Stephen Wertheim
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Articles by Stephen Wertheim
Can America Avoid a Forever War with Iran?
In this episode of Pivotal States, Christopher Chivvis is joined by Rob Malley of Yale University's Jackson School, a lead U.S. negotiator for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, and Carnegie's Stephen Wertheim to examine the political and strategic forces that keep pulling the United States back toward conflict with Iran. By Christopher S.
"I Don’t Think Trump Wants to Pull America Out of NATO"
This interview was originally published in Dutch by Knack on July 25, 2026. It was translated from Dutch using Claude and cross-checked with the original English interview, with additional edits for clarity. Interview and writing by Jeroen Zuallaert It is decidedly not easy to fathom how America conducts foreign policy these days.
Opinion: Trump’s Iran debacle could be a gift for America
With Iran, Donald Trump has done the impossible once more. In attacking that country in February, he went where his predecessors never dared, joining with Israel in a bid to overthrow or incapacitate the regime in Tehran. Having achieved neither, he appears to have accepted worse terms than he could have obtained through diplomacy. His war was a political albatross as well, garnering, at the start, less support from the public than any other major conflict in modern U.S. history.
El fiasco de Trump con Irán podría salvar a EE. UU. de la próxima guerra
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. El fiasco de Trump con Irán podría salvar a EE. UU. de la próxima guerra 24 de junio de 2026 a las 01:00 ET Credit...Ilustración de Sam Whitney/The New York Times Por Robert Malley y Stephen Wertheim Malley fue enviado especial para Irán entre 2021 y 2023. Wertheim es historiador especializado en la política exterior de Estados Unidos.
Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America
World News 11 hours ago Trump, Iran and the Denial of Defeat TIME - by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian • 11h The golden chariot of fate has often carried President Donald Trump to safer shores when financial, business, political or legal failures trapped him in a corner.
Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America
Trump’s Iran Debacle Could Be a Gift for America June 23, 2026, 1:00 a.m. ET Credit...Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times By Robert Malley and Stephen Wertheim Mr. Malley was the special envoy for Iran from 2021 to 2023. Mr. Wertheim is a historian of U.S. foreign policy. With Iran, Donald Trump has done the impossible once more.
Trump is fighting a ‘Boomer war’ in Iran: a relic unpopular with anyone under 60
‘The Iran war could end up being for America what the Suez crisis was for Britain and France in 1956.’ Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters From the moment the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the news seemed incongruous with the year 2026. A war to kill the Ayatollah and overthrow the government – this was the fantasy of neoconservatives after September 11, before today’s college students were born.
a relic unpopular with anyone under 60
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Of Course Trump Bombed Iran
Photo Illustration by Ioulex for The New York Times President Trump’s attack on Iran is astonishing in its audacity, aggression and lawlessness. Mr. Trump ordered strikes in the midst of negotiations with a nation that posed no remotely imminent threat to the United States. He did nothing to prepare his country for war. Now he’s offering a dizzying array of rationales and objectives, caught in a maelstrom of his own making. Beyond breaking with precedent, Mr. Trump also broke with himself.
Opinion | Of Course Trump Bombed Iran
President Trump’s attack on Iran is astonishing in its audacity, aggression and lawlessness. Mr. Trump ordered strikes in the midst of negotiations with a nation that posed no remotely imminent threat to the United States. He did nothing to prepare his country for war. Now he’s offering a dizzying array of rationales and objectives, caught in a maelstrom of his own making. Beyond breaking with precedent, Mr. Trump also broke with himself.
Spheres of Influence or American Primacy? The World Trump is Making
Trump has unleashed American power on the world stage, creating extraordinary uncertainty for the future world order. A conversation on how Trump’s foreign policy is shaping the world By Christopher S. Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim Published on Feb 13, 2026 Subscribe on Program The American Statecraft Program develops and advances ideas for a more disciplined U.S. foreign policy aligned with American values and cognizant of the limits of American power in a more competitive world.
Europe and Trump's National Security Strategy
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy seeks sweeping changes to the way the U.S. engages with the rest of the world. Nowhere is this new thinking more apparent than in its approach to Europe, which goes beyond calls for increased burden sharing and instead proposes a more fundamental recalibration of the transatlantic relationship that emerged after 1945 and persisted through the post-Cold War period. What exactly does this shift entail and what are its broader implications?
Today, Trump’s target was Caracas. What tomorrow?
‘Donald Trump’s luck with hit-and-run military strikes is about to run out.’ Photograph: Nicole Combea/Pool/Nicole Combea - Pool/CNP/Shutterstock “This is genius,” Donald Trump enthused. It was February 22, 2022. Vladimir Putin had just declared parts of eastern Ukraine to be independent and sent in Russian troops to serve as so-called peacekeepers. The once and future American president was impressed, even inspired. “We could use that on our southern border,” Trump mused.
