New Atlanticist

Defining Success in Afghanistan

By Jorge Benitez

Stephen Biddle recently returned from Afghanistan and provides a uniquely qualified assessment of defining success in that conflict. 

Europe Gets it Right

By Kurt Volker and Juan Zarate

The view of a failing Europe is en vogue, and for understandable reasons. The contours of crisis are glaring: bloated budgets, aging populations, declining military capabilities, and the fracturing of political solidarity over a range of issues from Russia and energy to enlargement and Turkey. Such is the conventional wisdom about a once too-comfortable Europe, […]

Germany Losing Experts Race

By James Joyner

Hope Amid Pakistan’s Tragedy

By Shuja Nawaz

The rains that have for the past two weeks caused the worst flooding in northwest Pakistan in eight decades have shifted attention from the country’s battle against insurgency and militancy and the fragility of its relationship with the United States.

When Sanctions Work

By David Kramer and Damon Wilson

Almost as soon as the United Nations Security Council voted in June for a new sanctions resolution against Iran, doubters questioned whether it would have any real impact on Iran’s behavior. Indeed, some analysts have argued, sanctions never really work against their intended targets; they only harm average citizens, sometimes inadvertently help the targeted regime […]

Should Turkey Join the EU? The View from Europe

By Scott Bleiweis

During his recent visit to Ankara, British Prime Minister David Cameron made his stance on Turkish accession to the European Union plain and clear. “I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership,” he said. “Together I want us to pave the road from Ankara to Brussels.” The Belgian government also supports such a […]

NATO: What’s in a Name?

By Harlan Ullman

As the dog days of summer head toward autumn, NATO is in the process of what could be considered a major face lift. To the degree the surgical analogy fits, there is no guarantee that the patient will be transformed into a more beautiful or handsome creature or that infection can be ruled out. Indeed, […]

Moldova’s Constitutional Crisis: Part 2

By Vladimir Socor

Serially recurring and failing parliamentary and presidential elections have fed rivalries within Moldova’s governing Alliance for European Integration (AEI). The upcoming constitutional referendum on September 5, to be followed by new general elections, can only bring the AEI closer to its end. The four parties had collectively designated Democratic Party leader Marian Lupu (nominally left-of-center) […]

An Opportunity to Demilitarize Public Diplomacy

By Matt Armstrong

Last week, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) convened the third annual Magharebia.com Writers Workshop. The workshop is a professional development course for new and established writers for AFRICOM’s Maghreb-centered news and information website, www.Magharebia.com. According to AFRICOM public affairs, the event "introduced new media tools and technologies while stressing the importance of sound journalistic principles for […]

Moldova’s Constitutional Crisis: Part 1

By Vladimir Socor

Moldova is headed for a constitutional referendum on September 5, to be followed by yet another round of double elections, parliamentary and presidential. It will be the third round of double elections (or fourth electoral round, counting the referendum) in just 19 months. Intractable rivalries among self-centered political parties have all but paralyzed the political […]