Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Tillerson’s Takes on US Foreign Policy: A Year in Review

Diplomatic negotiations with “no preconditions” will be the US approach to solving the problem of North Korea, while working in concert with friends and allies, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the Atlantic Council on December 12. “We’re ready to talk any time North Korea would like to talk,” said Tillerson, “and we’re […]

Shaping the Asia-Pacific economic order

By Robert A. Manning and Olin Wethington

Twenty years after the Asian Financial Crisis, Asian economies are buoyant, working with a smartly reformed IMF to brace for future crises, and rhetoric aside, it will a while before China’s RMB challenges the US dollar as the world’s first reserve currency.

Whither America

By John Raidt

The United States faces threats from outside its borders, but also from within. The political system that once created a strong, prosperous, and united nation now sows division. This report, written by John Raidt, unpacks how the fuel—money—drives the cartel’s machinations as it interacts with and exploits amplifying forces—legal, structural, media, technological, and social.

Here’s what the new NDAA means for missile defense

By Matthew Kroenig

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the US Congress in November prioritizes investments in homeland missile defense. US President Donald J. Trump has called for a “state-of-the-art” missile defense system and this new defense budget begins to take steps in that direction. The bill authorizes a $12.3-billion-dollar topline budget for the Missile Defense […]

Could North Korea Hit the United States with a Missile? Perhaps. Or, Maybe Not?

While it does not confirm any specifics regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities, North Korea’s latest test of an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) indicates it may be able to strike the continental United States. According to the Pentagon’s initial assessment, the missile travelled approximately 1,000 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan. It flew higher and […]