The Russia-Ukraine peace deal is not a loss. Nor is it a victory
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The Russia-Ukraine peace deal is not a loss. Nor is it a victory
‘Almost four years after Russia expected to overrun its opponent in four days, Ukraine still stands.’ Photograph: Martial Trezzini/EPA No one should be satisfied with the unjust peace that Ukraine may be forced to accept. The aggressor would be rewarded with territory and other concessions from the victim it has brutalized. Yet the horrified reaction in Washington to recent peace proposals is troubling in its own right.
Toward a Taiwan Truce
When U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on Thursday, they should take bold action to reduce the risk of war over Taiwan. That risk has reached alarming heights in recent years. China, the most dangerous party, has militarized the strait, launching large military drills simulating blockades of the island and daily incursions across the median line.
Opinion | Trump Wants to Put America First. He Has No Idea How. Original
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Trump Is a Situational Man in a Structural Bind Credit...Photo illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times Dr. Wertheim is a historian of U.S. foreign policy and an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Donald Trump ran on peace. Soon he bombed the Middle East. The year was 2025 — and 2017.
A new cold war with China won’t help the US
The writer is senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a visiting lecturer at...
America made a catastrophic mistake with the Iraq war. Is it about to repeat it in Iran?
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America made a catastrophic mistake with the Iraq war. Is it about to repeat it in Iran?
‘Iran may well retaliate against Americans, triggering a large-scale, open-ended conflict.’ Photograph: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters Two decades ago, as Americans debated whether their country should invade Iraq, one question loomed the largest: did Saddam Hussein possess weapons of mass destruction? If so, the implication was that the United States should disarm and overthrow his regime by military force.
Trump Should Rein In Taiwan
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Kavanagh and Wertheim Respond: Why Taiwan’s Survival Depends on Realistic Defense
In his recent commentary published April 21st, Sasha Chhabra takes issue with our Foreign Affairs article, “The Taiwan Fixation.” Unfortunately, he misstates our position and, more important, reveals flawed assumptions that illustrate the need to change course in Taipei and Washington. Chhabra attacks our supposed “advocacy for strategic clarity” as a “dangerous” proposition that would hand Taiwan to China.
Life after 60: Embracing the Journey and Letting the Soul Lead
Dear fellow travellers, They say life begins at 40, or perhaps 50… but honestly? As I navigate my 60s here in the heart of the mountains, I find the journey of discovery is only ever-new, always deepening, becoming richer, and certainly more interesting. It seems less about having all the answers and more about embracing the unfolding questions.
How is Taiwan Reacting to the Trump Administration? Four Experts Visited Taiwan to Find Out
As the United States overhauls its foreign policy approach, Taiwan is on high alert. In this episode of Pivotal States, Christopher S. Chivvis, Stephen Wertheim, Brett Rosenberg, and Matthew Duss share their takeaways from their recent trip to Taipei and delve into the United States' policy challenge in Taiwan. By Christopher S.
Is Europe misunderstanding Trump’s position on Ukraine?
A high-stakes transatlantic miscommunication is unfolding, with the potential to produce far worse consequences than the Oval Office contretemps between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the past month, the Trump administration has delivered several strong and sometimes conflicting messages to America’s allies and partners in Europe.
Is Europe misunderstanding Trump's position on Ukraine?
Original Article Posted By: Moritz55, 3/3/2025 8:39:49 AM A high-stakes transatlantic miscommunication is unfolding, with the potential to produce far worse consequences than the Oval Office contretemps between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the past month, the Trump administration has delivered several strong and sometimes conflicting messages to America's allies and partners in Europe.
Is Europe misunderstanding Trump’s position on Ukraine?
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Is Europe misunderstanding Trump’s position on Ukraine?
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
The Taiwan Fixation
The fate of Taiwan keeps American policymakers up at night, and it should. A Chinese invasion of the island would confront the United States with one of its gravest foreign policy choices ever. Letting Taiwan fall to Beijing would dent Washington’s credibility and create new challenges for U.S. military forces in Asia. But the benefits of keeping Taiwan free would have to be weighed against the costs of waging the first armed conflict between great powers since 1945.
The Taiwan Fixation
The fate of Taiwan keeps American policymakers up at night, and it should. A Chinese invasion of the island would confront the United States with one of its gravest foreign policy choices ever. Letting Taiwan fall to Beijing would dent Washington’s credibility and create new challenges for U.S. military forces in Asia. But the benefits of keeping Taiwan free would have to be weighed against the costs of waging the first armed conflict between great powers since 1945.
