France

Tilting at the Windmill of Strategic Autonomy

France’s centuries-long quest for strategic autonomy has more often than not led to bad outcomes for the French.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre’s Lessons for Today

The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre should remind us of the dangers of absolutism and demands for coerced religious and political conformity.

Populism in France’s Presidential Election - Marine Le Pen
Populism in France’s Presidential Election

What are we to make of France’s presidential election? More than anything, it points to the power of anti-systemic populism in French politics, whether on the Left or Right.

Église Saint-Sauveur in Crest, France, in December 2021. L'odyssée Belle, via Unsplash.
Does Protecting the French Nation Trample on Religious Freedom?

On December 9, 2020, Macron’s government introduced a bill that sought to address the violence perpetrated by Islamic extremists. But questions abound regarding the new law and religious freedom.

Pass the BURMA Act
Pass the BURMA Act

Covering everything from sanctions and import prohibitions to humanitarian aid, the BURMA Act is one of the most comprehensive pieces of proposed legislation to address the coup.

The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations
The Civil War Offers Public Diplomacy Lessons: A Review of Doyle’s The Cause of All Nations

While most histories of the Civil War naturally focus on the drama in America, Don H. Doyle’s “The Cause of All Nations” explains how the conflict fits into broader world history and how events abroad affected the war.

Lift US Sanctions on the Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria?
Lift US Sanctions on the Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria?

The Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria (AANES) is seeking international recognition as a legitimate government, but currently it is campaigning the US to lift sanctions on its territory.

Lebanon: Meet the ‘New’, Same as the Old - Najib Mikati
Lebanon: Meet the “New,” Same as the Old

The success of Prime Minister Najib Mikati in forming a government, where his predecessor-designate Saad Hariri had failed after trying for months to craft a political deal with Hezbollah, marks a clear tilt toward Damascus.

Durban IV Exhibits Split in European Approach to Israel, Combatting Antisemitism
Durban IV Exhibits Split in European Approach to Israel, Combatting Antisemitism

The choice between attending or abstaining from September’s Durban IV conference in New York City—the twentieth anniversary of the anti-racism conference that quickly became a confluence of antisemitism—is the newest episode in Europe’s increasingly divided policy toward the Jewish state and combatting antisemitism.