The Merz Doctrine, and the Cost of Strategic Adulthood This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com By Ramesh Jaura* BERLIN | 1 March 2026 (IDN) — For nearly eight decades, Europe thrived under the sturdy canopy of a security order that felt immovable. The United States was the bedrock of NATO, its power a shield against […]
Iran Crisis Exposes the Impotence of America’s Neoliberal War Machine
By Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 20 February 2026 (IDN) — After some delays, the United States is dispatching a second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Caribbean to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and threaten Iran. This is the third Atlantic crossing […]
Europe Now Needs the Courage to Pursue Peace
A call for peace on the 4th anniversary of the war in Ukraine By Harald Kujat, Michael von der Schulenburg* BRUSSELS | 16 February 2026 (IDN) — The world is currently experiencing one of the most profound geopolitical upheavals since the end of the Second World War – an upheaval in which the European Union […]
Ukraine was Russian — Historically
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 2 December 2025 (IDN) — “George, you have to understand that Ukraine is not even a country. Part of its territory is in Eastern Europe, and the greater part was given to us.” These were the ominous words of President Vladimir Putin of Russia to President George W. Bush in […]
Trump’s Peace with Russia
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 25 November 2025 (IDN) — Trotsky, the one-time close comrade of Lenin, reportedly said, “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. This is how it seems to have been with the US presidents in office before Donald Trump. Trump is unique when it […]
From Illusion to Real Peace: Trump’s Test in Gaza and Ukraine
By Jeffrey D. Sachs & Sybil Fares This article was originally published on Al Jazeera and is being reproduced with the authors’ permission. NEW YORK | 24 October 2025 (IDN) — United States President Donald Trump styles himself as a peacemaker. In his rhetoric, he claims credit for his efforts to end the wars in […]
The Need for Non-Violence in Ukraine
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 9 September 2025 (IDN) — Is it too late to say non-violence would have served the Ukrainians better? Probably yes, although it shouldn’t be discounted. This war with Russia reminds me of 1968, when the Soviet Union sent its tanks into Budapest to overthrow a reforming (but still communist) […]
Europe Requires a New Approach to Foreign Policy
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published on CIRSD and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 28 August 2025 (IDN) —The European Union needs a new foreign policy based on Europe’s true economic and security interests. Europe is currently in an economic and security trap of its own making, characterized by its […]
“Software on the Front Line”: How Palantir Is Aiding Ukraine in Its War with Russia
Impact on the Future of Security Guarantees By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ BERLIN | 24 August 2025 (IDN) — On a grey October morning, in a nondescript office tucked behind sandbagged checkpoints, Ukrainian officers clustered around a wall of screens, recalls a colleague in Kyiv. Drones drifted above a treeline […]
US-Russia Talks: The Choice Between Pursuing Peace and Escalation
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 17 August 2025 (IDN) — Donald Trump came into office promising to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Now, six months later, his high-stakes meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska may have put the United States and Russia on a new path […]