Europe Faces a Threat Bigger Than Russia: Its Own Balkanization
Bridge construction in the Western Balkans may be a microcosm of Europe’s fragmented, post-American future. During the Kosovo War of 1998-1999, the main bridge over the river Ibar in the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica was an important focal point. “On one side, sitting in chairs outside the Dolce Vita bar and listening to Italian music, are […]
How a Bad Deal in the Indian Ocean Undermines the West
On May 22, the UK government of Labour’s Keir Starmer signed a treaty with the island nation of Mauritius, a former British colony in the Indian Ocean, to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, a seven-atoll archipelago that includes the Diego Garcia military base. Though the deal contains protections for this base, it also raises […]
How Kazakhstan Can Become the Hub of the New Silk Road
The Trans-Caspian International Transit Route or “Middle Corridor” is Central Asia’s best bet for increasing connectivity and economic ties to the West. But Kazakhstan, the corridor’s hub, faces internal challenges like price competitiveness and external threats like climate change and geopolitics. The Middle Corridor stretches from western China across the vast Kazakh steppe and the […]
Initial European and American Views of the US Air Strikes
In his inaugural address this past January, Donald J. Trump declared that “my proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.” He added, “We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end – and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get […]
Progress in US-Europe Ballistic Missile Defense
The proliferation of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles contributes to a dangerous threat environment today. These threats are not concentrated in any one area but range from the Russia-Ukraine conflict to the Middle East and the Asia Pacific. In the past two decades, expensive but effective integrated air and missile defense systems like Patriot, […]
A Warning from Munich
Munich is a city the Nazis regarded with special affection, terming it Hauptstadt der Bewegung, “capital of the movement.” Here in 1919 the German Army stationed Adolf Hitler after the First World War, employing him as a political agent. Here in November 1923 Hitler led the abortive Beer Hall putsch that was supposed to lead […]
The Putin Problem
The Trump administration entered office with two complementary goals concerning Russia. The first, the humanitarian goal of ending Russia’s war with Ukraine, does not seem close to being achieved. The administration proposed a ceasefire between the two countries as a first step toward terminating the conflict, but while Ukraine accepted the proposal, Russia did not. […]
England’s Simmering Northern Rebellion
In northeast England, an hour south of Newcastle next to the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, sits the post-industrial city of Middlesbrough. Its story is that of the country’s industrial rise and fall. 250 years ago, Middlesbrough was a speck on the map. Coal mining and steel and iron production propelled its rapid ascent into a thriving […]
The Return of the German Problem
In the 75 years between the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 and the end of World War II in 1945, what came to be known as the German Problem afflicted Europe. Germany became a problem because it grew too powerful for the peace of the continent, and over that period, Germany started three […]
Whither Europe?
The six chords, each spaced with a rest of about a second, came crashing down in the resplendent home of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The audience sat transfixed. Seated in the rear balcony, I was listening to Santtu-Matias Rouvali conduct Jean Sibelius’ 1919 fifth symphony based, like Beethoven’s, around a four-note motif. The opening of […]
