Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Russian Spy Scandal; Rexiting the State Department; Russian Elections; U.S.-North Korea Talks; Merkel's New Government; Global Happiness

Quote of the Week:

"We're speaking with Theresa May today. As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be."

-- President Donald Trump, in a meeting with the press on Tuesday, recorded by the New York Times. 

Russian Spy Scandal

"Theresa May: 'Highly Likely' Russia Responsible for Spy's Poisoning by Nerve Agent" William Booth -- The Washington Post, March 12, 2018

"Theresa May's Russia Response, Full Text" Editorial Board -- The Spectator, March 14, 2018

"Britain Accuses Russia of Poisoning - Trump Won't Agree" David Frum -- The Atlantic, March 12, 2018

"May Can't Rely on Trump and Europe Against Russia - And Putin Knows It" Simon Tisdall -- The Guardian, March 13, 2018

Rexit: New Leadership at the State Department

"The Foreign Capital Rex Tillerson Never Understood: Trump's Washington" Susan Glasser -- Politico, March 13, 2018

"Will Pompeo Turn the State Department Around?" Danielle Pletka -- The National Interest, March 13, 2018

"With Mike Pompeo at the State Department, Are the Uber-Hawks Winning?" Robin Wright -- The New Yorker, March 13, 2018

"How Mike Pompeo Could Save the State Department" Samantha Power -- The New York Times, March 13, 2018

"Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Is Fired" James Lindsay -- Council on Foreign Relations, March 13, 2018 [Podcast]

Russia Goes to the Polls

"The Banality of Russia's Potempkin Elections" Daniel Baer -- Foreign Policy, March 12, 2018

"How Putin's Regime Is Both Authoritarian and Incompetent" Daniel Treisman -- The Washington Post, March 14, 2018

"Russian Election: Choosing Between Vladimir Putin or Chaos?" Aaron Tilton -- Deutsche Welle, March 14, 2018

"Putin Has Russia Guessing Before Election: How Long Will He Keep Power?" Christian Lowe and Olesya Astakhova -- Reuters, March 13, 2018

Global Implications of U.S.-North Korea Talks

"What a U.S.-North Korea Summit Means for Japan" Sheila Smith -- Foreign Affairs, March 14, 2018

"What Does a Trump-Kim Meeting Mean for China?" Shannon Tiezzi -- The Diplomat, March 11, 2018

"The Man Behind the North Korea Negotiations" S. Nathan Park -- The Atlantic, March 12, 2018 

"The Inter-Korean Agreement and Pyongyang's Offer to Trump" Duyeon Kim -- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March 8, 2018

Merkel's New German Government

"Judge Angela Merkel's Fourth Term By What It Achieves on Europe" J.C. -- The Economist, March 14, 2018

"Angela Merkel Starts Fourth Term Facing Big Hurdles" Bojan Pancevski -- The Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2018

"As Merkel Begins New Term, Compromises Could Undo Economic Boom" Jack Ewing -- The New York Times, March 14, 2018 

How Happy Is Your Country?

"World Happiness Report 2018" John Helliwell; Richard Layard; Jeffrey Sachs -- United Nations, March 14, 2018 [Report]

"Perhaps Tired of Winning, the United States Falls in World Happiness Rankings - Again" Alex Horton -- The Washington Post, March 14, 2018