed, Mary Gallagher writes in her latest column for WPR.

Nepal’s March 5 elections are a direct consequence of last year’s Gen Z uprising that toppled the government. Now, on the eve of that pivotal vote, the country is still processing the trauma—and asking if any of the options truly offer a path forward.

Mexico will judge the success of the El Mencho operation by whether homicides go down and Mexicans feel safer. The U.S., however, will judge it very differently, columnist James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.

Nepal goes to the polls on March 5, less than a year after a Gen Z-led uprising ousted a government, torched public buildings and left dozens of people dead. For many Nepalis, @deepakadk.bsky.social writes, the wounds are still fresh.

The El Mencho raid was a genuine moment of U.S.-Mexico cooperation. But as WPR columnist James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes, the two countries measure the success of any mission—and the broader campaign against cartels—very differently.

A short thread with some gift links coming to @wpr.bsky.social's recent and not so recent coverage that offers some good context to the war right now. 🧵

Does Trump want an America focused on guarding the Western Hemisphere, or an America focused on saving the rest of the world? His State of the Union address, columnist @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes, suggested Trump himself may not even know.

Most Venezuelans rejoiced when Maduro was removed from power—only to feel disappointment when the presidency passed to his vice president. And while a new survey finds they remain hopeful for change, the Chavistas may not be ready to provide it.

Trump’s State of the Union was a tale of two Trumps: the president who wants America focused on the home front, and the one who believes America, under his leadership, can solve any global challenge.

The first national survey conducted through face-to-face interviews since Maduro’s ouster finds that Venezuelans want deep political change. Whether the Chavistas will deliver, though, is another question.

Which Trump showed up to deliver the State of the Union: “America First” Trump or “Peace Prize” Trump? Columnist @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes that the answer was both—and the tension between them defined the speech.

Trump’s strategy of coercive brinkmanship fundamentally misread a regime built not to capitulate under pressure, but to absorb it, Neda Bolourchi wrote earlier this week for WPR.

Earlier this week, Neda Bolourchi wrote that Trump’s escalations toward Tehran fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the Iranian regime. “Coercion alone,” she wrote, “rarely produces capitulation from a system that interprets resistance as sacred.”

A new U.N. panel on AI comes at a time when governments agree that the technology poses risks but remain divided over how to manage them.

Across Europe, authorities are arresting and investigating elites with ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In the U.S., though, the federal government seems determined to shut down the furor.

Venezuelans are broadly hopeful for deep political change following Maduro’s ouster, a new national survey finds. As Mark Feierstein and Mary Speck write, though, the country’s leaders might have other ideas.

Trump’s isolationist leanings are continually in conflict with his belief that America, under his leadership, is still the “indispensable nation.” His State of the Union address put that contradiction front and center, columnist @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes.

I wrote about how Congress could transform the administration’s commercial diplomacy strategy in Africa from a concept of a plan by codifying it into law and authorizing/appropriating the market-creating and business-enabling foreign assistance that could actually make it work. 👇🏾

The new U.N. panel on AI arrives at a formative moment, when governments broadly agree the technology poses systemic risks but remain deeply divided over how to manage them. Whether it can bridge that gap is another question.

Europe is prosecuting its Epstein-linked elites. The U.S. is not. That contrast, senior columnist @fridaghitis.bsky.social writes, is becoming increasingly difficult for the Trump administration to contain.

The Colombian insurgent group ELN has spent nearly a decade expanding into Venezuela with the Chavista regime’s tacit approval. Now, with the U.S. reshaping Venezuelan politics, that arrangement may no longer be sustainable.

Governments agree that AI poses risks, but remain divided over how to manage them. And while a new U.N. scientific panel on AI is a step forward, it’s also a reflection of how early the global governance conversation still is, Candace Rondeaux writes.

Arrests and investigations of Epstein-linked elites are proliferating across Europe. As WPR senior columnist fridaghitis.bsky.social‬, that’s making it harder for the Trump administration to keep the lid on demands for accountability at home.

Why can't the US & Iran reach an agreement? Neda Bolourchi explains it has to do with differing approaches in @wpr.bsky.social www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-iran-deal...

Congress should seize the moment to codify Trump’s commercial diplomacy strategy for Africa into a durable, bipartisan framework, @lesleyannewarner.bsky.social writes in her latest column for WPR.

After Maduro’s ouster, the Colombian insurgent group ELN now fears becoming a bargaining chip in Venezuela’s negotiations with the Trump administration. Read more in Keïsha Corantin in-depth article for World Politics Review:

Many tactics used in Minneapolis are akin to civilian efforts to protect each other from human rights violations in wars or highly repressive situations.

Trump’s trade strategy was built on credible threats backed by instant enforcement. The Supreme Court just eliminated that authority, severely undercutting Trump’s capacity to shape the global economic order.