Follow us on social

Dollar

Dedollarization is here, like it or not

A major driver is Washington’s weaponization of its currency via sanctions, covering 29 percent of the global economy. (Video)

Analysis | Africa

Dedollarization appears to be an unstoppable trend as countries around the world look to reduce their dependence on U.S. currency.

Countries, particularly those in the Global South, are reducing their U.S. dollar reserves, settling cross border transactions in non-dollar currencies, and exploring the formation of new multilateral settlement mechanisms.

A major driver of this trend is Washington’s weaponization of the dollar via expansive sanctions that currently cover 29 percent of the global economy and 40 percent of global oil reserves.

Two recent Responsible Statecraft articles, one authored by International Crisis Group co-chair Frank Giustra and another by Quincy Institute Non-Resident Fellow Amir Handjani, began the process of explaining the drivers of this economic trend, as well as the geopolitical pitfalls facing the U.S. as much of the world reduces its dependence on the dollar, especially if the U.S. fails to engage other countries in the process of forming a multilateral monetary system.

In this video, Giustra and Handjani make the case for the U.S. acknowledging the trend of dedollarization and for Washington to address the national security dangers, as well as global economic and political instability, associated with this unmanaged decline of U.S. economic hegemony.


Shutterstock
Analysis | Africa
AI Weapons
Top photo credit: Shutterstock AI Generator
What happens if the robot army is defeated?

DoD promised a 'swarm' of attack drones. We're still waiting.

Military Industrial Complex

Defense officials consistently tout the Replicator initiative — an ambitious effort to “swarm” thousands of attritable, inexpensive drones at a break-neck pace to counter China — as a great success.

DoD Secretary Pete Hegseth testified in June that the initiative had “made enormous strides towards delivering and fielding multiple thousands of unmanned systems across multiple domains,” with “thousands more planned” through the FY 2026 defense budget. A defense official told DefenseScoop in late August the Pentagon was ensuring a “successful transition” or Replicator capabilities to end-state users. And last August, then Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who kicked off the initiative in 2023, boasted it was on track for its production goals.

keep readingShow less
operating table
Top photo credit: Inside Creative House/Shutterstock

On Russia-Ukraine, the misdiagnosed patient is flatlining

Europe

With the imposition of new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil producers and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s dismissal of visiting Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev as a “propagandist,” the Trump administration’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine seem to be hanging by a thread.

Their success or failure will depend on a simple premise: one must understand a problem in order to resolve it. Unfortunately, the West has been misdiagnosing the problem it faces in Ukraine for more than a decade, with increasingly tragic consequences. And the time in which President Trump can correct this diagnosis — and corresponding policy prescription — is quickly running out.

keep readingShow less
Why German rearmament isn't happening
Top image credit: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives at the European Council meeting, where EU leaders gathered to discuss Ukraine, European defense, recent developments in the Middle East, competitiveness, housing and migration, in Brussels, on October 23, 2025.

Why German rearmament isn't happening

Europe

On October 13, Germany’s government had to cancel at the last minute a press conference at which it planned to announce a new bill expanding military conscription. It was the result of disagreements between the two major parties in the governing coalition, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU).

This episode reveals the fundamental fragility of Berlin’s much-touted defense renewal.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.