As Albania makes rapid progress toward EU accession, PM Edi Rama says of the European Union: "This is an empire we want to be part of, an empire of values, rights, and security." www.eunews.it/en/2025/09/1...

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

"Contrary to what top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have suggested as major concessions, Lokker says that there is little evidence that Russia’s stance has changed following Trump’s separate talks with Putin, Zelenskyy, and other European leaders." bit.ly/467qszZ

In this morning's newsletter, I wrote about an under-appreciated problem for liberalism — its total failure to cultivate young talent www.vox.com/on-the-right...

To put it simply: Putin played Trump. Again. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

I shared my thoughts with @dgprawna.bsky.social on a potential Zelensky-Putin summit, suggesting that Geneva or Istanbul could be suitable locations for the meeting given the relative neutrality of Switzerland and Turkey in the conflict. Read here (in Polish): www.gazetaprawna.pl/wiadomosci/k...

Interesting move by Trump here -- real pressure from the White House on Budapest to unblock Kyiv's EU accession could make a significant difference. This is one potentially positive outcome of European leaders' visit to Washington on Monday. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“Putin made it clear that he had not dropped his core demands to ‘resolve the root causes’ of the conflict, which would essentially end Ukraine’s statehood in its current form and roll back Nato’s eastward expansion.”

Maybe tempting for Europeans to say “it could have been worse” but Alaska still pretty bad: 1. Putin gets red carpet treatment and applause. US/Russia normalised. A win. 2. No ceasefire and no sanctions either. After Trump said he would. 3. Trump back to putting pressure on Ukraine to accept

“It seems very possible that Obamaworld views Mr. Mamdani differently: not as a threat or a liability, but as a promising figure in a Democratic Party with a pressing need for fresh blood.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/o...

"Europe’s increased defense spending may please the US and enrich its defense industry, but it risks militarization without genuine autonomy, reinforcing transatlantic dependence rather than fostering European self-sufficiency." nationalinterest.org/feature/can-...

If Lukashenko truly does decline to run for another term, we should expect Putin to start maneuvering to ensure a pro-Kremlin leader takes his place—especially given Lukashenko's statement this his son Nikolai would not be a successor. newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/lukashe...

"More than a dozen House Democrats have now signed onto a letter urging the Trump administration to recognize a Palestinian state...The lawmakers pointed to French President Emmanuel Macron's recent pledge to recognize the State of Palestine at a UN meeting in September." bit.ly/47odn6r

New poll: People across the world say companies selling weapons, fuel, or heavy machinery to Israel should be held accountable for how those products are used in Gaza. palenergyembargo.com/news/press-p...

"Peace research is often grouped with conflict and security studies, and the balance between them is an old source of contention and debate. Yet, at the present moment, it is a real issue that there seems to be so much more of the latter and so relatively little of the former." bit.ly/45F1TKo

Toward potential realignment on transatlantic Russia policy? "Brussels and Washington appear to be moving in the same direction, plotting sanctions against Beijing and Delhi, respectively, over their persistent enabling of Moscow throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine." bit.ly/47fzKeb

As Andrea Kendall-Taylor and I highlighted in our new @cnas.bsky.social report on the Axis of Upheaval, intensifying Russian-Iranian partnership poses a major risk for the future of the nonproliferation regime. This @financialtimes.com coverage vividly illustrates this trend. on.ft.com/40PdzHT

"A Moldovan court jailed a pro-Kremlin regional leader on Tuesday for seven years for channelling money from Russia to finance a political party that Moldova says is a front for Russian meddling." www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Thanks to Andreas Kluth from @opinion.bloomberg.com for covering my new @cnas.bsky.social ky.social report with Andrea Kendall-Taylor on the Axis of Upheaval: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

"Russia’s Presidential Directorate for Public Projects quickly circulated a short set of talking points for state-run and pro-government media and bloggers. The document instructs them to frame the U.S.-E.U. deal as 'questionable for Europe' — or even 'a defeat for the E.U.'" bit.ly/45aoIEr

"When predicting which country would be the next to join the European Union, the smart money seems to be on Montenegro...But the right answer may actually be Iceland." www.rferl.org/a/wider-euro...

In a new @cnas.bsky.social report, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and I assess the intensifying military cooperation among the Axis of Upheaval: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. We argue that cooperation will likely continue deepening and highlight the associated risks for the U.S. and its allies. (1/8)

Good piece from @alanderminna.bsky.social for @financialtimes.com: "It is not smart to spend a lot if you can spend less. Trying to meet a goal sum rather than capability targets creates incentives to pay a lot instead of focusing on outcomes." on.ft.com/3H6YUB5

Establishing a reputation for being a pushover, unwilling to bear costs in order to promote one’s interests, is also a threat to our physical security in a dangerous world. I suspect some citizens also intuitively understand this.

