Brookings: Experts - Strobe Talbott

The Four Who Ended the Cold War

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Monday has become for many a celebration of Ronald Reagan’s starring role in the demise of the Evil Empire, writes Brookings President Strobe Talbott. But, he says, it was a group of four who ended the Cold War peacefully: Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin and the calm—and calming—"air traffic controller" George H.W. Bush.

U.S., Russia Must Lead on Arms Control

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ten years ago, the U.S. Senate rejected the comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT), setting back efforts to reduce the world's stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Brent Scowcroft, Joseph Nye, Nicholas Burns and Strobe Talbott offer the Obama administration their counsel on how to build support for a revised CTBT and a new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia.

Needed: Less Drift, More Mastery

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When President Barack Obama addresses foreign leaders at the UN General Assembly and the G-20 Summit later this week, it’s a safe prediction that no one will boo or shout insults at him, at least within the halls, says Strobe Talbott. The hearing he gets in New York and Pittsburgh will reflect the astronomical popularity and hopes for his success that Obama enjoys around the globe.

A Better Base for Cutting Nuclear Weapons

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

President Obama's decision to rethink and revamp the plan for Poland-based defenses against Iranian missiles was met with some criticism at home and in Eastern Europe for giving too much to Russia. However, argues Brookings President Strobe Talbott, the new strategy is a pragmatic step to counter Iran's real short-range missile threat, strengthens the transatlantic alliance, and better serves the goals of U.S.-Russian strategic arms reduction.

Counseling That Helps the Dying Live

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With the debate over end-of-life counseling clouding the health care reform discussion, some in Congress have abandoned support for the service. Strobe Talbott and his son Devin describe their family's experience this year, providing a vivid perspective on the value of both counseling and hospice care.

A Tough Message to India on Climate Change, Non-proliferation

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the first visit to India by a top Obama administration official, engaged her hosts on two major issues facing the world: nuclear non-proliferation and climate change. Brookings President Strobe Talbott writes that Indians, like many Americans, still need to be persuaded to see the urgency of prompt action on these two issues.

Dangerous Leviathans: Russia's Bad Philosophy

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Strobe Talbott says Russia's aggressive foreign policy over the last decade is ill-suited to today's interdependent, consensus-based world. While Russia's leaders seem to have adopted the philosophical tenets of Thomas Hobbes in their pursuit of an authoritarian state, Talbott says that the cooperative vision of statehood proposed by Immanuel Kant is a better model. "If Russia’s future is to be better than its past," argues Talbott, "then Kant will have to prevail over Hobbes."

A Russian "Reset Button" Based on Inclusion

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Vice President Joseph Biden made headlines by proclaiming the Obama administration’s intention to "press the reset button” in U.S.-Russian relations. While some world capitals are concerned that Russia is cracking down at home and throwing its weight around abroad, Strobe Talbott explains that the Russians have provided an opening for renewed diplomacy and that the United States and its partners should encourage them to integrate into a globalized world.

The Obama Administration Will Be Very Cautious on Foreign Policy

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In a Spiegel interview, US foreign policy expert Strobe Talbott discusses the daunting foreign policy challenges facing Obama, the next president's desire to turn Americans into global citizens and the prospects for reinvigorated trans-Atlantic relations.

Tackling the Crisis of Global Order

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Strobe Talbott and Thomas Pickering of the U.S. Advisory Group of the Managing Global Insecurity Project joined co-directors Carlos Pascual, Bruce Jones, and Stephen Stedman to assess several lessons of the current global financial crisis and resulting G20 summit. They argue that even though this is a trying time, it has brought about renewed prospects of broader cooperation, which is something the global community needs now more than ever.

The Presidential Transition

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After a long campaign, American voters will elect a new Congress and a new commander-in-chief. Brookings President Strobe Talbott discusses the agenda for the president-elect, and announces a new effort to re-examine the top challenges he’ll face in the wake of a historic campaign and an unprecedented global financial crisis.

America's Next President Must Master the Tyranny of the Urgent

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Climate change, nuclear proliferation, global trade and poverty, pandemics and terrorism will top the next president's agenda. The biggest job for the new U.S. administration, says Strobe Talbott, is to find better methods of governing an interdependent world. That is the only way to ensure the upside of globalization prevails over the downside.

7 Years to Climate Midnight

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Global warming—among the most complex economic, political and diplomatic challenges of our time—has become a central focus of the presidential campaign, with both candidates supporting the creation of a cap-and-trade system that would limit national emissions. Strobe Talbott and Carlos Pascual argue that the U.S. must take the lead now in facing the annual buildup in greenhouse gas emissions that threatens global catastrophe.

Global Turmoil: Pakistan, Russia, Georgia and Iran

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

How can the interconnection of Pakistan, Russia, Georgia and Iran affect the United States? Brookings President Strobe Talbott, Ted Koppell and Neal Conan discussed this question on NPR's Talk of the Nation.

Resurgent Russia Challenges U.S. Diplomacy

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The United States has found itself in a difficult position with the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Strobe Talbott talks with Scott Simon about U.S. relations in the region.

Russia's Ominous New Doctrine?

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Strobe Talbott asks whether Russian policy has changed with regard to the permanence of borders. Because of its "rampage" through Georgia, the next U.S. administration will have to reexamine the underlying basis for the whole idea of partnership with Russia and its continuing integration into a rule-based international community.

