180
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What does the US have to gain by other countries not being socialist or communist?
If we extrapolate from the historical record, it looks like the U.S. couldn't care less if there is a dictatorship or not in Venezuela or anywhere else.
What the U.S. seems to care about strongly is ...
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148
votes
Why does the US keep announcing what they think Russia is going to do in Ukraine?
I think that the motivation is mostly to make it very hard for any Russian narrative to gain traction in the international public opinion, including in Russia.
From a political perspective, Russia ...
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119
votes
What did Kerry mean with "Israel can either be Jewish or democratic – it cannot be both"?
That's not what he said. John Kerry said:
But here is a fundamental reality: if the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic – it cannot be both –and it won’t ever really ...
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111
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Why does the US treat the problems of Russia and Ukraine as its own?
The 1994 Memorandum on security assurances in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an agreement between Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the ...
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99
votes
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Why does the US keep announcing what they think Russia is going to do in Ukraine?
This is fairly common political technique called 'poisoning the well'. The US is laying out all of the actions and steps that Russia has been taking — and some that they expect Russia will take if ...
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95
votes
Why did Switzerland de facto abandon their neutrality?
If they wanted to remain 100% neutral.
They don't.
They make it quite clear in your linked press release that they do not consider this to be a symmetric conflict in which both sides are equally ...
- 113k
84
votes
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Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning?
Israel has a complicated relationship with Russia, which it doesn't want to hurt.
Russia is a major supporter of Assad's regime in Syria, which is aligned with Iran and Hezbollah, Israel's bitter ...
- 2,659
78
votes
Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning?
In January 2010, a team of Israeli government agents travelled to Dubai, UAE and, in a highly-sophisticated operation, assassinated a senior official of the terrorist organization Hamas.
Dubai police ...
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77
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What does the US have to gain by other countries not being socialist or communist?
I think the most useful framework to use to view US foreign policy is the one set out in Walter Russel Mead's Special Providence.
The thesis is that there are essentially 4 schools of foreign policy, ...
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71
votes
Accepted
Why do Mauritius passport holders have such easy visa access to so many countries?
For many countries, the decision to allow visa free travel is based on the likelihood of abuse of the immigration system. In the case of Mauritius, the judgement is that Mauritian citizens do not ...
- 113k
71
votes
Why has 20 years of US occupation not removed the Taliban in Afghanistan?
TL;DR: The Taliban has lasted for so long because it has a durable organizational structure and safe haven in Pakistan. Undercutting the Taliban is more complicated than rooting out its network of ...
- 1,077
64
votes
Why did Switzerland de facto abandon their neutrality?
First, the Swiss government differentiates between neutrality and impartiality (March 2022 white paper):
Neutrality is a behaviour in an international armed conflict, not a stance on specific issues. ...
60
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Why has 20 years of US occupation not removed the Taliban in Afghanistan?
The Taliban are not just a drug-running organization, not even predominantly a drug-running organization.
The US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan because the Afghan government at the time sheltered ...
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56
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Why does the US treat the problems of Russia and Ukraine as its own?
Maybe because an international order where individual parties can revoke previous treaties and behave as bullies is generally bad for peace and security
There are generic reasons why world powers ...
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55
votes
Why is it ethical for Ambassador Sondland to have been given an ambassadorship for campaign contributions?
This has a long tradition in the US. Before World War II, most ambassadors were actually political appointees rather than career diplomats. Trump might be marginally worse than Obama and reverted back ...
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54
votes
How does the USA know that the balloon they shot down was Chinese?
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released several statements saying that it's from China, they know its capabilities and purpose, and that they regret letting it enter US airspace. All in all, ...
- 9,587
52
votes
How would one country purchase another?
The question rightfully points out the democratic issues in such a process.
It's worth mentioning that the concept of a territory transaction between two countries is quite out of date under modern ...
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39
votes
Who are the 'establishment' in US Politics and what is their agenda?
"The establishment" and "the elite" are just disparaging terms used to refer to people who have built up a political career by engaging with the established parties and systems. The accusation is that ...
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37
votes
What did Kerry mean with "Israel can either be Jewish or democratic – it cannot be both"?
I love this question, if simply because so many people have misinterpreted Kerry's statement. He is stating that if Israel commits to a one-state solution, they will have to choose between being ...
- 499
37
votes
Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning?
The action against Russian Diplomats is being led by the UK, not the US. UK and Israel are not particularly close.
The other countries that have supported the UK are Countries with a close ...
- 113k
37
votes
Accepted
Has Russia recognized land currently held by Ukraine as sovereign territory of the LPR/DPR?
Updated answer:
President Putin addressed this issue in a press conference around 16:45 UTC on February 22nd:
As for the borders, within what borders will we recognize these
republics. We recognized ...
CDJB♦
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35
votes
Why does the US keep announcing what they think Russia is going to do in Ukraine?
I mostly agree with Ted and Erwan, but I would put it slightly differently. Say the US claims/warns/predicts that Russia will invade Ukraine on February 16th, as they did. Then there are three ...
- 105k
33
votes
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Why does Trump want to increase military spending?
Bottom Line Upfront: If you don't allow the military to plan for maintenance, but keep them working, then it will cost more to fix them when you start giving them money.
Part of it is most certainly ...
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33
votes
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How would one country purchase another?
Rather than focus on Greenland, it may be helpful to focus on a previous case where the US purchased a significant piece of land from another country. A nice example is the Alaska Purchase. From the ...
JJJ♦
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32
votes
What does the US have to gain by other countries not being socialist or communist?
Think back 50, 60, 70 years.
There used to be something called the Cold War.
Belief in their own system.
Various free market economies are convinced that some from of Capitalism is right for people ...
- 105k
32
votes
Why is it ethical for Ambassador Sondland to have been given an ambassadorship for campaign contributions?
The practice of giving ambassadorships purely in exchange for (large) campaign contributions was seen as somewhat problematic even in the US, which passed a law in 1980 attempting to mitigate this. ...
- 134k
29
votes
Accepted
Electoral considerations aside, what are potential benefits, for the US, of policy changes proposed by the tweet recognizing Golan annexation?
I'm not sure there is much benefit to the United States. It won't increase Israel's reliablity as a military ally or trading partner, since they already filled these roles without any US recognition ...
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29
votes
How would one country purchase another?
If both Greenland and Denmark agree to the deal, then the matter would be simple. Simply transfer Greenland to USA, like it happened with the Dansk Vestindien/Virgin Islands.
But even without Denmark'...
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27
votes
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Is it true that the US has stepped into foreign conflicts mostly under Democratic presidents?
Part of the issue with answering this question is defining what counts as a foreign intervention. The Congressional Research Service has published a report entitled Instances of Use of United States ...
CDJB♦
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26
votes
Why do some lecturers consider Israel to be an "apartheid" country?
Edit 4/29/2021: Human Rights Watch just put out a report declaring Israeli rule in the West Bank apartheid. The report is very long and detailed and worth reading for those interested.
Quoting from ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible