The Anti-Establishment Rises in Europe and America
Across Europe, anti-establishment parties are winning stunning upsets, leaving center and center-left parties scrambling to forge alliances to avoid total political irrelevance. In most of the 27 member countries of the EU, the early June elections for the European Parliament resulted in a large and historic victory for parties hostile to the status quo. In France, the National Rally, led by […]
A Freedom Strategy for the Global South
In the current cold war, the US and its allies in the Free World bloc are in a sharp contest with the authoritarian, revisionist, and expansionist bloc of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The stakes could not be higher. If the Free World loses this contest, the freedom, security, and prosperity of Americans and its […]
Eastern European Views of the Upcoming US Presidential Elections
Despite Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Eastern Europeans feel secure today. They have confidence in NATO as an organization led by the United States and thus appreciated in Moscow as strong. At the same time, some politicians and diplomats in Eastern Europe wonder what might happen to their countries if Donald Trump wins the presidential elections […]
European Parliament Elections Have a Message for the West
The June elections for the European Parliament were more than a setback for Europe’s political establishment. For Germany’s Olaf Scholz and France’s Emmanuel Macron, they were a humiliation. They also contain a warning message for America’s Joe Biden. Across the continent, right-wing populists scored convincing victories. In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party won […]
Quo Vadis Germany: Is It Ready for an Era of Great Power Conflict?
The German term Zeitenwende, or historic turning point, entered the American political lexicon three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. On that day, Chancellor Olaf Scholz convoked a special session of the Bundestag and employed this term to underscore the need for a dramatic change in Germany’s foreign and national security […]
Germany’s Far Right Gets Their Day in Court
When he was arrested by German federal police in December 2022, the 72-year-old tweed-jacketed Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss may have looked like a harmless old aristocrat. But on May 21, he went on trial in Frankfurt for plotting a coup d’état to topple the German government on what he called “Day X.” In all, three […]
The Moscow Attack Should Alarm the Whole World
The March 22 terrorist attack in Moscow left 133 dead, more than 130 injured, and many urgent questions about the return of ISIS, a Syria-based terror group long thought to be vanquished. Days before the bloodshed, the US secretly warned the Kremlin about a potential ISIS attack, giving actionable intelligence under its longstanding “duty to warn” […]
The Outlook for European Security: An Uncertain Trumpet
The American general Maxwell Taylor wrote a book published in 1960 under the title “The Uncertain Trumpet” about American defense complacency in the Cold War. It triggered a change in strategy. The trumpets of Jericho brought down walls. Today, a trumpet is needed to break through Europe’s walls of inertia and a comfortable “business as […]
Democracy in Poland
Poland’s democratic transition is proving to be turbulent and challenging. The liberal center-right government led by Donald Tusk took office on December 13, 2023, after eight years of rule by “Law and Justice,” a nationalist right-wing party. The new government’s reform efforts face the kind of domestic opposition that may pose the biggest threat to […]
The Rise of Geert Wilders: Making Sense of the Dutch Election Results
A few days before the Dutch general election of November 22, 2023, the polls indicated a close finish. Each of three parties vying for the top position was expected to get just below 20 percent: Labor (in a common list with the Greens); the center-right Liberals; and the far-right Freedom Party. The winner would have […]
