The National Interest Is What the President Says It Is
Even in a democracy, geopolitical strategy is determined mainly by the personal preferences of its leader. American voters should take note.
![Leaders](https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/rdUdLB1QHnP31i2ZV9IMiY4gI3Y=/433x0:1558x1125/80x80/media/img/mt/2024/08/geopolitics2/original.jpg)
Even in a democracy, geopolitical strategy is determined mainly by the personal preferences of its leader. American voters should take note.
While outside analysts downplayed their chances, the Ukrainians were quietly planning an offensive across the Russian border.
If Trump wins, Kyiv’s cause is in danger. Biden must prepare for that possibility.
Biden has inadvertently encouraged vulnerable nations to seek the ultimate shield.
Hollywood imagined that computers would launch a nuclear missile, but self-guided aircraft are what’s truly changing the nature of combat.
American leaders keep overestimating their control over events in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the world.
An outdated view of warfare helps explain why the U.S. was slow to supply long-range missiles.
Western military advisers are criticizing Kyiv’s war effort, but the Ukrainians have gained expertise of their own.
The GOP’s populist wing would abandon Kyiv—and endanger the world’s most successful military alliance.
Not everything is under America’s control.