CFR's James M. Lindsay remembers Adolf Hitler's announcement in 1935 that he would reintroduce conscription in Germany, and discusses instances when a country should be confronted rather than accommodated.

Foreign Policy's David Rothkopf debates whether Obama's cool diplomatic demeanor is an impediment or an asset.

Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran top the agenda during British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Washington this week. CFR's Charles Kupchan notes an alignment of views on those issues but growing concern over London's aloofness from Europe.

Anti-Germany protests in Athens have highlighted the country's complicated role as de facto leader of Europe while raising concerns about the continent's ability to advance difficult solutions to the sovereign debt crisis.

Talk among major economies is intensifying over a "financial firewall" to contain the eurozone crisis. But CFR's Steven Dunaway says the emphasis should be on pressing debt-saddled states to make reforms that will improve their growth prospects.

Armand-Jean du Plessis, better known to history as Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642), spent most of his career contending for and then exercising control over a deeply divided, indebted, and dysfunctional superpower.

A mapping of the twenty-first-century world that provides a detailed strategy for reconciling the West with the "rise of the rest."

Political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos are focused on the ongoing eurozone sovereign debt crisis, with some cautioning that Germany is not doing enough to resolve the crisis and facilitate growth.

The ECB and EFSF could do what the ECB alone cannot, writes George Soros.

Intelligent observers of Europe in the 1930s thought its future belonged to communism or fascism and would have ridiculed the notion that decades later the entire continent would be democratic.

Italy's budget may matter more than ineffectual Franco-German summitry, but the new agreement between France and Germany on reforming EU rules remains a reckless distraction, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

Elliott Abrams discusses the recent attacks on the British Embassy in Iran and says the United States and its allies must to use this opportunity get behind President Sarkozy's proposal to sanction Iran's central bank and stop its oil exports.

Sebastian Mallaby explains why Germany should pay more to keep the eurozone intact.

Michael Spence says Italy can be saved only if both it and the European Union commit boldly and unconditionally to aggressive action on stabilization and reform.

New Prime Minister Mario Monti faces the daunting task of reining in Italy's high public debt. Analysts say he will have to tackle fiscal irresponsibility to rebuild market confidence and prevent the eurozone's third largest economy from defaulting.

Despite a pledge by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign, Italy faces pressure to address its sovereign debt burden by quickly implementing austerity measures or risk a new magnitude of eurozone contagion.

Jonathan Steinberg, professor of modern European History at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses his book, Bismark: A Life.

This meeting is part of a series hosted with the National History Center featuring prominent historians who will examine the events and times that shaped foreign policy as we know it today.

Jonathan Steinberg, professor of Modern European History at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses his book, Bismark: A Life.

This meeting is part of a series hosted with the National History Center featuring prominent historians who will examine the events and times that shaped foreign policy as we know it today.

G20 finance ministers are pressing their EU counterparts to provide a comprehensive plan for stabilizing the eurozone and easing fears of contagion. They have signaled that, for now, the onus is on Europe to fix its debt problems.

China is hardly the first great power to make authoritarian development look attractive. As Jonathan Steinberg's new biography of Bismarck shows, Wilhelmine Germany did it with ease.