A Moment of Opportunity

How Russia’s War Impacts U.S. Influence in Europe, Limes Online, February 24, 2023 [paid access]. "One of the many unintended side-effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine has been the sudden revival of the U.S.’s influence in Europe – or at least in NATO. Yet again, as it has done so many times in the past, the European members of NATO have been reminded that the threats to European security are real and cannot be met without the leadership and assistance of the United States. But the U.S. recovery of its influence risks being a waning asset, because of the strains posed by the war, because of the decline it implies in Russia’s influence, and because the U.S. ultimately faces a greater challenge from China, a challenge to which Europe is only beginning to awake."

Global Economic Freedom Agenda

2015 Global Agenda for Economic Freedom, section on "Europe," with other Heritage authors, Heritage Foundation Special Report #160, August 26, 2015. "The promotion of economic freedom at home and abroad is essential not only for a genuine and sustained revitalization of the U.S. economy, but also to strengthen U.S. national security. In 2010, the United States fell from the highest category of economically free countries in the Index of Economic Freedom and has been stuck in the ranks of the “mostly free,” second-tier economic freedom category ever since. The message for the U.S. in the 2015 edition of the Index is simple: to avoid further decline Americans must press for more economic freedom at home and abroad. This Heritage Foundation Special Report describes in detail concrete plans to promote global economic freedom. It describes many actions that nations around the world need to take, and offers Washington a blueprint for a practical and effective global strategy. American leadership can be decisive in promoting property rights and anti-corruption measures in other countries. In addition, the report urges the U.S. government to pursue more vigorously agreements with partner countries around the world that reduce barriers to trade and investment, as opposed to any that might only create additional regulatory hurdles to doing business. It also stresses the importance for all governments (including in the U.S.) to promote opportunity for all and to identify and reduce support for state-owned enterprises that are breeding grounds for cronyism and favoritism. This global agenda can and should be implemented—starting today."

Confirmation Hearings and US Policy Towards Europe

Hagel, Kerry, and Brennan Senate Confirmation Hearings: U.S. Policy on Europe, Heritage Foundation Issue Brief #3820, with Nile Gardiner and Luke Coffey, January 9, 2013. "The Senate confirmation process allows the American public an opportunity to learn more about these candidates, what they believe, and how they see America’s role in a dangerous world. The American people deserve clear answers from President Obama’s nominees and a clear-cut commitment from them that they will advance U.S. interests on the world stage and defend America’s national security needs."

Economic Freedom Means More Than Austerity

In Europe, Reducing Spending Necessary, But Not Sufficient, To Restore Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation Foundry, January 17, 2012. "If the 2012 edition of Heritage’s Index of Economic Freedom has bad news for the United States, the news for Europe is not much better. The 43 nations of the European region did manage to lose less economic freedom than did the United States, but a decline is still a decline. And the European decline was broad-based: Only nine countries made gains, and every one of the top 10 declined—in some cases, dramatically. The underlying driver of the declines in many cases will come as no surprise: higher levels of government spending."

American Geographic and Electoral Mobility

Americans Move, But Will the Result Change?, Centre for Policy Studies, December 8, 2011. "The political effects of this shift are equally stark: in 2012, the Republicans will gain a net total of six electoral votes, if the states vote as they did in 2008. Of course it is unlikely that the state votes will remain unchanged, but the fact remains that President Obama will have to run harder in 2012 just to stay in place. The long-run trends of American geographical mobility are telling, slowly, against him."

The U.S. on Britain in Europe

A Policy That Pleases No One, Contentions, January 28, 2011. "In a private meeting with British MEPs on Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Britain Louis Susman is reported to have said: “Washington wants a clearer British commitment to remain in the EU. … [A]ll key issues must run through Europe.” He was not expressing a personal preference. He was reiterating the administration’s policy. After all, it was the vice president who last May described Brussels as “the capital of the free world.” But this is not a policy that is likely to achieve results satisfactory to anyone."

