Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

How China, Rest of World Can Get Along

By Banning Garrett

Ending America’s ‘Sea Blindness’

By Butch Bracknell and James Kraska

 The United States suffers from a kind of "sea blindness" — an inability to appreciate the central role the oceans and naval power have played in securing our strategic security and economic prosperity. One symptom of this bipartisan malady has been that the country is failing to take an active role in shaping the world […]

NATO in Lisbon: A Moderate Success

By David Smith

Although the pre-summit hype—mostly generated by NATO itself—had observers thirsting for more, the 19-20 November NATO Lisbon Summit was a moderate success. The alliance took some measured steps toward dealing with new challenges, deftly sidestepped some political landmines and laid a reasonable foundation for the considerable work that remains. Perhaps most important, in Lisbon, NATO reinvigorated itself.

Hitting the Reset Button on U.S.-Russia Cooperation

By Stephan M. Minikes

Stephan M. Minikes, U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE from June 2001 to 2005 and current Eurasia Task Force member, argues how improved U.S.-Russia relations can enable a more active OSCE in “Hitting the Reset Button on U.S.-Russia Cooperation.” Download the PDF

WikiLeaks Show American Diplomats in Good Light

By James Joyner

The WikiLeaks fiasco has doubtless lowered confidence in the American government’s ability to keep secrets and manage classified information.  The latest dump provided some embarrassing moments for the State Department in particular.  But they also showed that those handling America’s day-to-day foreign policy are quite capable.

Modernizing the OSCE: An Agenda Item for Astana

In the Eurasia Task Force Issue Brief: “Modernizing the OSCE: An Agenda Item for Astana,” Kurt Volker, Managing Director of the the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Atlantic Council senior advisor and member of the Strategic Advisors Group (SAG), proposes strategies for OSCE reform through a historical lens. […]

U.S.-China Relations: Gone Fishin’

By Banning Garrett

When I was about eight years old, my father took me fishing in a stream a few miles from our ranch in California. After a long day, we came up dry. Dad saw I was disappointed, so he pulled into a fish farm on the way home. I eagerly dropped my line into a pond […]

Strengthening the OSCE in Eurasia

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

When leaders of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) gather for a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan this week, they will visit a region in turmoil. Central Asia is beset by ethnic conflict, poor governance and instability in Afghanistan. The spread of transnational threats from this strategic region mean that its security and […]

A Nation Not at War

By Harlan Ullman

The United States is many things, great and good. But, despite last week’s teapot-sized tempest over full-body scanners and intrusive patdowns by the Transportation Security Agency to neuter terrorist airline bombing threats and zealous rhetoric to the contrary, America isn’t a nation at war! Parts of the nation however are engaged in what to them […]

West Africa Vital To Transatlantic Security

By Anthony Calandra

The United States and our transatlantic partners are rightly working together to address the very real problems off the coast of East Africa. But it’s time for us to start paying more attention to West Africa, which is on the verge of catastrophe that would have far more negative impact our our interests.  This is an […]

Foreign Policy After the US Mid-Term Elections: Avoiding a New Isolationism

By Kurt Volker

Having worked to convince NATO allies to stay committed in Afghanistan, President Obama now returns home, where questions about America’s role in the world may be growing in the wake of this month’s mid-term elections.   Clearly, the U.S. mid-term elections were not about foreign policy.  Yet they may have a significant impact nonetheless, with […]

Plugging The WikiLeaks

By James Joyner

The latest WikiLeaks document dump by five Western newspapers — this time, victimizing the State Department  — will start some uncomfortable conversations among America’s friends.  It will also force further evaluation about how we handle our internal business. The editors at the New York Times and The Guardian make strong arguments about the public’s right to know and the fact […]

After Lisbon, Execution Is Key

By Peter Flory

Russian Ambassador: We Want to Be Partners But Need Guarantees

By Sarwar Kashmeri

In the latest installment of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri interviews Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s Ambassador to NATO.

Stuxnet: Signs Could Point to Russia

By Chris Demchak

No smoking gun cleanly identifies the author of Stuxnet but three broad streams of evidence point away from the usual suspects of Israel, the US, or China.

Obama Woos, Wows, and Wins India

By Mohan Guruswamy

President Barack Obama must have left India an extremely satisfied man. When he arrived, the civilian nuclear deal announced by George Bush and the gushing warmth of Bill Clinton set high water marks for him to surpass. He exceeded expectations and won Indians over with his cool and cerebral approach to issues and his soaring […]