Atlantic Council blogs

China-India Relations: An Unresolved Border and 60,000 Troops Deployed

By Damien Tomkins

When two countries have gone to war over an unresolved border and one of these announces the deployment of 50,000-60,000 troops and nuclear-capable combat planes along this border, the reader would likely expect the second country to sit up and take notice.  This is exactly what happened over the last month between India and China.

Election Protests in Iran: The View from Europe

By Brendan Boundy

Political leaders in Europe have responded more critically than U.S. politicians to the continually evolving situation in Iran. However, officials on both continents have struggled to balance necessary outrage with an increasing awareness that foreign condemnation could undermine support for the burgeoning opposition movement.

The King Returns to Versailles

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Yesterday, the King of France returned to Versailles. No, readers of the New Atlanticist did not miss out on the news of a second Bourbon restoration, but President Nicolas Sarkozy’s historic address to French legislators at the former seat of royal power sent a not-so-subtle message about who is in charge in Paris.

GM 2025: Will General Motors Survive the Revolution in Energy Affairs?

By Robert Manning

The fate of General Motors, and perhaps the U.S. auto industry more broadly, will ultimately hinge on its success in the transition to the post-petroleum era, a process in its very early stages. Is there a new GM emerging from the ashes of the old, and will it survive beyond the public dole? It is […]

New Afghanistan Commander Limits Predators

By James Joyner

The new commander of forces in Afghanistan has announced he will be much more cautious than his predecessors in using Predators in situations that put civilian life at risk.

Iran: Why 2009 is Not 1979

By Don Snow

The images coming out of Tehran the past week–and especially today–are intoxicating. What is going on? Is there a new Iranian Revolution in the making? Is George W. Bush’s policy of democracy promotion being vindicated on the streets of Iran’s capital? Is there a fundamental change about to break out in Iran? Will 2009 be […]

‘Watching the Fall of Islamic Theocracy’

By James Joyner

The protests in Iran have entered a third week and the state media acknowledges that the death toll has reached 19 and that hundreds have been injured. Fareed Zakaria, a man not noted for idle leaps, proclaims, “we are watching the fall of Islamic theocracy.”

NATOSource: French nuclear protection of Gulf state revealed

Le Figaro is reporting that France included its nuclear protection of the UAE as part of the agreements for the opening of its military base in Abu Dhabi last month. President Nicolas Sarkozy personally attended the formal opening of “Camp Peace” on May 26. The base attracted a great deal of world attention as France’s […]

U.S. Walks Fine Line with Russian Military Relations

By World Politics Review

From World Politics Review: But some U.S. allies in the Baltic and Eastern Europe warn against cozying up to Moscow, in light of Russia’s new assertiveness, most evident in the Georgia war. ‘It is important that dialogue with Russia must not harm the allied relationships of today,’ Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a […]

Comparing French and American Secondary Schools

By James Joyner

The blogosphere has had a bit of fun with a reports on the difficulty of the baccalauréat, the national qualification examination for entries into French universities.  The questions seem impossibly hard to some American eyes and raise questions about the comparative quality of the two school systems.