Scowcroft Center Commentary & Analysis

Senator Warner Discusses Ukraine, Transatlantic Policy, and American Domestic Debates

After several years in which the Defense Department has struggled with continuing resolutions and budget uncertainty, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the interplay of such budget battles — particularly over defense — and geopolitical developments. US Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) spoke on this intersection of America’s domestic politics and its international power at an […]

General Amos Discusses Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Marine Corps

In an era of divergent threats and decreased budgets, the US military is pressed to formulate an overarching strategy that maximizes the limited resources available. The US Marine Corps, the nation’s smallest military branch, will have to confront these challenges with a smaller end-strength level around 175,000 and twenty-one Marine infantry combat battalions. Commandant of […]

European Energy Security and the Ukraine Crisis

The Atlantic Council, Grupa Lotos, and the Embassy of Poland to the United States were delighted to host host General James. L Jones, Chairman of the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, former Supreme Allied Commander, and former United States National Security Advisor for a discussion of European Energy Security.  

The Future of US-Korea Alliance and Extended Deterrence in East Asia

The US-Republic of Korea Defense Treaty, which continues to serve as the cornerstone of the bilateral alliance and underwrite its central role in Washington’s rebalance strategy to the Asia-Pacific, marked its 60th anniversary in 2013. Through extended deterrence and the full range of conventional and nuclear US military capabilities, the United States remains dedicated to […]

Crafting Public Diplomacy for an Urbanized World

On March 20, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, in partnership with the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, hosted a roundtable focusing on the future of public diplomacy in the context of global trends. Titled Crafting Public Diplomacy for an Urbanized World, the roundtable examined how the US government, through public […]

Charting NATO’s Next Chapter: From Afghanistan to Ukraine and Beyond

As NATO charts plans for its coming drawdown in Afghanistan and its future beyond the 2014 Summit, Russia will loom large on NATO’s agenda as the unfolding crisis in Ukraine alters US and European strategies. At the same time, NATO must confront a dearth of political and financial investment, threats emanating from Asia, the Middle […]

Working Group on Defense Industrialization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Saudi Arabia, which spends more on defense than any other nation in the Middle East (up to 10 per cent of its GDP, which amounts to $21 billion), is the world’s seventh biggest spender in military terms. The United Arab Emirates, the world’s fourth largest arms importer, fields an increasingly capable military, is a regional leader […]

Ambassador Mark Brzezinski on Sweden, NATO, and the Future

On March 13, 2014 the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted a strategy session with the US ambassador to Sweden Mark Brzezinski on Sweden’s role as a NATO partner and on the broader framework of US-Sweden security cooperation.  Visiting Stockholm in September, President Barack Obama underscored Sweden’s importance as one of the […]

Post-Imperial Blues

By Robert A. Manning and James Clad

As Syria burns, Iran negotiations drag on and Ukraine melts down, the absence of decisive US action just about anywhere is causing great heartburn to the strategic mindset that brought you Iraq, Libya and other nation-building successes. US and EU helplessness in the face of Russian intervention in the Ukraine has turned that into an […]