New Atlanticist

AfPak After Holbrooke: Replacing an Irreplaceable Man

By Shuja Nawaz

The untimely passage of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke leaves big shoes to fill in the AfPak region. It may take two men to replace him. In a column that Holbrooke wrote for the Washington Post in March 2008, entitled "Hope in Pakistan: the problems are real, but so is progress" he captured the essence of the […]

Richard Holbrooke, 1941-2010

By The Editors

Richard Holbrooke, a distinguished American statesman who served two terms on the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors in between high government posts, has died. He was 69.  Among those commenting on Holbrooke’s lifetime of service: President Barack Obama: Michelle and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Richard Holbrooke, a true giant of American […]

Medvedev Frowns

By David Smith

“It’s a victory! We are hosting the 2018 World Cup,” a beaming Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tweeted his countrymen, moments after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) made its December 2 announcement in Zurich. It was a big turnaround from the frown he wore just 24 hours earlier as he stormed off from the Astana Summit […]

Vietnam Syndrome?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. and NATO supremo in Afghanistan, is as well versed in the history of major post-World War II insurgencies as anyone alive today. From Lawrence of Arabia to Mao’s and Tito’s guerrilla triumphs to France’s 16 years of defeats in Indochina and Algeria, Petraeus knows it all — and […]

Taiwan’s Democracy at Home and Abroad: Implications of 2010 Municipal Elections for Cross-Strait Relations

By Patrick deGategno and Sam Dreiman

Taiwan’s recent municipal elections show a growing de facto consensus among Taiwan’s major parties that officially declaring independence is not an option and that closer economic and cultural ties with the Mainland are a must. According to a panel of experts speaking December 1 at the Atlantic Council, future Taiwan governments, whether led by Taiwan’s current ruling […]

How China, Rest of World Can Get Along

By Banning Garrett

European Defense Integration

By James Joyner

 With defense austerity a fact of life during the global recession, many of us have been calling for more cooperative measures such as the recent French-UK accord.   Not only would this help rationalize the process and thus minimize the security impact of the cuts but it lessens the political damage that would stem from […]

Dealing with Debt in Europe – Begging for Clarity

By Susan Schadler

Alongside last week’s unveiling of support for Ireland, the euro group announced the broad outline of a permanent plan, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), for dealing with future debt crises. Two aspects of the announcement stand out: it takes at most a wobbly step toward the professed goal of creating a mechanism for restructuring sovereign […]

What Afghans Think – And What They Know

By James Joyner

A new poll shows that "Afghans are more pessimistic about the direction of their country, less confident in the ability of the United States and its allies to provide security and more willing to negotiate with the Taliban than they were a year ago." At the same time, trends are positive in Helmand and Kandahar, the two provinces targeted […]