Western Europe

FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Ukraine Is Still Caught between a Hammer and an Anvil

New Atlanticist
Oct 2, 2024

A man in a hurry: Keir Starmer’s early approach is making waves at home and abroad

By
Ed Owen

The new UK prime minister’s much-anticipated speech at the Labour Party’s recent gathering in Liverpool is a window into where the country may be headed.

Economy & Business
Elections

New Atlanticist
Oct 2, 2024

Three state elections have backed Germany into a corner

By
Jurek Wille and Friedrich Conradi

The recent successes of populist parties in Germany’s state elections could signal an imminent shift in Berlin’s policies on climate, immigration, and aid for Ukraine.

Elections
Germany

New Atlanticist
Sep 26, 2024

France’s new government aims to calm the political storm. What will it mean for foreign policy?

By
Léonie Allard, Jean-Loup Samaan

Prime Minister Michel Barnier is likely to follow the path of President Emmanuel Macron, but the big question is whether the delicate political context in Paris will allow ministers to focus on crises in Ukraine and Lebanon.

Europe & Eurasia
France

EVENTS

Public Event
Tue, May 27, 2025 • 9:00 am ET

The Rt Hon Lord Mandelson on Britain in an enduring transatlantic relationship

Economy & Business
Europe & Eurasia
Politics & Diplomacy
Security & Defense

Public Event
Tue, May 6, 2025 • 12:30 pm ET

Belgium’s defense minister on Europe’s evolving security landscape

Europe & Eurasia
NATO
Security & Defense
Western Europe

Online Event
Tue, May 6, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

What to expect from Germany’s next government

Elections
Europe & Eurasia
European Union
Germany

Program

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Content

UkraineAlert

May 26, 2015

Ukraine Is Still Caught between a Hammer and an Anvil

By Alexander J. Motyl

For most of the 20th century, Ukraine was the victim of two equally malevolent empires—Germany and Russia. Germany’s contribution to Ukraine’s devastation was the two World Wars; Russia’s was the imposition of Soviet rule and the concomitant destruction of Ukraine’s peasantry and elites. Unsurprisingly, one of the most constant images in 20th-century Ukrainian commentary is […]

Germany Russia

British Prime Minister David Cameron, Sept. 19, 2014

NATOSource

May 22, 2015

Britain Resigns as a World Power

By Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post

[S]pending a few days recently in Britain, I was struck by just how parochial it has become. After an extraordinary 300-year run, Britain has essentially resigned as a global power.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2015

Achieving a Strategic Transatlantic Wiedervereinigung

By Alton V. Buland

Instability arcs along Europe’s periphery from the Middle East and North Africa up the Black Sea and into the Arctic, while transnational security challenges (climate change, cyber threats, etc.) challenge our future. At the same time, the bonds of Cold War transatlantic solidarity have weakened as new generations arise and isolationist/nativist movements reemerge on both […]

Germany

NATOSource

May 19, 2015

France’s Orphaned Mistrals Can Solve a Sea of Troubles

By Blake Franko and Nicholas Varangis

As the European Union struggles to remain a unified and influential force for the 21st century, geopolitical developments have only made this goal more elusive.

European Union France

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron, July 19, 2008

NATOSource

May 15, 2015

A United Kingdom Outside the EU is Just Not as Special to the United States

By Ashish Kumar Sen, New Atlanticist

The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union would have negative consequences for its “special relationship” with the United States, says the Atlantic Council’s Frances G. Burwell.

Europe & Eurasia European Union

In the News

May 14, 2015

Ullman: Re-establishing the Special US-UK Relationship

By Harlan Ullman

Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for the Huffington Post on strengthening the bond between the United States and the United Kingdom:

United Kingdom

Bremain vs Brexit

May 13, 2015

Dungan on the Implications of the UK Election

By Nicholas Dungan

The Daily Caller quotes Transatlantic Relations Program Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Dungan what the UK election results mean for Scotland and the European Union:

United Kingdom

Bremain vs Brexit

May 8, 2015

Dungan on Cameron’s Stunning Electoral Victory

By Nicholas Dungan

CNN quotes Transatlantic Relations Program Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Dungan on what British Prime Minister David Cameron’s stunning electoral victory last week means for the United Kingdom moving forward:

United Kingdom

President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel, June 19, 2013

NATOSource

May 7, 2015

New Survey: Germans and Americans Disagree on Russia, Global Leadership, and Trade

By Pew Research Center

Seven decades after the end of World War II and a quarter-century after the end of the Cold War, roughly seven-in-ten Americans see Germany as a reliable ally, and about six-in-ten Germans trust the United States, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Germany Russia

Bremain vs Brexit

May 7, 2015

Dungan on Britain’s Military Presence

By Nicholas Dungan

USA Today quotes Transatlantic Relations Program Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Dungan on Britain’s military presence in advance of the most unpredictable national election in decades:

United Kingdom