Sometimes one must swallow the bitterest of pills… but what if the relief is only momentary or non-existent at all? #Dealofthecentury ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

I think European leaders - both national and in the EU - are underestimating what it will do to their publics to be humilated by Trump. Like the NATO summit and Rutte's 'Daddy' strategy, mabye the outcome could have been worse. But losing pride and being humilated is also a price that is paid.

Politico Playbook named this new Foreign Policy piece by @cipolicy.bsky.social’s @mattduss.bsky.social a “must-read.” “Biden’s Team Lied About Gaza. It’s Time to Hold Them Accountable.” foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/18/b...

From Marton Dunai via today's @financialtimes.com Europe Express newsletter: "North Macedonia is back on the EU accession track following a three-year hiatus, after long talks managed to absorb tough resistance from Bulgaria over cultural and historical differences." www.ft.com/content/ced1...

Defense budget is $1 trillion a year. With a T

America has maintained since Reagan that a nuclear war can never be won, and must never be fought. And every day America plans and invests and maintains the forces to fight and try to “win” a nuclear war.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202... "The idea that massive military spending is indispensable to preserve global security, regardless of its opportunity cost, merits more scrutiny."

ICYMI: @maxbergmann.bsky.social broke down the 2025 #NATO Summit, arguing that focusing on the 5% spending target distracts from the harder and more urgent task of reforming European defense efforts. Read the full commentary here⏬ www.csis.org/analysis/nat...

Someone please check on Mark Rutte to see if he's OK.

Interesting news for those who are tracking the trajectory of the Russian economy under Western sanctions. While an economic downturn seems apparent, Moscow is likely to reduce spending on domestic priorities to continue financing the war at a high level. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

If you understand French, I highly recommend listening to @pierrehaski.bsky.social's comment - short and an on-the-spot.

@adamtooze.bsky.social: "Europe doesn’t need more spending to transform its moribund armed forces — it needs more co-operation across borders" www.ft.com/content/f450...

Great piece from @jonatomic.bsky.social, @mattkorda.bsky.social, and @nukestrat.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

New entries in the @ecprtheloop.bsky.social @ecpr EU enlargement series 🔹 why EU enlargement is a necessity for the U.S. 🔹 the risks of wartime politicisation of enlargement or its ‘eternal waiting room' 🔹 the challenges of Ukraine’s accession theloop.ecpr.eu/tag/eu-enlar...

"Samuel Samson’s title is 'Senior Advisor for the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,' but he is not an experienced diplomat. In fact, he is a 2021 college graduate with no background in European affairs or foreign policy." www.vox.com/on-the-right...

"Russia wants to deploy 10,000 troops in the separatist Transnistria region on Ukraine’s border and aims to install a pro-Kremlin government in Moldova to do so, the country’s prime minister said." www.ft.com/content/c5a1...

"Putin is indeed an aggressor who needs to be deterred. A bad peace imposed on Ukraine could become a springboard for his next war. At the same time, however, even if Mr Putin is implacable, he is 72 years old. Now is the moment to influence what comes after him." www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

EU enlargement serves not only European interests but also those of the United States. As I argue in my new article for @ecprtheloop.bsky.social, expanding the EU strengthens peace in a vital region and enhances the bloc's capacity to act as Washington’s partner of first resort. bit.ly/43Xf9sZ

🧭 #EUEnlargementDilemmas No.17 ↔️ EU enlargement serves both European and US interests. 🕊️ It strengthens peace in the vital region and enhances the #EU's capacity to act as Washington’s partner of first resort amid mounting global challenges, argues @nlokker.bsky.social. 👉 ow.ly/JAjA50W382j

Welcome news from Poland, where exit polls show liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski ahead of his hard-right rival Karol Nawrocki. If the lead holds, a big win for centrism over populism

Great piece from @sophiabesch.bsky.social and @richardyoungs.bsky.social on the limitations of coalitions of the willing and the need for a new—institutionalized yet flexible—format for intra-European cooperation. bit.ly/3RSsqwg

It looks like the US is ready to give Putin all the Ukrainian territory he has illegally seized www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This shameful move underscores just how far U.S. policy on the Russia/Ukraine conflict has diverged from the rest of the West under the Trump administration. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

"International relations is not a single game, akin to a real estate transaction, but a repeated, iterative one, in which reputation, trust, and credibility must be earned and benefits balance out over time." Excellent analysis in this @carnegieendowment.org piece by Stewart Patrick:

Today, I provided some thoughts to the Polish Press Agency on the current state of U.S.-Russia diplomacy. As I noted, the Trump administration's apparent intention to pursue rapprochement with Moscow despite stalling negotiations around the Ukraine conflict strengthen the Kremlin's position.

I'm very excited to share my new article in the latest issue of The Washington Quarterly, "A US Strategy for Advancing EU Enlargement." @twqgw.bsky.social