Carnegie Europe
Not every post-Soviet revolution is about the geopolitics of Russia.
Cruise missiles and lofty speeches will not bring peace to the Syrians. France must enlist the EU to start working on a real settlement.
France’s En Marche began as a grassroots movement and has evolved under Emmanuel Macron’s strong leadership. Its sustainability will depend on reconciling these contrasting styles.
European donors should persist with a localist approach in Syria, but efforts should generate an inclusive notion of democratic citizenship rather than just support the liberal-moderate opposition.
Another wave of mass migration is likely to hit Europe, and unless the EU can muster collective action, the Schengen system of passport-free travel could be swept away.
Reforms in Ukraine have taken a back seat during a protracted season of electoral politics. A key question is whether the rival factions can compete peacefully and avoid destabilizing the country again.
The political ballgame in Europe will change profoundly after Brexit. A clear realignment is already apparent as the dynamics between smaller member states, in particular, begins to shift.
The Brexit negotiations have progressed thus far by kicking key issues down the road, but the road is fast running out.
Europe has lost its moral compass. Its current enthusiasm for interests will one day come back to haunt it.
A massive deterioration of the rule of law in Turkey is making a political alliance with the EU impossible, but cooperation must continue. Supporting the country’s resilient democrats is a major political task for Brussels.
Democratic renewal in the United States calls for locally driven public engagement rather than the establishment of a third party, which would likely further worsen polarization and governance.
The UK prime minister has failed to present a compelling vision for post-Brexit Europe and remains indecisive about Britain’s future trade relationship with the EU.
The EU’s approaches to global order and international challenges are increasingly more selective.
The EU’s external financing instruments should be improved to make the union’s civil society support efforts more politically effective and more closely aligned with strategic aims.
Ukraine and the EU are closer than ever before. But events over the last four years have also shown how far apart they still are in economic capacity, governance, and their visions for the future.
Despite illiberal trends in Europe, surveys suggest citizens are becoming more engaged. The overall picture is one of both crisis and renewal.
Ukraine’s armed forces are better than ever before. However, major problems remain, all of which stem from internal political struggles and the continuing weakness of state structures.
The situation in Eastern Europe sheds light on the ongoing crisis of leadership and integration within the European Union.
Better EU defense integration may be bad news for the alliance—but the US is wrong to oppose it.
Each year, barely perceptible tectonic movements pull Europe and North America a few inches further apart. These days “continental drift” applies to geopolitics at least as much as it does to geology. But there is still space for meaningful transatlantic cooperation.