BERLIN — This year has been full of celebrations of the peaceful revolutions of 1989, arguably the most important advance of freedom, democracy, and human rights in history. But this year has also seen rapid European rapprochement with (and some might say appeasement of) one of the world’s worst autocrats: Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. Europe’s [...]

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PARIS — On November 18, the European Council selected Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton to become, respectively, President of the European Council for a two and a half year-term, and High Representative/Vice-President of the Commission for external affairs for a five-year term. In Europe and beyond, comments have ranged from the cautiously positive to [...]

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BRUSSELS — To many people outside of Brussels, the process that resulted in the selection of Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as President of the European Council and Catherine Ashton to the dual-hatted position as High Representative for External Affairs and Vice President of the European Commission was a bit like waiting for the [...]

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BERLIN — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives at the White House this week with the political momentum to push India deeper into the American camp. Despite being President Barack Obama’s first official state dinner guest, he comes at a time when many Indians fear that Obama will focus more on China and less on [...]

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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — For those of you who haven’t seen our tweets, facebook, e-mails, or any of the other ways we’ve been broadcasting this weekend, check out the Halifax Forum website for all sorts of good material: videos (including livestreams), transcripts, press releases, and photos. Speakers include a number of high-profile people including Robert [...]

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BRUSSELS — For a supposedly stillborn concept, talk of a G2 — actual or potential — has proved remarkably durable. Why, despite the implausibility of the notion, does it continue? Anyone looking for signs of an emerging Sino-American global condominium in Tuesday’s comprehensive joint declaration would indeed have had slim pickings. President Obama’s visit has [...]

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As U.S. President Barack Obama visits Asia, many European and American observers have embraced the narrative that an emerging, China-centric New Asian Order will reshape world politics, relegating the West to inexorable decline and marginalization. Like any fallacy, this contention contains just enough truth to be plausible. But it is more reflective of a Western [...]

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BERLIN — In West Berlin the days and nights after November 9, 1989, we welcomed and hugged complete strangers, our East German countrymen, on the streets, chatting over a cup of coffee or a glass of Glähwein, with inconceivable and indescribable sentiments of ecstatic joy and happiness. The political mood in Germany and Eastern Europe [...]

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President Obama’s announcement this week of Dr. Rajiv Shah as his candidate to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has refocused attention on a critical policy question:   What does America want from its development aid program? This question is of more than academic interest.   Its answer has much to do, first, [...]

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GMF Paris Office Director Francois Lafond discusses the special relationship between France and Germany on the occasion of Armistice Day and a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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