Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Bridging the Gulf

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Mistrust in US’ ties with Gulf states fuels regional anxiety about Iran, says Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab Many of the United States’ Gulf allies are anxious about Iran’s activities in part because of the high levels of mistrust in their own relationships with Washington, the Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab said July 7. “The […]

The new containment: Changing America’s approach to Middle East security

By Bilal Y. Saab

Securing the Middle East after an Iran nuclear deal is the next big challenge for both the region and the international community. The United States and its allies have engaged in tireless diplomacy with Iran over the past few years to produce an agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear program for the next decade and […]

Technology will keep changing everything— and will do it faster

By Banning Garrett

In this report, writer and independent consultant Banning Garrett lays out how these technologies are combining to create new, disruptive breakthroughs with potentially unforeseen second- and third-order effects that will alter the way we live forever.

Wanted: US Strategy for Regional Security in Middle East

Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab says Iran nuclear deal will not pacify the region As US, European, and Iranian negotiators race to conclude a deal that would limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for an end to punishing economic sanctions, the Atlantic Council’s Bilal Y. Saab says that alone won’t bring security to the region—nor […]

From Chile to the Czech Republic: Diplomats Debate the Future of the Nation-State

By Larry Luxner

Five Washington-based foreign ambassadors shared the stage with US officials June 29 to discuss the 2015 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)—a report that deals with complex issues such as the rise of non-state actors. Thomas Perriello, QDDR Special Representative since his February 2014 appointment by Secretary of State John Kerry, unveiled the study at […]

Next Generation Project: Eine Strategie für die Zukunft der deutsch-amerikanischen Beziehungen

By The US-German Next Generation Project Fellows

Fünfundzwanzig Jahre nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer stehen die deutsch-amerikanischen Beziehungen vor neuen Herausforderungen. Während die offizielle Zusammenarbeit und Interaktion zwischen Berlin und Washington in vielen Bereichen weiterhin stabil ist, haben sich die deutsche und die amerikanische Öffentlichkeit zunehmend auseinander gelebt. Nachlassende persönliche Bindungen drohen die bilateralen und transatlantischen Beziehungen nachhaltig zu schwächen und […]

Panel Recap: “Ensuring Effective Missile Defense in the Future”

By Brent Scowcroft Center

Ten to twenty years from now, the requirements for missile defense will confront a future that is increasingly complex and dynamic. And that complexity and dynamism play a strong role in creating uncertainty for how to plan a future for effective missile defense. What are the technologies that will shape missile defense operations in the […]

Experts project the US role in the future of urban warfare

By Brent Scowcroft Center

In the not-too-distant future, most of humanity will live in megacities. Megacities will serve as economic, cultural, and political hubs of international affairs—but they also will form the complex landscape of rivalry and violent conflict. Recent instances of urban combat–Saigon, Sarajevo, Fallujah—only begin to inform the epic challenge of fighting in our mid-century megacities. To […]

Panel Recap: “Defense Cooperation in the Gulf: How Far Can We Go?”

By Owen Daniels

According to the particpants on the Brent Scowcroft Center’s missile defense panel entitled, “Defense Cooperation in the Gulf: How Far Can We Go?”, the policies of the United States and the asymmetric threats of Iran are driving cooperation in the Gulf that might have been unimaginable just one year ago. Moderated by Scowcroft Center Resident […]

US Missile Defense Systems Must Adapt to Emerging High-Tech Threats

New dangers abound, from Russia to Iran to Asia-Pacific, warns Gen. James Cartwright Growing technological sophistication by countries and terrorist groups hostile to the United States are forcing the Pentagon to change long-held views about missile defense, said Gen. James E. Cartwright, Former Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The landscape has […]

Shaping the Asia-Pacific Report Launch

By Brent Scowcroft Center

On June 24, 2015, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security launched a report titled Shaping the Asia-Pacific Future: Strengthening the Institutional Architecture for an Open, Rules-Based Economic Order. The report was co-written by Olin Wethington, former Assistant Secretary of Treasury and Nonresident Fellow at the Scowcroft Center and Robert A. Manning, Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center. The […]