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July 30, 2008 | Only the Younger Generation can Bring Obama's Promised Change

Richard Wales: The presidential election campaigns are shaped by corporate interests. Barack Obama is part of the same institutionalized political elite as Bush. The promised change can only be achieved by a new generation.

July 28, 2008 | By Giving a Speech in Berlin, Obama is Playing with Fire

David Francis: Obama’s popularity should not be interpreted as a shift in German policy towards the United States. Many officials I spoke with while reporting from Berlin earlier this year said Germany will continue to act in its own interests no matter who is in the White House.

July 28, 2008 | Obama's European Voters

Matthias Stephan Fifka: Even if Obama enjoys much more sympathy abroad and is being received like a rock star by the public, his foreign policy would not differ essentially from McCain’s. The biggest discrepancy between the candidates are the expectations of the Europeans, who are likely to be disillusioned with Obama as president.

July 28, 2008 | A New Political Messiah?

Rüdiger Lentz: Obama’s speech at the Victory Column in Berlin, impressive as it was, contained more empty slogans than substance. This was not the radical change he promised during his primary campaign. His charisma might not be enough to win the elections.

April 6, 2008 | Why We Should Fear a McCain Presidency

Anatol Lieven: McCain’s promise to listen more to America’s allies in Europe needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Senator McCain is in fact a neo-conservative as can be seen from his policies on Iraq, Russia, NATO, and democracy building.

February 15, 2008 | Demands on Europe Will Not Abate

Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger: George W. Bush’s successor will make demands of the Europeans, and Europeans would do well to take note of this fact. Key areas of contention will remain between Europe and America especially when it comes to Russia, Afghanistan, and democracy promotion.

November 22, 2007 | Obama's Global Approach

Mark Brzezinski: Barack Obama’s candidacy for the US presidency gives America an opportunity to redefine itself in relationship with the world, because he takes a global approach to US challenges rather than a more conventional approach.

August 29, 2007 | Iraq: Who's Got the Best Plan?

The Atlantic Community Editorial Team: presents a comparative analysis of the most promising plans from policy makers and think tanks across the US. See all the strategies here, or download and print out a PDF with the full matrix of options.

April 26, 2012 | The Need for a Credible Vote

The highly anticipated Egyptian presidential election is just around the corner. ++ Although not without its problem, the parliamentary elections in February have been viewed by most Egyptians as legitimate. ++ The bar must be set much higher for the country’s presidential elections. ++ The situation thus far as spurred doubts about the legitimacy of the process, when the presidential

October 21, 2008 | America's World Role Is Diminishing

The US has to face a reduction in its super-power role and an “era of financially induced isolationism.” ++ Spending on foreign policy challenges has increased, and the times in which a strong dollar used to provide stability to the US economy seem to be over. ++ The US can’t pull back from the world stage leaving a “dangerous power vacuum.” ++ In the past the US

October 2, 2008 | Economic Crisis Provides Cover for Military Blunders

By odd coincidence, or perhaps providence, $700bn is roughly the same amount of money squandered on Bush’s “preposterous war in Iraq.” ++ Ironically, the greatest economic crises since the great depression means Obama and McCain won’t have to discuss the “greatest military crisis in America’s history since Vietnam.” ++ This has provided the cover for a strange narrative developing in the US:

September 11, 2008 | Questioning Candidates' Security Ideas after 9/11

Both presidential candidates honorably chose to put politics aside on the anniversary of 9/11, but there are various open questions on security. ++ One of these questions asks how willing can the US be to attack Pakistan if its new government refuses to cooperate in the war against terror. ++ Other questions concern the candidate’s plans to authorize the use of force or to collaborate with Israel

September 2, 2008 | Pro-Western Candidate is no Good News for Pakistan

Mr. Zadari is expected to win the presidential election in Pakistan. ++ He portrays himself as a pro-Western candidate, but he is merely a caricature of the country’s immoral Westernized elite. ++ Therefore, he serves as a propaganda target for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which is likely to fall on fertile soil: According to a recent poll, 71% of Pakistanis oppose cooperating with the US in counter

August 11, 2008 | Next US President Must Reverse America's Decline

After 1945, the US was clearly the world’s leader but it took its supremacy for granted and became complacent. ++ Since then, the US has become dependent on foreign oil and relied on debt to finance its economy. ++ American students are behind while universities fill with foreigners. ++ Leadership in technology and entertainment does not provide enough domestic jobs. ++ To reverse this

July 21, 2008 | How to Save Karzai

There is a chorus of America’s closest allies who criticize Karzai because he is not making progress in his fight against militants and corruption in his own government. ++ But he is still the best candidate for the 2009 presidential elections, because he is Pashtun, retains broad multiethnic support, and is Afghanistan’s most popular leader. ++ Karzai needs Western assistance to

