All timely commentary & analysis

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2009

Losing New Europe, Too?

By James Joyner

Back in 2003, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously noted that while “Old Europe” (particularly France and Germany) was hard to work with, America could count on “New Europe.”   Fast forward to 2009 and we may have reversed polarity.

New Atlanticist

Aug 31, 2009

Will Germany Remain Part of the West?

By Hans Kundnani

In a sense, the central question of Germany’s post war identity is of whether it constitutes a part of the West or not. As the historian Heinrich August Winkler tells it, Germany has completed its long westward journey. However, the reality is more complicated considering the increasing shift of the Federal Republic’s foreign policy towards […]

Germany

New Atlanticist

Aug 19, 2009

Russia Upgrades Spying on NATO Countries

By Jorge Benitez

The Russian news service Interfax announced today that Moscow has expelled two Czech diplomats in an apparent tit-for-tat for yesterday’s reported expulsion of two Russian diplomats by the Czech Republic.

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 4, 2009

Biden Was Right: Russia No Longer a Great Power

By David Smith

As U.S. Vice President Joe Biden returned to Washington from his foray to Ukraine and Georgia, the first copies of a Wall Street Journal article that would plunge him into political controversy rolled off the presses.

The Caucasus Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2009

Biden Georgia Visit Could Be Historic

By David Smith

US Vice President Joe Biden stormed Tbilisi last week with a message of American support for Georgian territorial integrity, sovereignty and democracy. 

The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Jul 24, 2009

The Obama Effect: US Favorables Up

By James Joyner

While the substance of President Obama’s foreign policy is almost indistinguishable from that of President George W. Bush, the difference in style is undeniable.  And, if a new Pew poll is right, it very much matters.

New Atlanticist

Jul 16, 2009

US and European Tax Rates and Compliance

By James Joyner

The United States has among the lowest top income tax rates in the developed world.  And also the highest rates of compliance in paying taxes.  One suspects these facts are related.

New Atlanticist

Jul 8, 2009

Germany’s Iron Cross a New Symbol of Hope?

By Nicholas Siegel

On Monday, for the first time since 1945, German soldiers were awarded the Iron Cross for bravery on the field of battle.  The ancient Teutonic symbol, which dates back to the Crusades and was first awarded as a military medal in 1813, was pinned onto the chests of four German servicemen who dragged wounded comrades […]

Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 26, 2009

German-American Partnership in Peril?

By James Joyner

In today’s Spiegel, Gregor Peter Schmitz asks, “Does the US Still Care about Germany?”  His starting point is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s wistful praise of a certain Atlantic Council chairman – and the fact that so few American politicians were there to hear her speech.

Germany United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2009

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.