Middle East

International conflict management is not necessarily a rewarding occupation for people who have neat and orderly minds. Well-made plans tend to fall apart in fast-moving crises. As I noted in a chapter in a book on the Security Council published earlier this year, the recent history of United Nations peace operations is basically a story of “one damn thing after another.” U.N.

The recent series of dastardly and heinous attacks in places as dispersed as Baghdad, Beirut, Bamako, Kabul and Paris by myriad terrorist outfits ranging from the Taliban to Islamic State and al-Qaeda hold several important lessons for international efforts to counter terrorism.

Welcome to what could turn out to be the most important, and potentially the most destructive, week in international diplomacy since the end of the Cold War.

Read the full World Politics Review article Iran Talks, Greece Crisis Open Make-or-Break Week for West

Europe is trying to help Libya stem the human trafficking trade that has imperiled the lives of tens of thousands of desperate migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

The UN embarked this week on a renewed bid to negotiate a political transition in Syria.