United States and Canada

Germany’s Foreign Minister Calls for ‘A Real European Security and Defense Union’

By Heiko Mass, German Foreign Ministry

That world order that we once knew, had become accustomed to and sometimes felt comfortable in – this world order no longer exists.

Democracy in Danger: Confusing the Symptoms of Disorder with Its Cause

By Laure Mandeville and Joshua Mitchell

Speaking to the National Assembly of France a month before the French Revolution of 1848, Alexis de Tocqueville declared; “Beware, the wind of revolutions is arising; don’t you feel it?”  Those gathered that day did not feel it.  Today, the winds of political revolt are sweeping through the West: in the United States, Italy, Britain, […]

Trump-Kim Summit: China and Kim are Winners

By Daniel Fried

The summit between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 was not itself a bad idea. But signing an empty paper is questionable.  Adding a unilateral concession—suspending US-South Korean exercises without even consulting with our allies—smacks of careless frivolity.  Tactical unpredictability can be a tool. Strategic unreliability is […]

Trump-Kim Summit: It’s What Happens Next that Counts

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 is a diplomatic win for the United States, but whether it is a strategic victory will depend on the implementation of the joint agreement signed by the two leaders, according to Michael Morell, an Atlantic Council board […]

Trump-Kim Summit: What About Denuclearization?

By Alexander Vershbow

In terms of personal rapport between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Singapore summit on June 12 looks like a success, but on the substantive issues—not so much. As the United States’ ambassador to South Korea from 2005 to 2008, I witnessed first-hand the tense military standoff at the […]

A First Historic Step… But to Where?

By Barry Pavel

There were many outcomes of the historic first Trump-Kim Singapore summit on June 12; overall, it is clear that most of the hard diplomatic work remains ahead, yet the summit was helpful in establishing a top-down process that still could lead to real breakthroughs for peace on the Korean Peninsula and denuclearization.

Trump and Kim Jong-un Make History

US President Donald J. Trump made history when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12. This was the first time that a sitting US president has met the leader of North Korea. Atlantic Council analysts shared their thoughts on the outcome of the summit. This is what they had to […]

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Speaks Truth to Power

By Michael Morell

Trump administration should provide details of Russian meddling ahead of midterms On June 8, Dan Coats, US President Donald J. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence, gave an important speech that went largely unnoticed.  Speaking at an event in Normandy, France—co-sponsored by the Atlantic Council, Le Figaro, and the Tocqueville Foundation—Coats essentially said that the Russians […]

Trump-Kim Summit: Expect the Unexpected

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Even if US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fail to achieve a breakthrough in their highly-anticipated summit in Singapore on June 12—Trump administration officials have been privately ratcheting down expectations—the summit in and of itself will be historic. It will be the first time that a sitting US president has […]