The EU and the Tapas Bar

Defense of the EU Lacks Substance, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 14, 2010. "In the latest issue of the Economist, a correspondent – Dewi Williams, a senior lecturer in European law at Staffordshire University – writes in to complain about the unfairness of the British dislike of the European Union. Williams argues that the reason why the EU is unpopular in Britain is because the EU hasn’t done enough to promote itself, and the benefits of EU membership."

What the Euro Crisis Means for State Legitimacy

The Euro and Euro-Legitimacy, Contentions, May 28, 2010. "Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in the Telegraph and Francis Cianfrocca in the New Ledger have must-read analyses of the Euro crisis. Evans-Pritchard’s essay resists easy summary, but it makes the broad and depressing point that, in Europe, the left has offered a more persuasive analysis of the crisis than the center-right."

If At First You Don't Succeed, Vote, Vote Again

Vote Until You Get It Right: Ireland and the E.U., Redux, New Ledger, October 1, 2009. "The European Union Constitution, now gussied up as the Lisbon Treaty, is a remarkable document. Napoleon famously remarked that constitutions should be short and obscure. On that count, the Constitution scores one out of two: it is not short, but it is definitely obscure. What Napoleon curiously failed to appreciate was that length, if carried on for long enough, has an obscurity all its own. At 246 pages in its original form, and a svelte 248 pages as the Lisbon Treaty, the Constitution achieves a comprehensive triumph over comprehensibility."

Follow the Money

Who Funds European NGOs?, Heritage Foundation Foundry, September 8, 2009. "The answer is simple: the EU does. The TaxPayers’ Alliance, a British group that is genuinely independent of government, points to two recent EU missives that by coincidence arrived in the same package. The first, from the European Economic and Social Committee, was a report on “The external dimension of the EU’s energy policy.” Among much else – such as, no surprise, a greater role for the EU – it recommends “that the social partners as well as environmental organizations and other civil society representatives should be heard and actively involved in defining the external energy strategy. Their capacities to support international dialogue and negotiations should be fully exploited.” All of that is a long-winded way of saying that the EU should use like-minded European NGOs to advance its energy aims at home and abroad, including hectoring the U.S. to sign on to climate change treaties."

US-UK Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty

The U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty Merits Early Consideration, Heritage Foundation WebMemo #2542, July 13, 2009. "The U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty will permit the U.S. to trade most defense articles with Great Britain without an export license or other written authorization."

Why I'm Cynical About Big Government

G8: Summits, Cynicism, and the Activist State, New Ledger, July 10, 2009. "The Group of Eight summit that closes on Friday is being hosted by Italy in L’Aquila. The summit was to have been held in La Maddalena, on Sardinia, but the venue was shifted after an earthquake hit L’Aquila in April as a “show of solidarity” with the victims. The move sums up the politics of gesture that these all too frequent summits embody. This one comes only two months after the G-20 meeting in London, and two months before the next G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, which will be the third such assembly in a year. One summit is an adventure; two are routine. After that, it’s publicity by hyperactivity, and activity as a substitute for achievement."

Financial Myopia from Finland

Why Europe Fears 'Tax Competition,' Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 29, 2009. "Back in April, after the G20 Summit, we at Heritage warned that the Summit’s attack on tax havens was, at best, an irrelevancy. At worst, it was “the start of a broader campaign to find new sources of money to tax and stigmatize as international wrongdoers states that, as an expression of their national sovereignty, have chosen to have lower taxes.” The idea that states that have lower taxes are committing a crime could not be more wrong. These states are using their political freedom to promote economic freedom. They are benefactors, not malefactors."

Bipartisan Support for Defense Trade Cooperation Treaties

Senatorial Backing for U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 23, 2009.

Britain, Europe, and Obama

An Especially Fraught Relationship as Obama Backs Europe's Federal Future, Yorkshire Post, June 15, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (More After)

Labour's Loss: Britain's New Conservative Moment, New Ledger, June 10, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (After)

The Labour Party and the EU Take a Beating in Britain's Elections, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 8, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (During)

Britain Polls, Brown Sinks, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 5, 2009.

UKIP, the Expenses Scandal, and the Elections

Two Surprises in Britain's Elections, Contentions, June 5, 2009.

On Britain's Elections (Before)

What To Watch As Britain Goes To The Polls, New Ledger, May 30, 2009.