Inflection Points

Inflection Points

A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe, Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them.

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Inflection Points Today

Sep 11, 2025

Von der Leyen’s stirring message to Europe: Fight to survive

By Frederick Kempe

“Europe is in a fight,” the European Commission president said during her State of the Union address in Strasbourg on September 10.

European Union Politics & Diplomacy

Inflection Points

Sep 4, 2025

In Beijing and Paris, a tale of two global futures

By Frederick Kempe

Recent gatherings in China and France revealed that competing international orders are crystallizing. What part will the United States play?

China European Union

Inflection Points

Sep 2, 2025

It’s time for Trump to put maximum pressure on Putin

By Frederick Kempe

The US president can have no further doubt about who he’s dealing with in the Russian president. There’s also little doubt about what is needed to end the war on terms that secure peace and preserve Ukrainian freedom.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Inflection Points

Aug 17, 2025

Will Europe rise to its strategic moment?

By Frederick Kempe

With the future of European security on the line, the Ukrainian president and several European allies will meet with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Inflection Points

Aug 14, 2025

When he meets Putin in Alaska, ‘heterodox’ Trump will face his biggest geopolitical test yet

By Frederick Kempe

The outcome of the meeting in Anchorage could have a long-lasting impact on geopolitics, Trump’s legacy, and his Nobel Peace Prize aspirations.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Inflection Points

Jul 28, 2025

Europe is ‘not ready’ for the Russian threat. At least it now has a plan.

By Frederick Kempe

The European Union is waking up to the threat posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his battle-hardened army. Will it be enough?

Conflict Defense Policy

Inflection Points

Jul 15, 2025

Beware the ‘dangerous disconnect’ between Trump and the markets on tariffs

By Frederick Kempe

The US president’s approach to tariffs is about leveraging the United States’ economic power for ends that go beyond trade.

Economy & Business Politics & Diplomacy

Inflection Points

Jul 11, 2025

Turning on Putin would fit Trump’s trend of second-term wins

By Frederick Kempe

Taking a tougher stance on the Russian president, who has not yet taken peace-making efforts seriously, would build on Trump’s recent successes.

Iran NATO

Inflection Points

Jul 3, 2025

An Independence Day warning about the US dollar

By Frederick Kempe

Long the cornerstone of global finance, the US dollar is being diminished in ways that are both cumulative and new.

Economy & Business Macroeconomics

Inflection Points

Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from The Hague: It’s been Trump’s week in Europe and Iran

By Frederick Kempe

What connects the recent events in Iran and at the NATO Summit is that they won’t be remembered for the threats countered but rather for the opportunities seized.

Europe & Eurasia Iran
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