Stephen M. Walt
Foreign Policy
Brookline, MA, United States
Contact Stephen
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Stephen:
The Top Five Lessons From Year One of Ukraine’s War
Europe’s brutal conflict has been a harsh but instructive teacher. → Read More
Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out. → Read More
Congrats, You’re a Member of U.S. Congress. Now Listen Up.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature. → Read More
Looking Ahead to 2023 by Looking Back
What last year’s foreign-policy events can tell us about this year’s. → Read More
The Realist Guide to World Peace
You don’t have to be an idealist to want to put an end to war. → Read More
The United States Couldn’t Stop Being Stupid if It Wanted To
For Washington, self-imposed restraint will always be a contradiction in terms. → Read More
America's Perpetually Irrational Debate About the War in Ukraine
The war continues to be discussed in ways that are self-serving—and self-defeating. → Read More
Why Governments Go Off the Rails
Even well-meaning leaders can make disastrous policy decisions. → Read More
Russia’s Defeat Would Be America’s Problem
Victory in Ukraine could easily mean hubris in Washington. → Read More
How U.S. Grand Strategy Is Changed by Ukraine
Six months into Russia’s war, seven thinkers outline its impact on foreign policy. → Read More
Why Do People Hate Realism So Much?
The school of thought doesn’t explain everything—but its proponents foresaw the potential for conflict over Ukraine long before it erupted. → Read More
Bad Branding: Another blobby bite at the anti-restraint apple
Unfortunately for establishment critics, the war in Ukraine is making their own case for US primacy less appetizing by the day. → Read More
Will Teaching Aggressors a Lesson Deter Future Wars?
Calls to inflict a decisive defeat on Russia are misguided and won’t necessarily prevent Putin or others from using force. → Read More
What Are Sweden and Finland Thinking?
European leaders have reassessed Russia’s intentions and are balancing against the threat that Putin poses to the territorial status quo. → Read More
Elites Are Getting Nationalism All Wrong
Russia, the United States, and the European Union are each suffering from resulting disasters. → Read More
America Has an Unhealthy Obsession With Credibility
There’s no reason U.S. grand strategy should be so concerned with its own reputation. → Read More
Liberal Illusions Caused the Ukraine Crisis
The greatest tragedy about Russia’s potential invasion is how easily it could have been avoided. → Read More
Looking Back on a Year of Loss in International Relations
A group of influential intellectuals—and personal friends—passed away in 2021. → Read More
Breaking Up Is Bad for the United States
Talk of secession is on the rise among Americans—and already weakening the country. → Read More
The AUKUS Dominoes Are Just Starting to Fall
The world’s newest security partnership is a window into how the world works—and the unpredictable places it’s heading. → Read More