July 17, 2008 | The Middle East Would be Better off With Obama

Dealing with the Middle East quagmire is going to be one of the greatest challenges for the next US president. ++ McCain may be an ill-suited candidate to tackle the situation: he seems to believe America always wins; since his worldview was shaped by the Vietnam war, he tends to see things in black and white. ++ Obama’s victory would be more welcome in the region: he is more willing to let

July 8, 2008 | Iraq: Asking the Right Questions to Find the Answers

The resurgence of the Taliban and al Qaeda demonstrates that the war in Iraq is dangerously diverting attention from the “war of necessity” in Afghanistan. ++ Rather than inflexibly planning to stay on or leave Iraq, candidates should ask whether “Washington would have more influence if it completely withdrew or negotiated a slower drawdown with the Iraqis.” ++ The chances chaos in Iraq could

July 7, 2008 | "My Friends, From the Beltway to Berlin, Yes We Can!"

In the end of July, Obama is scheduled to meet with Chancellor Merkel and to hold a speech at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. ++ He should consider saying something to the following effect: the lessons of Berlin illustrate “what far-sighted strategy can achieve” and teach shared sacrifice. ++ The transatlantic alliance depends on our shared resolve. ++ “I’m sure I can learn from Europe on universal

July 4, 2008 | Bush's Legacy is Ideological, not Physical

Few will mourn the end of the Bush Administration, yet many fail to realize that his legacy has long-term implications. ++ Beside operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush has managed to shift the path of America’s foreign policy. ++ Defining an “age of terror” with a “global war” as a response, promulgating preemptive war, and making power projection a matter of

July 1, 2008 | President Carter's Lessons for Barack Obama

Many parallels can be drawn between Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter at the time of 1976 presidential election. ++ Then, as now, war and economic stagnation created fertile ground for leaders who promise a fresh start and a change in how the US is perceived in the world. ++ Obama is in danger of being branded with the mark of Pres. Carter who has gone down in history as a weak president. ++ He

June 4, 2008 | Obama Won but Clinton is Still Important

Obama has claimed the Democratic nomination, but Clinton will remain an important figure over the next months. ++ Clinton “did well among working-class whites, older voters and women” so her eventual endorsement of Obama will be crucial. ++ Clinton would do little to help balance Obama’s ticket and he cannot afford to offer her the vice-presidential nomination unless he is certain she will

May 26, 2008 | Fighting Anti-Americanism Through Foreign Policy

While every candidate seems to agree that “America’s current public diplomacy efforts are badly flawed,” each conceives a different solution to the problem. ++ The warnings which are currently circulating in academic and policy circles need to be taken into consideration: anti-Americanism is largely created by America’s foreign policy failures. ++ Since the foreign policy decisions of the next

April 25, 2008 | The US Presidential Campaign is Full of Flam

Although the US’s economic and political difficulties have rarely been so acute, all of the candidates for president are selling simple answers that don’t exist. ++ Neither McCain’s version of military victory in Iraq nor Clinton’s and Obama’s promise to bring the troops home no matter what happens are realistic. ++ Unless an honest debate is restored, post-inauguration

February 27, 2008 | A US Exit Out of Iraq Would Benefit All

A Democratic candidate, if elected, needs to end the war in Iraq as promised. ++ US withdrawal would not only allow the US to make progress on domestic issues, but it would also give Iraqis an opportunity to make their own deals and decisions and could create more regional support for Iraq. ++ The idea that leaving Iraq would be “surrendering to evildoers” and simply set the stage for genocide is

February 4, 2008 | The US Economy: A Deep Concern for the Middle Class

The struggling US economy has become a critical issue for America’s current and future leadership. Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and a former US secretary of labour, argues that presidential hopefuls need to recognize that “middle-class families have exhausted the coping mechanisms” which have kept them afloat since the 1970’s.

January 8, 2008 | Dealing With the Dragon

Paul Krugman, Professor of Economics at Princeton, argues in the NY Times that the biggest foreign policy issues for the next president will not be related to 9/11 or the war in Iraq. Rather, they will involve the consequences of China’s rapid economic growth.

The $100 a barrel oil price is a “made-in-China phenomenon,” given that China has been responsible for about a third of the

August 20, 2007 | Closer Cooperation With India Expected From Next US President

Most US presidential candidates have very favorable views towards closer cooperation with India in the future, reports Joanna Klonsky of the Council on Foreign Relations. Klonsky’s findings belie the low coverage on this issue so far, showing that candidates from both camps generally support resolutions such as the United States-India Energy Security Cooperation Act (2006) or the US-India