Defending and renewing the global order is a priority for the United States and Europe. An important part of this effort will be accomplished if transatlantic partners can successfully engage four “global swing states” — Brazil, India, Indonesia and Turkey — in the management of global issues, because of their geopolitical and economic status, as well as their desire to have a stronger voice in the various international forums. Successful engagement of these nations will be key to preserving the international order and U.S. leadership.

The U.S. defense budget has faced a sharp reduction since 2010, linked to the drawing down of two wars and the Great Recession. 

The second term of Barack Obama’s presidency has introduced new Foreign Policy leadership that suggests changes for the future. The White House will likely centralize foreign policy making and the Treasury Department may play a bigger role in the country’s global engagement. Despite new policy direction, no framework for the strategic renewal of U.S. global leadership has emerged.

The future candidates for the 2016 Republican presidential primary will be expected to develop a clear foreign policy agenda and prove the GOP’s credibility on foreign affairs issue.

On an initiative of the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP), the Study Committee for Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) are regularly publishing short contributions on a common subject, written by three experts of these institutes. The purpose of these “Weimar Triangle Analyses” is to give the French, Polish, and German views on central questions of European politics and European integration.

Interrogations on a possible decline of U.S. leadership are a regular occurrence in the country.

In an effort to preserve its global leadership, the United States has engaged in a “double rebalancing”; a geopolitical rebalancing, as illustrated by the “pivot to Asia,” and a rebalancing of means, with the Obama administration increasingly advancing diplomatic and economic negotiations (economic statecraft), emphasizing the indirect uses of military force and opening up reinforced dialogue with new actors.

The French Institute for International Relations (Ifri) and The German Marshall Fund of the United States - France (GMF) have partnered to launch a joint research program on the transformations of U.S. leadership by the year 2020. 

A funny thing happened in the last few years when no one was paying attention. J.R. Ewing, the legendary Texas oilman, and his wife Sue Ellen sold Southfork, their ranch near Dallas, and moved to a new home in Pennsylvania (Northfork?). JR immediately began buying subsurface mineral rights for acres of land above the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in the Appalachian Basin. Cliff Barnes, J.R.'s nemesis, sold all his Texas properties and moved to North Dakota, where he started leasing mineral rights to acreage above the Bakken shale play. 

There is a rich history of far-right political parties in Europe. Long-standing parties such as the French Front National (FN), mostly marginalized since World War II, have enjoyed a resurgence since the 1980’s. Under the very recent leadership of Marine Le Pen, the FN has undergone a rejuvenation of its communication strategy and gained two seats in the National Assembly, the first time that the FN won any seats since the end of the proportional representation system in 1988. There are also many newer far-right parties in Europe, such as the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV). The PVV, formed in 2006 by Geert Wilders, has become the third most popular party in the Netherlands and was until recently a member of the governing minority coalition.