More important, Japan understands that business as usual with an aggressive Russia that undermines the international order could embolden others closer to home to embrace Putin s lawless tactics. The days of an inward looking Japan are over.

Moreover, an expanding view of greater China implies that a resolution of the dispute over the Senkaku Diaoyu Islands in China s favor would be likely to embolden rather than satisfy its ambitions. Making good on its claim to the South China Sea could be next.

The Transatlantic Trends survey also shows that the American public is not worried about legal migration, while around two thirds believe that the children of immigrants are being well integrated into their communities. These findings should embolden policymakers to be more proactive in designing pathways for legal migration and policies to integrate migrants.

In Turkey, polarization does not have the same political costs as it does elsewhere Given a weak system of checks and balances, the Turkish executive still has ample room to manage the state s affairs. And Erdoğan s recent victory will embolden him to continue his polarizing politics as the basis of a presidential run.

As a result, this upheaval will have a massive impact on Europe and its relations with Russia, for it will determine whether Europeans live by twenty first century rules. Those who believe that the West can adapt to Russian behavior, as Putin s Western apologists suggest, risk contributing to further strategic escalation, because a soft approach will merely embolden the Kremlin.

According to Rice, anything less than a residual force of 10,000 American troops will send the message that the US is not serious about helping to stabilize Afghanistan a message that would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin further. What she does not seem to recognize is that America s deteriorating ties with Russia a key conduit for US military supplies to Afghanistan could undercut its basing strategy.