Portside

After half a century studying the issue, here's lesson number one: Wars are bad and empire is folly.

Taiwan and the South China Sea are the likeliest points of conflict — but conflict is not an option. The stakes could not be higher — and Washington may be off on the wrong foot.

Instead of wasting scarce funds on the Space Force, the Biden administration should deploy its diplomats to demilitarize space.

With oil prices down and wealthy countries bungling COVID-19, the pandemic has exposed the weaknesses that wealth papers over. The relationship between wealth and favorable outcomes only works when that wealth is invested in the many, not the few.

For China, the global war for influence is about trading partners. For the U.S., it could mean something more volatile. China recently softened its language toward the U.S., stressing peaceful co-existence.

India and China’s confrontation over a border in Himalaya is actually about energy and water. Britain’s colonial legacy is part of the problem; but military posturing and arms races won’t solve the extremely delicate diplomatic issues in the region.

Why is Trump unraveling treaties on nuclear arms? It's not just greed -- some people want to use them. The test ban did - and does - slow the development of nuclear weapons and limits their proliferation to other countries.

In the very near future, countries are going to have to choose whether they make guns or vaccines.

India’s far-right government is focused more on PR than prevention. Brave independent reporters are calling it to account.

The victory by Ireland’s left-wing Sinn Fein Party suddenly puts the issue of Irish reunification on the agenda. Prospects for unification will have less to do with ancient hatreds than with health care, schools, housing, and jobs.