Why All Augurs Well for India-U.S. Relations

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The most dramatic American presidential election in many decades contains good news for U.S.-Indian relations, says Strobe Talbott. The next president will inherit a relationship that is on an upward trajectory, but to better meet the challenges both countries share, he should translate into concerted action all the talk in recent years about the world’s oldest and largest democracies being “natural allies” and “strategic partners.”

Global Challenges for the Next U.S. President

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:46:54 GMT

The next president of the United States will face significant domestic and international challenges. Brookings president Strobe Talbott, author of "The Great Experiment: The Story of Ancient Empires, Modern States, and the Quest for a Global Nation," explains that nuclear proliferation and climate change are two of the most critical issues the next administration will have to address.

The Great Experiment : The Story of Ancient Empires, Modern States, and The Quest for a Global Nation

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Offering an insider's view of how the world is governed today, Talbott interweaves through this epic tale personal insights and experiences and takes us with him behind the scenes and into the presence of world leaders as they square off or cut deals with each other.

The President and Foreign Policy

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In a discussion of his new book, The Great Experiment, Strobe Talbott addresses America's role on the world stage, how presidents conduct foreign policy and their impact on the global community. He also looks at challenges facing President Bush as he enters his final year in office and what might be in store for his successor.

Trouble Ahead for the Next U.S. President

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Strobe Talbott says the next president will face the most dangerous and complex challenges ever for a new administration, especially with nuclear proliferation and climate change. He or she will need to move quickly and dramatically to demonstrate that respect for international law, treaties and organizations is firmly reinstated as part of the bedrock of American foreign policy.

Building a Constructive U.S.-Russian Relationship

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Strobe Talbott testified before a congressional committee that in the contentious dialogue between the United States and Russia, where domestically popular Vladimir Putin continues to assert state power, we must get the tone and tactics right in a "long-term strategy of inducing Russia to accept the terms and standards of the international community." Talbott focused particularly on energy issues, arms control and Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Unilateralism: Anatomy of a Foreign Policy Disaster

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, International Herald Tribune (2/21/07)

Tackling Trade and Climate Change: Leadership on the Home Front of Foreign Policy

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

For the next President, effective leadership abroad will depend largely on marshalling bipartisan support for foreign policy at home. Combating terrorism, constricting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, reducing global poverty, promoting an efficient, equitable world trading system, and reversing the process of climate change are all issues that require far more effective diplomacy and skillful management of U.S. domestic politics.

How Bush Can Fix His Policy Failures

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, Financial Times (12/18/06)

Bush Foreign Policy: The Next Phase

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Speech by Strobe Talbott, Keynote Address to Stanley Foundation Conference (12/7/06)

Russia and the G8: Better Luck Next Year

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, The Financial Times (6/30/06)

Ideas, Policy, and Politics: The Role of Independent Research in Partisan Times

Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

From a speech at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia, March 28, 2006

The fact that one of our nation's Founding Fathers should also be the founder of this university is a good starting point for my remarks. Thomas Jefferson personified—perhaps even epitomized—the proposition that good governance is based on good ideas, and that good ideas are based on respect for facts, rigor in thinking, rationality in debate, and civility in discourse.

The Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Meenakshi Ahamed interviewed Strobe Talbott and Robert J. Einhorn for Seminar #560, "Building Partnerships," a symposium on India's changed relations with the United States.

Interview on the Situation in Iraq

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Strobe Talbott, JoongAng Ilbo (12/6/05)

Good Day for India, Bad Day for Non-Proliferation

Thu, 21 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Strobe Talbott, YaleGlobal (7/21/05)

To Russia, With Tough Love

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, New York Times (2/24/05)

Fighting World Poverty a Worthy Second-term Goal

Sun, 19 Dec 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, San Francisco Chronicle (12/19/04)

The Strains of Putin's Clampdown

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Strobe Talbott, Financial Times (9/27/04)

Jaswant Achieved More of His Objectives

Tue, 21 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Strobe Talbott, Rediff.com (9/21/04)

Too Few Americans Pay Attention to the World

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Strobe Talbott, The Straits Times (9/18/04)

"Reagan and Gorbachev": Shutting the Cold War Down

Sun, 01 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Book review by Strobe Talbott, New York Times (8/1/04).

Putin: Talk Like a Democrat, Walk Like an Autocrat

Wed, 12 May 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings President Strobe Talbott writes that Russia's success in coming years depends on whether Vladimir Putin is willing and able to bring his authoritarian walk in line with his democratic talk.

Georgian Leader Brought Down by Corruption, Chances of Success for New Leaders Seen as Uncertain

Mon, 24 Nov 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Strobe Talbott, President, the Brookings Institution, by Bernard Gwertzman, consulting editor of crf.org (11/24/03)

War in Iraq, Revolution in America

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Revised text of the sixth John Whitehead Lecture delivered by Strobe Talbott at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House (10/9/03)

The Axis of Irony

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 00:00:00 GMT

The Iraq crisis could have the ironic but salutary effect of reinvigorating the United Nations, revealing George W. Bush to be more of a multilateralist than the rest of the world thought (and feared), and establishing a welcome degree of continuity