Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Syria's President Speaks A Conversation With Bashar al-Assad The civil war in Syria will soon enter its fifth year, with no end in sight. On January 20, Foreign Affairs managing editor Jonathan Tepperman met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to discuss the conflict in this exclusive interview.

Syria's President Speaks: Behind the Scenes With Jonathan Tepperman By Jonathan Tepperman Foreign Affairs Managing Editor Jonathan Tepperman discusses traveling in a war zone, what it is like inside Assad's presidential palace, whether the West can negotiate with the Syrian regime, and more.

Ukraine Reignites Why Russia Should be Added to the State Sponsors of Terrorism List By Taras Kuzio Putin’s goal in Ukraine is simple. He wants to rebuild “New Russia,” the Tsarist empire's term for the eight Russian-speaking regions of eastern and southern Ukraine. After months of deadlock, pro-Russian groups are resorting to terrorism to get the job done.

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Diplomatic History Diplomatic History is the principal journal devoted to the history of U.S. diplomacy, foreign relations, and security issues, examining issues from the colonial period to the present in a global and comparative context. Read “Take me to Havana! Airline Hijacking, U.S.-Cuba Relations, and Political Protest in Late Sixties’ America,” free from the latest issue. Browse the latest issue of Diplomatic History at dh.oxfordjournals.org.

A Pipeline Against Peace Israel's Recent Gas Deals May Exacerbate Tensions in the Middle East By Tareq Baconi Israel's new-found gas deposits are being touted as a lifeline for peace in the Middle East. But two recent energy deals in the region are likely to cause more conflict.

Yoga Diplomacy Narendra Modi's Soft Power Strategy By Peter Martin India has long seemed unable or unwilling to become a major player on the world stage. But the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is looking to change all that. In order to compensate for a small and weak foreign service, he is tapping into India’s considerable soft...

Saudi Arabia's Way Forward Why King Salman Is the Past, Not the Future By Bilal Y. Saab Leadership matters, especially in the Middle East, where institutions are weak and often nonexistent. But charisma and talent, on their own, won’t be enough to dig Saudi Arabia out of the profound generational problems that go beyond Abdullah, his successor Salman, or any...

How to Stop the Bleeding in Syria Finding a Way Out of the Conflict By David C. Litt Syria's civil war will end not with surrender but with a negotiated political solution, since no single actor or group of actors has the firepower to overwhelm its opponents. It's time, then, to start mapping out a peace deal.

Rampant Ransoms Kidnapping's Economic Bubble By Tom Keatinge The main reason ransom demands have increased so dramatically might be government involvement. On their own, insurers and negotiators want to minimize payouts; banks question multi-million cash withdrawals, and delivery to desolate locations is complex, time consuming, and...

A Deal With the Devil?  Why Washington Should Not Pin Its Hopes on Rouhani By Michael Singh Washington should be wary of pinning its hopes on Rouhani’s camp, much less on influencing the regime’s internal struggle.

Saudi Arabia and Iran's Uneasy Friendship The Middle East's New Balance of Power By Yoel Guzansky and Sigurd Neubauer This might be the year that changes everything in the Middle East. The reason: a possible thaw in Saudi Arabian–Iranian relations.

So Long, Austerity? Syriza's Victory and the Future of the Eurozone By Stathis N. Kalyvas Talk of overturning austerity aside, Greece still needs the last 7.2 billion euro installment of the bailout to cover its financing gap. For the time being, then, the new government will need to abide by the program’s requirements—that is, the very combination of austerity...

Good Luck, Jonathan The Problem With Democracy in Nigeria By John Campbell Americans tend to think of elections as the apex of democracy. But in some cases they are the opposite. In countries with weak democratic cultures and lax rule of law, elections can be destabilizing. Nigeria, which will hold elections next month, is a case in point.

Rampant Ransoms Kidnapping's Economic Bubble By Tom Keatinge The main reason ransom demands have increased so dramatically might be government involvement. On their own, insurers and negotiators want to minimize payouts; banks question multi-million cash withdrawals, and delivery to desolate locations is complex, time consuming, and...

E-Stonia and the Future of the Cyberstate Virtual Governments Come Online By Eric B. Schnurer By launching an e-residency program, Estonia is leading the way to a new market—one in which states compete for customers just as businesses do.