Nikolas Gvosdev
Nikolas Gvosdev is a professor of national security studies at the U.S. Naval War College, a senior editor at The National Interest, and a blogger at Ethics & International Affairs. The views expressed are his own.
Nikolas Gvosdev's Latest Posts
CETA, Local Democracy, and the Liberal Order
CETA–the Canada/EU free trade agreement–is now on political life support. The multiyear effort to craft a common market across the Atlantic and to strengthen the bonds of the liberal order in the West is running right up against the local democracy of Wallonia.
The Paris Agreement, World Citizenship and National Sovereignty
Nicholas Chan’s contribution to the current issue of Ethics and International Affairs makes the observation that the Paris Agreement on climate change focuses on a “‘bottom-up’ structure, emphasizing national flexibility in order to ensure broader participation”–with the hopes that this nod in favor of national sovereignty will make it easier for governments to set and […]
Pessimism and the Liberal Order
Is the pessimism that I expressed about the sustainability of the liberal order at the close of the recent Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs panel (“U.S. Elections and Brexit: Can Liberalism Survive?”) justified? I wanted to add a short codicil to my remarks at the panel. The liberal world order–and here, in response […]
The Stateless and the New UN Secretary-General
When it comes to the crisis of the stateless—those who have fled their homes, been ejected from their states by war, conflict, natural disasters or economic collapse, or who can no longer remain as citizens of their states by virtue of their race, religion, ethnicity or class—the old, established ways of doing things are coming under strain.
Insecurity and the U.S. Election
Is a sense of insecurity the principal driver of the 2016 election in the United States? I wonder whether what we are witnessing reflects a sense “that familiar landmarks denoting American power and prestige are being washed away and the institutions which in previous years safeguarded American strength at home and abroad have been hollowed out or corrupted from within.”
Managed Pluralism
One of the subtexts of recent and forthcoming elections in Europe and in North America is the extent to which liberal democracies can permit high degrees of diversity—on ethnic, religious, political, linguistic, cultural, “lifestyle” or other grounds—yet retain sufficient cohesion for societal stability and for political institutions based on self-determination to work.
The Ethics of Alliances
For the first time since the immediate post-World War II elections, the subject of America’s alliances is again emerging as a topic for debate. What sort of commitments the United States should make, how long they are binding, and under what conditions the United States can and should exit those obligations–whether of a security or […]
Decisions, Perspectives, and Ethics
Over the summer, as we refresh the curriculum at the Naval War College, it has given me an opportunity to ponder the ethical implications of the different perspectives that we use to teach national security decision-making.
