Section: The German Marshall Fund of the United States (USA)
The Liberal International Order Cannot Survive the Absence of American Power
One challenge in navigating the debate over the future of the liberal world order is that American power has been the primary source of that order, but the United States is an imperfect practitioner of its own grand strategy of promoting a rules-based global system. Criticism of the liberal international order often defaults into criticism of...
Congress Should ‘Phone a Friend’ When Sanctioning Russia
Discussion of additional U.S. sanctions on Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election and general bad behavior is heating up in Congress, but lawmakers should coordinate with our allies before acting. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held hearings in March and April to assess options for further...
Why the West is Responsible for China’s OBOR Project
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and initiation of Chinese economic reforms in 1979, two approaches have characterised western, particularly the US’, strategy towards Russia and China. Some attempts were made in the early 1990s to build a closer relationship with Russia, particularly when it was under Boris Yeltsin. In...
U.S. Unpredictability Is Not Reassuring for NATO
Transatlantic TakeOn May 25, the 28 NATO heads of state and government — and pending member Montenegro — will converge on Brussels for a face-to-face meeting on the Alliance’s priorities and challenges today. It will be U.S. President Trump’s first meeting with all NATO members. The meeting presents a clear opportunity for the...
The Toothlessness of the United Nations
Transatlantic TakeDonald Trump’s 11-day trip abroad, beginning in Saudi Arabia, will be his first international trip as president. The trip will set the tone for U.S. diplomatic relations throughout the president’s time in office. Yemen or Ukraine, Syria and Iraq or Southern Sudan, there is no lack of the use of arms of the cruelest...
Brexit and the British Election
Photo credit: Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com Brexit came about as a result of leadership failures in the United Kingdom; it was not inevitable. The most egregious error on the road to Brexit was the promise of an “in/out” referendum in the Conservative Party’s 2015 election manifesto in an effort to appease Euroskeptics. It had the...
Getting Beyond Minsk: Toward a Resolution of the Conflict in Ukraine
Photo credit: dimbar76 / Shutterstock.com The military conflict between Ukraine and Russia remains unresolved. The Minsk diplomatic process, which will be three years old in September 2017, committed Russia to a withdrawal of military forces from the Donbas region and committed Ukraine to constitutional reform and providing special status for the...
Getting Beyond Minsk
Photo credit: dimbar76 / Shutterstock.com The military conflict between Ukraine and Russia remains unresolved. The Minsk diplomatic process, which will be three years old in September 2017, committed Russia to a withdrawal of military forces from the Donbas region and committed Ukraine to constitutional reform and providing special status for the...
New Report: Trump Administration Must Cooperate with Europe, Germany Needs to Creatively Boost Defense
Photo credit: Dmitriy Linchevskiy / Shutterstock.com WASHINGTON – Despite suspicion and misunderstanding on both sides of the Atlantic, U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration must value the importance of the transatlantic relationship to the United States and work with European partners on key challenges like counterterrorism, Russia,...
What is the Liberal International Order?
Photo credit: Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com In the last five years or so, U.S. and European foreign policy think tanks have become increasingly preoccupied with threats to the set of norms, rules, and institutions known as the liberal international order, especially from “revisionist” rising powers and above all authoritarian powers like China...
