International News
Coverage of international events and global policy shifts. The Daily Signal offers news reporting with opinion and commentary on world affairs.
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- News
The 2 Million Voters Who Will Elect the Next President
There may be over 300 million people living in America, but a new book makes the case that it’s the 2 million living in just seven battleground counties that will ultimately decide who our next president will be. In “Going Red,” conservative columnist and HotAir senior editor Ed Morrissey weaves together both the data and…Genevieve Wood -
- Opinion
The Russian Propaganda War on Reality
The Russian government’s reliance on propaganda to advance its aggressive agenda and control its own population should give the West pause before partnering with Vladimir Putin. In an April 14 three-hour marathon call-in show on Russian television, for instance, Putin attacked American “imperial ambitions”—hardly an accusation that fits the Obama administration’s approach to the world. It…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Why China’s Economy Is on Borrowed Time
On Friday China announced its economy had expanded at a 6.7 percent rate in the first quarter of 2016. While this is the slowest growth since the depths of the great recession, it conveniently remains within the government’s official target of 6.5-7.0 percent. Unlike all developed countries, there will be no revisions to this figure…William T. Wilson -
- News
Panama Papers and Political Turmoil Deal Ukraine a Reality Check
KYIV, Ukraine—The sniper’s bullet went into the head of the man standing in front of Valentyn Onyshchenko. Blood and brain matter sprayed into Onyshchenko’s face with enough force to break the then-21-year-old’s eyeglasses. “Like a robot” he weaved through the thousands of protesters gathered in central Kyiv for the February 2014 revolution. He went to…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Failed Obama ‘Reset’ Has Encouraged Russian Aggression
People seem a bit surprised—even perplexed—by the breathless news reports and video of Russian warplanes “buzzing” an American warship operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea this week. The reality is that they shouldn’t be. That, of course, isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be deeply troubled for the safety of our sailors on…Peter Brookes -
- Opinion
Russia and China Increase Defense Spending While US Continues Cutting
Every year at this time, we see the same kind of headlines: “U.S. biggest military spender in the world.” They’re all based on the release of the global military spending database, an annual report compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). What the headlines usually miss is that U.S. defense spending is going…Justin Johnson -
- Opinion
The Absurd Demands of Harvard Students Who Feel Guilty About Their ‘Privilege’
Where direct regulation does not change hearts and minds, America’s universities have long used indoctrination. At Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, for example, student orientation now includes instruction in “privilege.” If you aren’t already aware, “privilege” is a term employed in conversation as a way to encourage the listener to recognize that his or her…Andrew Kloster -
- News
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Calls It Quits, Pressure Mounts to Form New Coalition
KYIV, Ukraine—In a televised address Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced he would step down Tuesday, marking the end of a two-month-long political crisis. “We cannot allow destabilization of the executive branch during a war,” Yatsenyuk said. Ukrainian forces are still battling combined Russian-separatist forces in a 2-year-old war that has killed more than…Nolan Peterson -
- News
US Needs NATO Now as Much as Ever, Student of the Alliance Says
Policy leaders are reflecting on the legacy and future of NATO this week, the anniversary of the alliance’s creation 67 years ago. One of them is Luke Coffey, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. “[U.S.] involvement in NATO means that Europe stays relatively secure and calm. And we’re…Mariana Barillas -
- News
Kyiv, Washington Agree: Russian Threat Isn’t Going Away
KYIV, Ukraine—The Ukraine war is going into its third year, and leaders in Washington and Kyiv are bracing for the possibility that Russian military brinkmanship may be the new status quo in Eastern Europe. In Ukraine, some worry the time soon may be ripe for an uptick in the Russian-backed war in the eastern part…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
You’d Better Believe NATO Still Matters Today
Recently there have been some who have questioned NATO’s importance in the 21st century. Europe is currently experiencing a belligerent and aggressive Russia with old-school 18th-century imperial ambitions. The answer is—very important. Europe is currently experiencing a belligerent and aggressive Russia with old-school 18th-century imperial ambitions. While Russia’s actions in Ukraine may seem unimportant to…Luke Coffey -
- Opinion
We Need a President Who Will Lead in Asia
Whoever occupies the Oval Office in 2017 will face security threats around the world—including in Asia. Stability in Asia is currently being threatened by North Korea’s growing military capabilities, China’s increasingly aggressive behavior, historical animosities, and rising nationalism. Withdrawing from the world and raising the isolationist drawbridge didn’t work in the 1930s and wouldn’t work…Bruce Klingner -
- Opinion
State Department Loses Another Round in the Clinton Email Fiasco
In a second loss in less than two weeks, a federal court has once again ruled against the Obama administration, this time in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) tussle with Judicial Watch over the Clinton email fiasco. Previously, on March 22, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Justice Department and the IRS…Hans von Spakovsky -
- Opinion
US Law Should Now Prohibit Funding to UN Climate Change Convention
On Dec. 18, 2015, the Palestinian Authority deposited its instrument of accession to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In accordance with Article 23(2) of the treaty, the Palestinians officially became the 197th party to the UNFCCC on March 17, 2016—ninety days after depositing their instrument of accession. As was the case when…Brett Schaefer -
- News
Has Europe Blinked on Defeating ISIS in the Middle East?
KYIV, Ukraine—The terrorist attacks in Brussels so far have produced an internal evaluation of Belgium’s intelligence and law enforcement missteps, rather than the escalated airstrikes on Islamist targets in Syria that quickly followed the deadly attacks in Paris. Two days after the Nov. 13, 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris, French warplanes hammered the Islamic State,…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
The Bizarre Reality of Venezuela’s Energy Crisis
Venezuela is facing an electricity shortage so severe that President Nicolas Maduro extended the national Easter holiday by decree to decrease demand for it. The government is effectively shutting down the country for five days with the hopes of staving off an impending infrastructural collapse. That’s right: The country with the largest proven oil reserves in…Ricardo Pita -
- Opinion
Europe’s Breeding Ground for Terror
Belgians and all Europeans are looking around themselves today with renewed apprehension, having been reminded once more by the attacks in Brussels about their vulnerability to terrorism that arises from within their midst. They’ve allowed parallel societies to emerge, and now they fear that the problem can only grow. It was only fitting, for example,…Mike Gonzalez -
- Opinion
After Brussels Attacks, US Must Not Repeat Europe’s Mistakes
The first question security professionals around the world ask after a horrific terrorist attack is: What’s next? The second question is: How to stop it? Today, Americans woke up to news that Europe had been hit again, with reports of two bombs in Brussels that killed and injured scores. The attacks come only days after…James Carafano -
- News
‘Is This Real Life?’: Inside the Ukraine War’s Gray Zone
LOBACHEVE, Ukraine—War is absurd sometimes. The SUV clambered along the pothole-speckled dirt road, which was now more mud than dirt in the wake of melting snow and spring rains. The driver, a 30-year-old Ukrainian soldier named Andriy, held a pistol in his steering hand as he navigated through no man’s land near the separatist-controlled city…Nolan Peterson -
- Opinion
Obama’s Executive Order Against North Korea Won’t Mean Much If It’s Not Implemented
On March 16, President Barack Obama issued a new executive order imposing additional sanctions on North Korea for its repeated violations of U.S. law and U.N. resolutions. The order is a strong step forward for combating prohibited North Korean behavior since it provides additional authorities to U.S. agencies. The new executive order was required in…Bruce Klingner