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.

Subscribe

Inflection Points with Frederick Kempe podcast

Content

Inflection Points

Nov 23, 2024

Biden’s Ukraine moves are a gift to Trump

By Frederick Kempe

The outgoing administration is “emptying the barrel,” which could improve the incoming president’s chances at negotiating a deal worth having.

Conflict Nuclear Deterrence

Inflection Points

Nov 20, 2024

Dispatch from the desert: Trump’s first global test is Iran

By Frederick Kempe

Iran hasn’t been this weak in decades. But does the US president-elect sense this opportunity and want to explore whether a major deal is possible?

Iran Israel

Inflection Points Today

Nov 14, 2024

China’s advances in Latin America should concern Trump

By Frederick Kempe

As Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden visit Peru and Brazil this week, the contrast between the US and Chinese approaches to the region is stark.

China Economy & Business

Inflection Points

Nov 13, 2024

Trump is inheriting a more dangerous world

By Frederick Kempe

China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are coordinating in unprecedented ways, posing new challenges to the incoming US president.

China Iran

Inflection Points

Nov 4, 2024

This should be atop the next US president’s reading list

By Frederick Kempe

A new essay by former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley provides an important contribution at the early stages of a new geopolitical era.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

Inflection Points Today

Oct 30, 2024

Putin is making the most of a distracted and divided United States

By Frederick Kempe

American neglect couldn’t come at a more perilous time. The Kremlin is causing problems from the Korean peninsula to Georgia, Moldova, and beyond.

Conflict Elections

Inflection Points Today

Oct 25, 2024

The Modi-Xi fence-mending is a sign of the times

By Frederick Kempe

The recent meeting between the Chinese leader and the Indian prime minister in Russia reveals a lot about the current geopolitical landscape.

China India

Inflection Points

Oct 19, 2024

The US is electing a wartime president

By Frederick Kempe

Neither US presidential candidate has yet addressed the generational challenge posed by closer collaboration among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Elections National Security

Inflection Points

Oct 15, 2024

Dispatch from Istanbul: My week navigating the Turkish ‘swing state’

By Frederick Kempe

Discussions on the sidelines of the Atlantic Council’s recent Regional Conference on Clean and Secure Energy in Istanbul offer an important window into Turkish views of the world.

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

Inflection Points Today

Oct 10, 2024

China’s economic reforms near the ‘end of the line’

By Frederick Kempe

Xi Jinping doesn’t believe in the market or economically sensible reforms, and thus investors shouldn’t believe in him. New Atlantic Council research puts this in stark relief.

China Economy & Business
Load More