BRUSSELS—Full details of the Obama administration’s new look in defense spending, force posture, and strategy are not yet out. But enough has been revealed  to venture some thoughts on the logic of the new approach and the longer-term implications for the United States and transatlantic partners. The shift to a “one war, spoil and manage” [...]

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BERLIN — When President Barack Obama unveiled a new national defense strategy last week, which confirmed the United States’ intent to play a sustained role in shaping a rising Asia, he noted that “the tide of war is receding.” This observation will have done little to reassure a skeptical Beijing that the strategy is aimed [...]

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PARIS—The Obama administration’s new defense strategy should come as no surprise to observers in France and across Europe. The question of rebalancing American military involvement between Europe and the Asia-Pacific has been a recurring theme of transatlantic relations and of U.S. policy debates since at least the 1950s. In large part, it reflects the historical [...]

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WARSAW—The new strategic defense guidance from the Obama administration aims to refocus the U.S. defense posture on the increasingly competitive security environment emerging in the Pacific. It also (despite the Pentagon’s protestations to the contrary) appears to put an end to the era of large-scale counterinsurgency and stability operations. Last but not least, it implies [...]

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BUCHAREST—The landslide victory of former speaker of the Parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk in the December 25 Transnistrian presidential elections came as a surprise to observers in Moldova, Russia, and the West. Shevchuk, who won 74 percent of the vote in the run-off, overcame the challenges of the Moscow-backed candidate Anatoly Kaminski and the incumbent of 20 [...]

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The enduring image from last week’s UN conference on climate change in Durban, South Africa, was of negotiators “huddling” in full view on the plenary floor to come up with the form of words that allowed the final deal to be reached. The negotiators are in shirtsleeves, visibly tied at the end of talks that [...]

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WASHINGTON – Immigration and integration continue to be issues of paramount public concern in both the United States and Europe, and yet so rarely do we hear a transatlantic view on the common challenges faced by countries dealing with diverse immigrant populations. It is crucial to understand the views of the public on these key topics. [...]

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NEW YORK – They came, they met, and they bargained in Brussels, and after yet another European Summit, member states agreed to be more like Germany—more conservative and disciplined about spending, deficits, and debt. Yet the euro endgame remains far from clear.  Agreeing to fiscal discipline is one thing but implementing such provisions will be [...]

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NEW DELHI – The decisions taken at the December 9 EU summit may or may not have calmed the escalating eurocrisis. Time and financial markets will be the ultimate arbiters of what was decided in Brussels. But the transatlantic misunderstandings, the finger pointing, and the mutual recriminations that emerged in the run-up to the Brussels [...]

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CAMDEN, Maine – Once again, Europe’s leaders did not brandish the big bazooka that the markets are crying out for. Instead, Europe is doggedly pursuing its step-by-step approach as introduced several summits ago. Given the continuing disconnect between markets and politicians, we know from experience what will likely happen next: After an initially favorable response, [...]

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