Not Because It Is Easy, But Because It Is Hard: A Call for the U.S. to Help Europe Step Up on Defense

January 21, 2022 Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs published an interesting article from Johns Hopkins University’s Hal Brands, titled, “The Overstretched Superpower: Does America Have More Rivals Than It Can Handle?” The piece posits that the United States’ defense strategy has become out of balance with the foreign policy it pledges it pursues. Brands not

All Alone or All Together: Europe’s Pursuit of “Strategic Autonomy”

November 26, 2021 Earlier this month, the RAND corporation released an interesting report, “European Strategic Autonomy in Defence: Transatlantic visions and implications for NATO, US and EU relations,” by Lucia Retter, Stephanie Pezard, Stephen J. Flanagan, Gene Germanovich, Sarah Grand-Clement, and Pauline Paille, which examined—through interviews with senior U.S. and European experts—what the concept of

European Deterrence and Defense: Lessons in Confronting the Russian Threat

October 1, 2021 In recent weeks, two reports were published—the first, “Strengthening European Deterrence and Defense: NATO, Not European Defense Autonomy, Is the Answer”, by the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Anthony Cordesman, assisted by Grace Hwang, and, the second, “What deters Russia: Enduring principles for responding to Moscow”, by Keir Giles of

The German Election: Taking Foreign Policy off of Die Lange Bank

September 24, 2021 This weekend’s election marks the end of an era in German politics, as Angela Merkel is not seeking re-election to the chancellorship that she has held since 2005. Merkel, who has been regarded as one of the most stalwart custodians of the liberal Western order since she took office, is departing a

Foreign Policy Links for the week ending 4/2/2021

April 2, 2021 For the first time in a few months, personal scheduling difficulties means that there will be no new review post this week. However, that does not mean there are not TONS of interesting reports, briefs, articles, and commentaries being produced that I have been reading (and you should too!). To that end,

France, the United States, Mali, and the Sahel: Moving Forwards or Backwards Together

January 29, 2021 On January 3, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the death of two French soldiers, Yvonne Huynh and Loïc Risser. The two died when their Panhard VBL light armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). Sgt. Huynh, 33 and mother of a young child, was the first female French soldier

Leaving Something on the Table

As the year draws, mercifully, to a close, it is a good time to not only take stock of what has occurred during the preceding twelve months, but to look ahead at what may come in the new year. This past year was, for many, exceedingly trying, with the coronavirus pandemic affecting countries around the

Reinvigorating the Transatlantic Alliance

Earlier this week, the European Commission released a “Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council: A new EU-US agenda or global change” which outlined 4 areas in which the United States can reinvigorate its transatlantic partnership with the EU. These areas, Health, Climate Change, Tech Standards and Trade, and Strengthening