November will mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the stunning collapse of communism and the USSR without a shot fired. If you’ve forgotten what it looked like, I encourage you to watch the videos to be reminded of the euphoria in both East and West, and re-read Francis Fukiyama’s The End of History for its expectation that the world would evermore be on a path of peace, personal liberty and economic freedom. It didn’t work out quite that way; Europe has more than its share of struggles in 2014. This issue of inFOCUS is devoted to “Europe Whole and Free?” With the Russian capture of Crimea and parts of Georgia, it is no longer whole, and freedom is taking somewhat of a beating as well.
Fiamma Nirenstein sets the table with a 25-year look at Europe from the Continent. Stephen Bryen takes a 25-year look at NATO, while James Kirchick focuses on a response to Ukraine. Benjamin Weinthal and Mitchell Bard consider the rise of anti-Semitism from different angles, and Michael Ledeen writes about Italy as the exception to the trend. Salim Furth, Soeren Kern, and Gal Luft take on economics, internal politics and energy policy respectively. Shoshana Bryen reviews The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan to place our last Cold War president in perspective.
Don’t miss our interview with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, the man who establishes Congress’s priorities for consideration of key political and security concerns. From ISIS to Ukraine to NATO to defense spending to Russia to Israel to Turkey, Chairman Royce is an articulate spokesman for strong relationships, particularly with Israel, and strong NATO capabilities in an unsettled world.
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Sincerely,
Matthew Brooks, Executive Director
