Autocracies and other despotisms are notoriously unfaithful to their obligations under international agreements. When the Soviet Union was still around, it set the standard by evading and cheating while falsely accusing its Western counterparts of doing the same. The Soviets’ successors are following its well-trodden path. Vladimir Putin’s renewed aggression in Ukraine is but one example. Less subtle (if that’s possible) and more immediate are Iran’s conduct, in respect to President Obama’s nuclear weapons deal with it, and Turkey‘s, in regard to its agreement with the European Union on the control of immigration.

When the Soviets made deals, their violations of them were constrained only by our military power and reflexive diplomatic pressures.…  Seguir leyendo »