Order from Chaos

An attendent cleans the carpet next to U.S. and Chinese national flags before a news conference for the 6th round of U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - GM1EA7A1AO901

Where progress with China is most likely—and where it isn’t

David Dollar · Monday, March 18, 2019

Ukrainian soldiers drive a military vehicle with a torn Ukrainian flag at a checkpoint near Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine July 3, 2014. About half the 130,000 residents of Slaviansk are thought to have fled since fighters who want eastern Ukraine incorporated into Russia took control of the city in April, a month after Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea. Since then, government forces trying to end the rebellion in towns and cities across the Russian-speaking region have pounded separatist positions in and around Slaviansk. Picture taken July 3, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kravchenko/Pool (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1EA7414HR01

Five years after Crimea’s illegal annexation, the issue is no closer to resolution

Monday, March 18, 2019

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May reacts during the debate on extending Brexit negotiating period in Parliament in London, Britain, March 14, 2019. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC11E05C2DF0

Brexit endgame: Parliament seeks delay to EU exit

Friday, March 15, 2019

People lay flowers outside New Zealand House, following Christchurch mosque attack in New Zealand, in London, Britain March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls - RC178C0E1510

Five initial thoughts on the New Zealand terrorist attack

Daniel L. Byman

Friday, March 15, 2019

An Iranian man pins banknotes on an Arabic script during the Shi'ite Ashura religious festival in Tehran January 30, 2007. Muslim Shi'ites mark Ashura, the day when Imam al-Hussein, the "leader of the martyrs" and grandson of Prophet Mohammad was killed in Kerbala in 680 AD. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - GM1DUMRVDQAA

Iran’s economy 40 years after the Islamic Revolution

Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

Thursday, March 14, 2019

People take part in a protest demanding immediate political change in Algiers, Algeria March 12, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina - RC1847826D50

Bouteflika’s bid for time

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Supporters hold up signs during the Palang Pracharat Party campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand, February 24, 2019. Picture taken February 24, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun - RC163BF7AD00

Thailand’s elections of the decade

Scott Christensen

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Undated handout picture of U.S., Taliban and Qatar officials during a meeting for peace talks in Doha, Qatar. Qatari Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1623E5FFE0

Amid peace talks, what’s next for Afghanistan?

Adam Twardowski

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

The flags of Germany and France are seen in front of the the Chancellery, before the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, Germany May 15, 2017. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski - RC1BF335E170

A new Franco-German narrative for Europe

Constanze Stelzenmüller

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

An aerial view of part of the Red Sea coast, with hotels and resorts in Sharm el-Sheikh, is seen through the window of an airplane, Egypt, December 7, 2015. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - GF10000257526

Red Sea blueprints

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. A trader speaks with a stock market official beneath the electronic board at the Tehran stock exchange September 15, 2010. While U.S. diplomats were busy upping Iran's economic punishment over nuclear activities Washington fears are aimed at making a bomb, Iranian shares, which might have been expected to fall, have, instead, gone through the roof. Picture taken September 15, 2010. To match Feature IRAN-ECONOMY/BOURSE REUTERS/Caren Firouz (IRAN - Tags: BUSINESS) - GM1E69U0R0301

How the Iran hostage crisis shaped the US approach to sanctions

Kate Hewitt and Richard Nephew

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Iraqi soldiers stand guard near an election poster featuring pictures of Shi'ite leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani (L), and slain clerics Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim (C) and Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr in the holy city of Najaf December 6, 2005. Iraqis will go to the polls December 15 to elect their first full, four-year parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish - RP2DSFIILWAB

Iraq’s failed uprising after the 1979 Iranian revolution

Monday, March 11, 2019

The Iranian flag flutters in front the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC1A2FD12B40

America’s torch song for Tehran

Kenneth M Pollack

Friday, March 8, 2019

India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol along the fenced border with Pakistan in Ranbir Singh Pura sector near Jammu February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta - RC1F4D99BF00

Are nuclear weapons keeping the India-Pakistan crisis from escalating—or making it more dangerous?

Caitlin Talmadge

Friday, March 8, 2019

Soviet tanks roll homeward from Afghanistan October 17, 1986. REUTERS/Stringer BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - GF2E51A0SKE03

How bad judgement calls brought a chain of blunders: Soviet responses to the Iranian revolution

Thursday, March 7, 2019

About Order from Chaos

A how-to guide for managing the end of the post-Cold War era. Read all the Order from Chaos content »