Scowcroft Center Commentary & Analysis

The Entrepreneurial State: Roles of Government, Research Institutions, and Private Sector in R&D Innovation

By Atlantic Council

On Thursday February 27, 2014 the Strategic Foresight Initiative in the Brent Scowcroft Center for International Security held the captivating event “The Entrepreneurial State.” Experts weighed in on the role governments, research institutions, and the private sector in supporting innovation and research and development in the sciences. Discussants advocated for greater collaboration and cooperation as […]

Strengthening the US-Japan Alliance

On February 26, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security held a not-for-attribution roundtable briefing on the US-Japan alliance and what it portends for US extended deterrence in Asia. The briefing featured Mira Rapp-Hooper, Stanton nuclear security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and was presided over by project co-chair Richard […]

Pentagon Budget Preview: Implications for US Defense

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey previewed the Pentagon’s FY2015 on Monday, February 24. Major highlights included the proposed cutting Army personnel from 480,000 to approximately 440,00; the retirement of both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the U-2 spy plane; the addition of 4,000 people to […]

Working Group on Deterring a Nuclear-Armed Iran

Despite the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program in November 2013, Iran’s nuclear program remains perhaps the greatest emerging challenge to US national and regional security interests. US President Barack Obama has made it abundantly clear that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable and that the administration is prepared to do whatever it takes to […]

Transition Seminar for Adm. Ferguson, Incoming Commander of US 6th Fleet

Working with both European and African allies and maritime partners, US Naval Forces Europe and US Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF)/ US 6th Fleet leads security efforts in an area of responsibility consisting of the eastern half the Atlantic Ocean, hugging Europe and following the coast of Africa from the North Pole to Antarctica. In order […]

Combatant Commands Task Force Focuses on Restructuring Options

The fourth meeting of the Combatant Commands Task Force focused on specific restructuring options for the realigned COCOMs. Participants discussed the need for stronger interagency cooperation and improved regional knowledge to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of regional US security cooperation efforts. In addition, the task force considered possible changes in the core functions of […]

Addressing the Food, Water, and Energy Nexus

The relationship between food, water, and energy resources are shaping our world and its future, and managing the “nexus” of the interdependencies among these goods is arguably one of the most critical challenges facing policymakers in the transatlantic area. A draft report discussed at an Atlantic Council event today argues that Africa plays an especially […]

Modernizing the Military: The Case of Norway

Despite its relatively small size, Norway punches above its weight in defense investment and leadership in NATO operations at a time when many European countries are cutting defense budgets and turning inward. ​Norway is at the forefront of NATO’s efforts to modernize military forces and enhance interoperability to ensure the Alliance’s continued effectiveness in a new security landscape.

A Mideast Watershed: The End of US Domination?

A 35-Year Pax Americana is waning, says former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren The recent years’ decline of US power and assertiveness in the Middle East has created a power vacuum there that may end 35 years of American pre-eminence in the region, said Michael Oren, Israeli historian and former ambassador to the United States. “While […]

A New US Crisis Response Force for Africa

“Send in the Marines” Is Now a Faster Option Following the deadly September 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the Marine Corps created a new crisis response force for Africa – smaller and faster than its predecessors – and recently ordered its first emergency mission.  On January 3, a team of Marines […]