Europe’s humiliation: How Trump and Hegseth caught NATO off guard
NATO-Europe scrambled this week to respond to Trump's effort to cut it out of talks with Russia's Putin. Ukraine now looks vulnerable to US interests in ending the war. NATO officials were trying to put a brave face on it, but the reality at this week’s summit was hard to escape: US President Donald Trump kicked off bilateral negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the fate of Ukraine.
Origins of the UN: The US and USSR
The icon indicates free access to the linked research on JSTOR. The United Nations came into official existence on October 24, 1945, two months after the end of the Second World War. Fifty countries were members, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
What will Trump 2.0 mean for the global world order?
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What will Trump 2.0 mean for the global world order?
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It’s time for Europe’s magical thinking on defence to end
The writer is senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of...
1,000 days of war later, EU still divided over Ukraine's future
Trump's re-election has accelerated talk about ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the negotiating table. The EU's position is anything but unified. A US-made ATACMS is a kind of missile that President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use for strikes inside Russia. The European Parliament gathered on Tuesday for a special session to mark 1,000 days since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Cheney-loving Democratic party needs a reckoning about war
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How Kamala Harris Can Really Put America First Original
I f Kamala Harris reaches the Oval Office, she will inherit a dilemma larger than the sum of all the international conflicts and crises that will land on her desk: What is the purpose of American power now? The administration in which Ms. Harris currently serves has not given an adequate answer.
Ukraine sets example for EU on digital integration
Ukraine is officially an EU candidate country. In the process, it has gone through a flurry of legislation on digital innovation, making it a in this field. Despite Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has pushed ahead with digital administration. From security to logistics to agriculture and the economy, the war has forced Ukraine to take leaps that countries in peacetime do not have to do.
America’s Foreign Policy Inertia
As the world evolves, the United States must adapt or suffer the consequences. The process of adaptation, however, is usually plodding, if it happens at all. Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden each attempted to steer U.S. foreign policy in new directions but met resistance from both domestic and foreign actors. The difficulty they encountered is no surprise. Since World War II, many U.S. leaders have attempted to change the country’s foreign policy, and their efforts have often fallen short.
Op-ed: Why admitting Ukraine into NATO would be a risky mistake
This op-ed is the con-argument for admitting Ukraine into NATO. Read the pro-side here. In the decade since “America First” took over one of the two major political parties in the United States, transatlanticists on both sides of the ocean have reacted with a sense of dismay, denial and — above all — disorientation. But turmoil within NATO should not have come as a shock, even if its most immediate catalyst, Donald Trump, cut an unlikely figure.
Usa contro Cina: come travestire la guerra infinita (versione in lingua originale). XI Festival di Limes a Genova 2024 “Fine della guerra”
Con Henry Huiyao Wang e Stephen Wertheim; modera Giorgio Cuscito. XI Festival di Limes a Genova 2024 "Fine della guerra" Estratto dalla seconda giornata, sabato 11 maggio.
America contro America (versione in lingua originale). XI Festival di Limes a Genova 2024 "Fine della guerra"
America contro America, (versione in lingua originale) con Federico Petroni e Stephen Wertheim. XI Festival di Limes a Genova 2024 "Fine della guerra". Estratto dalla prima giornata, venerdì 10 maggio. Una produzione Gedi Visual / Limes.
What Does America Want in Ukraine?
The calculation is also complicated by confusion about what the United States is trying to achieve in Ukraine. Some emphasize broad, universal principles such as defending democracy or protecting the international order. These are laudable goals, but they could plausibly produce opposite conclusions: either that universal principles have already been adequately defended—the steep price Russia has paid could dissuade future aggressors—or alternately that Ukraine must score a definitive victory.
5/10/24 National Security News and Commentary
Korea has not been the only battleground since the end of the Second World War. Men have fought and died in Malaya, in Greece, in the Philippines, in Algeria and Cuba and Cyprus, and almost continuously on the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. No nuclear weapons have been fired. No massive nuclear retaliation has been considered appropriate.
What Does America Want in Ukraine?
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LA FINE DELL’IMPERO GLOBALE
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The United States Stepping Back From Europe Is a Matter of When, Not Whether
This interview was originally published in Danish by Raeson on April 1, 2024, and appears here in English translation. Niels Koch-Rasmussen, RÆSON: Before we go into current events, I would like you to briefly talk about the historical background of what you've described in your book as U.S. global supremacy. WERTHEIM: I'm glad you started there because this history is crucially important for understanding what's happening now in American foreign policy.
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