Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

NATO’s Framework Nations: Capabilities for an Unpredictable World

By Franklin D. Kramer

At the upcoming summit in September 2014, the NATO nations are very likely to approve a concept of “framework nations” around which to build integrated capabilities. As yet, however, there has been relatively little discussion about how best to organize the framework nation approach so as to support NATO objectives. In the latest issue brief […]

Leidos CEO Gen. John Jumper Discusses Defense Industry Evolution

In September last year, the Virginia-based government contracting company SAIC split into two. The government-services wing maintained the SAIC name and the newly-created Leidos was created to focus on national security, commercial health, and the engineering sectors. Gen. John P. Jumper, the first chairman and CEO of Leidos, joined the Atlantic Council to discuss this […]

The Promise of Human Space Exploration

Space exploration captured Americans’ imaginations in the 1960s and became a significant cultural touchstone in American history due to the Apollo programs and that iconic moment when man first walked on the moon in 1969. Lately, this sense of wonder seems to be fading as NASA gets less funding, private industry steps in to fill […]

The End of the Peace Dividend and the Future of Transatlantic Relations

The era of peace in Europe that has lasted 25 years is drawing to an end, according to Poland’s Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak. In a public speech at the Atlantic Council, Minister Siemoniak discussed the importance of NATO’s ability to react to the ongoing crisis on its eastern flank as the threat from […]

European Defense Post-QDR

With the recent release of the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) from the US Department of Defense there is a need to analyze and create a strategy to deal with the world ahead. On April 16, 2014, a panel of experts on the defense budget and international security discussed the strategy and means by which […]

Looking Ahead: Economic and Social Reforms in China

Mr. Liu Mingkang, former chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission and honorary professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Business, highlighted several important areas for Chinese economic and social reform over the next decade. Speaking at the Atlantic Council on April 16, Liu focused on developments from the Chinese Communist Party’s […]

Beyond Today’s Internet

By Thomas A. Campbell

When the precursor to today’s Internet, the ARPANET, had its first nodes connected in 1969, only a handful of computer scientists knew about it. Now most of the world is dependent on the Internet’s vast web of links, tweets, posts, and likes for commerce, communication, and socialization. But could the Internet of future generations be […]

Manning and Przystup: Obama-Abe Summit should Overcome Dangerous ‘Mirror-Image Trust Gap’

By Robert A. Manning and James Przystup

As U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gear up for a timely summit, a festering sense of uncertainty and unease stalks the U.S.-Japan alliance as it approaches a critical juncture. After an exciting first year marked by renewed economic dynamism and impressive efforts to enhance Japan’s global strategic posture, Abe’s pragmatic streak […]

Bitcoin and the Future of Currency

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Pinning down exactly what Bitcoin is like identifying Superman in old comics. Legal, financial, and political experts approach the issue from different angles—labeling Bitcoin into categories which established governments and institutions can understand and control. Meanwhile, technologists and innovators view virtual currencies as nothing less than a […]

Corporate Strategy Forum Discusses Next Military-Industrial Revolution

Three years into an “age of austerity” in Western military spending, expectations are building for a wave of restructuring in the defense industry, similar to what followed the end of the Cold War. Just as before, fundamental change to the context for international security is resetting customers’ expectations, investors’ outlooks, and, in turn, corporate strategies.