The year 2019 was ushered in under clouds of gloom and doom. The current global order is, in fact, a frightening global disorder. Not only is the world economy weakening, as tariff conflicts herald a pernicious trade war, but the certainties of international cooperation are also waning and vanishing in the political realm, as America’s retreat from global leadership and the rise of Xi Jinping’s China upend the prevailing power …

The relationship between the European Union and the United States has always been complicated and riddled with disagreements. It is, after all, an unconventional pairing between one of the most powerful countries on earth and a set of institutions that do their best to represent the often disparate views of 28 individual member states. Whether on trade, counter-terrorism cooperation or Iran, fostering EU-US cooperation is a never-ending exercise in patience, …

Concerns are growing in many European countries that they can no longer depend on the United States and the security guarantees enshrined in Article 5 of the NATO treaty. President Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria marked the end of US reliability. Doubts about America’s trustworthiness have produced a flurry of driveling speeches in 2018 on the idea of a European army. So – what about it?

It …

Looking at the West today, a Russian who witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall 30 years ago sees a striking picture. Political America is gripped in a cold civil war, and is led by a president who acts as if he were still the star of a reality TV show. British politicians have managed to maneuver their island into a Brexit limbo. Their French colleagues had to file for …

On its 70th anniversary, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is doing fairly well as the most successful security alliance in modern history. Through constant evolution and adaptation, NATO has managed to preserve its relevance for both sides of the Atlantic, each a fundamentally unique security environment. In the long term, however, NATO faces an almost existential problem, as it will be difficult to maintain its significance for the United States …

With the passing of George Bush the elder, Germany has lost a loyal friend and a committed champion of freedom across the globe. One of the great transatlanticists and an architect of German Reunification, the former US president will always occupy a special place in our history books.

Although he may have be no Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington, or Franklin D. Roosevelt, or even Ronald Reagan, he was a …

We live in perilous times in an imperiled world. The most dramatic shift of power and wealth since the ascent of the United States to worldwide dominance a hundred years ago puts an end to 500 years of Western (and white) hegemony. China’s rise from international insignificance to global clout is changing the power balance. The Chinese model – capitalism plus authoritarianism – poses a grave challenge to the Western …

The United States and the European Union have often differed over Middle East policies. The current dispute over Iran, however, which broke into the open with US President Donald Trump’s May 2018 withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or nuclear deal with Iran, goes deeper and could have more far-reaching strategic implications for the trans-Atlantic relationship than previous dis­agreements on how to deal with Tehran or other …

To say we are living in uncertain times would be a gross understatement.

The structure that had provided generations of global stability and betterment are being upended by a new wave of populism, fed largely by the far-right strains that somehow claim “we” are being hurt by an amorphous “them.” After years of nation-building and economic growth created by international cooperation, some governments are once again embracing insular, self-centered policies …

At first glance, everything seems pretty much the same. Hollywood movies still attract huge audiences in Germany, even in the smallest towns. American tourists continue to marvel at Heidelberg and Munich. And Germans’ enthusiasm for US culture still seems to be just as strong as the pride with which every sixth US citizen declares they have German roots.

But if we look at the political arena, we have to admit …