Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 30, 2018

Ian Bremmer, Time: Despite the Apparent Bromance, Trump Has Been Tough on Russia

We don’t yet know why Donald Trump seems so fond of Vladimir Putin. Maybe we never will. But the expulsion from the U.S. of 60 Russian diplomats and the shuttering of the Russian consulate in Seattle reminds us that the media obsession with the Trump-Putin bromance hides the reality that U.S. government policy remains as tough on Russia as it was under President Obama (and potentially would have been under Hillary Clinton).

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 30, 2018

America Must Drop Its Delusions about Dealing with Russia -- Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest

The More the West Pressures Putin Over Spy Poisoning, the More Russia Believes Him -- Anna Nemtsova, Daily Beast

Vladimir Putin -- Bloomberg Quicktake

Putin's Secret Plan—Divide And Conquer Europe -- Michel Eltchaninoff, Newsweek

Don't Expect Trump's New Hawks to Save the War in Syria -- Eli Lake, Bloomberg

North Korean military efforts can be traced far off home base -- Robert E. McCoy, Asia Times

How Beijing is winning in the South China Sea -- Peter Apps, Reuters

Fewer Checks, More Balancing: How Xi Jinping’s Consolidation of Power Changes the Risk of War -- Stephan Pikner, RCD

How the Taiwan Travel Act Could Start a U.S.-China War -- Paul Smith, National Interest

China Is Filling the Africa-Sized Gap in US Strategy -- Marcel Plichta, Defense One

The US, Europe are yet to fathom the Chinese challenge -- Arun K Singh, Hindustan Times

History tells us South Africa’s land expropriation debate has no easy solution -- Fred Morton, quartz

Here lies danger. Hungary is on the verge of full-blown autocracy -- George Szirtes, The Guardian

Mexico elections: Why are they important? -- Al Jazeera

Why Apple and Microsoft Are Healthier Than Facebook -- Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg