Latest news with #CharlesKupchan
NHK
3 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
Expert: Trump may 'pay a price' if Putin summit yields no concrete results
Georgetown University Professor Charles Kupchan says he welcomes US President Donald Trump holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, but believes Trump will pay a price if the meeting yields no concrete progress. NHK interviewed Kupchan ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. The professor is an expert on international affairs and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank. Kupchan said he gives Trump credit for starting a dialogue with Putin because an end to the Ukraine conflict will require direct bilateral talks between Washington and Moscow. He said, "This is a war that will end at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield," as neither Ukraine nor Russia has what it takes to win. But Kupchan added that Trump is "perhaps making a mistake" by holding the summit prematurely, before finding a clear path that would lead to an end to the conflict. Kupchan said: "Putin is coming out of the cold. He's leaving isolation. He's been invited to the United States to sit with the American president." He added: "One would hope that Trump would offer that kind of big win for Putin only if he thinks that Putin is ready to make a deal, to compromise, to abandon his maximalist war aims." He said he doesn't see an indication that is where Putin is headed. As for the possible summit outcome, the professor said the most likely scenario is no change from before the meeting, with Putin only buying time. Kupchan said the Russian president "thinks that time is on his side. He is making progress on the battlefield. Ukraine faces manpower shortages and resource shortages." Kupchan said Trump "will pay a price" if he walks away from the summit without concrete results or progress toward ending the conflict. He said Trump is "gambling" by inviting Putin, and the pressure is on the US president.
Express Tribune
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
The ghost of the Concert of Europe
Listen to article As the world transitions from the post-Cold War unipolar moment into an increasingly multipolar era, the question of how major powers can manage competition without conflict becomes urgent. With geopolitical tensions rising from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, many wonder if a historical model might offer insight. The 19th-century Concert of Europe, though deeply rooted in its own time, offers both a precedent and a warning for the challenge of great power cooperation today. The Concert of Europe was formed in 1815 during the Vienna Congress, comprising Britain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and later France, after the Napoleonic Wars. This loose coalition's purpose was to ensure balance of power and continental peace. It did almost achieve four decades of peace, however it was deeply flawed. The arrangement maintained imperial control and suppressed nationalism. It was functional mostly due to members not trusting each other and instead coming to understand the consequences of a pan-European war. However, the entire system was dependent on Eurocentric views which turned the Concert into an uncontrollable monstrosity. This was the case until the early 20th century when it utterly failed in the colossal war it sought to "protect" Europe against. Moving towards the present day, the world is not only multipolar but is also more intricate than ever. The great powers now function in different continents under different regimes, in a system governed equally by economic interdependence, information flows and military power. Climate change, pandemics, cyber threats and transnational terrorism have blurred the lines between domestic and international security. Multilateral forums exist from the UN Security Council to the G20 but their effectiveness is often challenged by gridlock, vetoes and competing agendas. Nevertheless, the reasoning for maintaining a concert-style mechanism is still appealing. If concert diplomacy was effectively managed, it could offer a controlled and highly adaptable schedule for dialogue amongst the powerful, one that seeks understanding over conflict. Scholars like Richard N Haass and Charles Kupchan propose creating a contemporary concert of five active regions identified by their strategic powers and not regime type. Their suggestions focus on non-religiously organised structure principles, placing regional organisations in an advisory position. While it does not solve problems, this idea helps for reflection towards stabilising an increasingly fragmented international system. Trust remains severely deficient. The war in Ukraine, China's increasing assertiveness and fractures in Western alliances depict a volatile global system. Internal polarisation strikes democracies while authoritarian states escape external surveillance. Stability is not provided by a dominant nation or ideologies that were provided in the 19th century, rendering it no longer dependably enforced. Instead, it's crucial to understand that collaboration, even amongst adversaries, needs to occur, before disaster strikes. This doesn't mean idealism; it means realism with lessons from history. A contemporary concert would not be abolitionist competition but it could institutionalise the rules of engagement, lower the propensity for miscalculation and provide a forum for confronting shared problems. And let's not aim for harmony, aim for managed rivalry. A lack of a mechanism for regular strategic dialogue makes global crises more explosive and harder to grip. The ghost of the Concert of Europe should not be romanticised, but neither should it be dismissed. It reminds us that a peace is not the result of good intentions alone, but of good structure, of the willingness to restrain, and of a recognition of mutual boundaries. In a world where power is diffuse and the stakes are higher, the question is not whether great powers can cooperate but whether they will realise, before it's too late, that they must.
Bloomberg
26-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump to Honor Pope, Talk Trade in Rome
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, weighs in on President Trump claiming progress on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal is going smoothly. Susan Schwab, Former US Trade Representative during the George W. Bush Administration, discusses how President Trump's tariffs are affecting supply chains and how companies do not have a lot of time to adjust to the President's tariff proposals. (Source: Bloomberg)
