In a recent article for Foreign Policy, Strauss Distinguished Scholar and Clements Center Executive Director Dr. William Inboden discussed the importance of President Trump’s announcement that recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and called for the U.S. Embassy to relocate from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Inboden stipulates that the effects of Trump’s Jerusalem decision is determined by the outcome of “two countervailing strategic trends”: (1) the promise of Israel’s increasing regional and global power, and (2) the increasing threat from both state and non-state actors along Israel’s immediate borders. While Inboden acknowledges that Israel now wields more power on both the regional and global stages, he is duly concerned with the shadow of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, an emerging humanitarian crisis in Gaza at the behest of Egypt and the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, and the continued destructive externalities of the civil war in Syria. Additionally, Inboden notes that these threats are exacerbated by power and presence of both Iran and a re-emerging Russia.
Ultimately, says Inboden, the real importance the Jerusalem decision does not simply come from U.S. recognition, but from such recognition coupled with the influence of numerous exogenous variables already at play within the region and within Israel.
Read Dr. Inboden’s full remarks here.
Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Joshua Busby recently co-authored a piece in The National Interest titled “No Easy Solutions to Europe’s Geopolitical Trilemma.” Busy examines the mounting strategic pressures facing the European Union as it seeks defense, economic, and energy autonomy amid growing uncertainty from Russia, China, and the United States. “Thankfully for Europe, it is wealthy enough to continue restricting...
Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar Dr. Joshua Busby recently published a piece in Foreign Policy titled “Trump’s National Defense Strategy Tries to Imagine Climate Change Away.” Busby discusses the omission of climate change and concerns in the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS). “The Pentagon’s long-standing, bipartisan concern with climate- and energy-related matters was grounded in clear-eyed thinking about strategic risks, which...
The Strauss Center for International Security and Law, Clements Center for National Security, and School of Civic Leadership are pleased to announce that Robert D. Kaplan, the renowned foreign affairs correspondent and author, will be joining The University of Texas at Austin as a Distinguished Senior Lecturer. Kaplan will teach undergraduate and graduate courses, participate in our public events, and...