Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Discussion with Tobias Ellwood MP

On September 30, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion on the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States as they face myriad global challenges with Mr. Tobias Ellwood MP, member of the British Parliament for Bournemouth East.

Washington: Just Say No To Pakistan

By Robert A. Manning and James Clad

Another day, another calamity: thirty killed by a suicide bomber at a funeral in Quetta; the commanding General in Swat blown up by Pakistani Taliban; renewed Indo-Pakistani fighting along the Kashmir border threatens to torpedo fragile reconciliation efforts. These events—all in the past six weeks—reinforce recent disclosures in the Washington Post confirming deep-seated official US doubts and […]

A Vision for China-US Relations

On September 17 the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative hosted a distinguished panel discussion for the launch of the China-US Cooperation: Key to Global Future report, the culmination of a yearlong US-China Joint Assessment Project. For the project, the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative, housed in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, partnered with […]

It Isn’t the Military’s Place to Weigh in on the Syria Debate

By James Joyner

America’s generals and admirals, junior officers, and enlisted people overwhelmingly oppose military intervention in Syria. We should not know that.

Prepared Remarks by C. H. Tung on China-US Cooperation

Prepared remarks by C. H. Tung, chairman, China-US Exchange Foundation; former chief executive and president, Executive Council of Hong Kong, delivered at a launch event for the report China-US Cooperation: Key to the Future on September 17, 2013.

Prepared Remarks by Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai on China-US Cooperation

Prepared remarks by Ambassador Cui Tiankai of the People’s Republic of China delivered at a launch event for the report China-US Cooperation: Key to the Future on September 17, 2013.

China-US cooperation: key to the global future

By China-US Joint Working Group

China-US Cooperation: Key to the Global Future calls for the creation of a Vision Group of senior American and Chinese nongovernment and former government experts to build on the idea of a new great power relationship proposed by China’s President Xi Jinping.

China in the Regional Order: It’s not about Parity

By Robert A. Manning and James Przystup

To answer Hugh White’s initial question, ‘what is America’s ultimate aim in Asia today?’, there is no mystery about American aims in Asia: it is simply a rules-based order with unimpeded access to the global commons.

Roundtable Discussion with Thomas Bagger

On September 12, the Atlantic Council hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion with Dr. Thomas Bagger, head of policy planning at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

Big Data is changing your world… more than you know

By Banning Garrett

In the latest FutureScape brief from the Atlantic Council's Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI) at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, SFI’s Senior Fellow for Innovation and Global Trends Banning Garrett assesses the ubiquity of big data and the opportunities and risks it poses to our lives.

Obama’s Goldilocks Syria Plan

By James Joyner

In a speech to the nation, President Obama warned that if the United States does not launch a punitive strike against Syria, Iran will pursue nuclear weapons, Al Qaeda will try to kill Americans, and bad men will do bad things.

Initial Reactions from Council Experts on President Obama’s Remarks on Syria

After watching President Obama’s speech Tuesday night, some of the Atlantic Council’s experts weighed in with initial reactions.

The Syrian Pause Leads to a More Dangerous World

By Barry Pavel

President Obama has now turned the world’s attention to diplomatic efforts focused on requiring Assad and the Syrian military to hand over all of its chemical weapons to international control for “ultimate destruction,” as the President stated.  As these activities continue to play out over the next days and weeks, a few strategic outcomes already […]

The United States, Russia, and Europe: Trilateral Security Dialogue in the Absence of Strategic Partnership

By Isabelle François

In the latest report from the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, entitled The United States, Russia, and Europe: Trilateral Security Dialogue in the Absence of Strategic Partnership, senior fellow Isabelle François explores the ways in which the United States and its allies must consider their relationship with Russia in the midst of new powers […]

Smart Wars Don’t Need Selling

By James Joyner

President Obama is pulling out all stops in a thus-far failing bid to convince the American people and their representatives in Congress to back military action in Syria.

Is NATO Set to Go on Standby?

By Karl-Heinz Kamp

In the most recent Transatlantic Security Initiative issue brief, entitled “Is NATO Set to Go on Standby?” Research Director at the NATO Defense College Karl-Heinz Kamp asks whether NATO will maintain strategic relevance after withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2014.The author argues that when NATO withdraws from Afghanistan in 2014, it has the opportunity to focus once […]