Author Archive
Thomas Wright
Fellow at the Brookings Institution
Ideas
The Risk of John Kerry Following His Own China Policy
Any progress on climate change will be lost if the frame is one of a grand bargain with Beijing.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Fraught Politics Facing Biden’s Foreign Policy
His presidency may be the establishment’s last best chance to demonstrate that liberal internationalism is a superior strategy to populist nationalism.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Will Trumpism Change Republican Foreign Policy Permanently?
The president did not just challenge Republican orthodoxy. He also blew up its establishment.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Pompeo’s Surreal Speech on China
The secretary of state has some nerve to now claim that what is upside down is right side up.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Foreign Policy of 2021 Democrats
Joe Biden represents the so-called establishment’s last chance to reform U.S. foreign policy so it is better aligned with how Americans see the world.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
A Bigger Foreign-Policy Mess Than Anyone Predicted
In the 2010s, global affairs turned out far worse than the most pessimistic scenario foretold by U.S. intelligence experts.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Why Elizabeth Warren’s Foreign Policy Worries America’s Allies
Finding savings in the defense budget is possible, of course, but getting to 11 percent will require real cuts to capabilities.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Yes-Men Are Taking Over the Trump Administration
Trump is making foreign policy on the fly, seeking his personal advantage and undermining American power.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
A National-Security Problem Without Parallel in American Democracy
Democrats — candidates and lawmakers alike — should make it clear that they will impose consequences on any country that meddles with voting.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Bolton’s Departure Signals Trump’s Foreign-Policy Pivot
The president is turning away from conflict and toward diplomacy—and that will shape his choice of the next national security adviser.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Problem at the Core of Progressive Foreign Policy
Democratic presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have ambitious plans but seem unwilling to make the trade-offs they would require.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Trump Has Defected from the Free World
The president crossed an important line when he canceled a meeting with the Danish prime minister.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Trump’s Foreign-Policy Crisis Arrives
Competition between the U.S. and China may be inevitable, but if Trump and Xi mishandle the Hong Kong crisis, they could lose the ability to calibrate.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Buttigieg Splits From the Progressives on Foreign Policy
He articulated a values-based liberal internationalism, even as he sometimes struggled to fill in the details.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Moment the Transatlantic Charade Ended
At the Munich Security Conference, Europe and the Trump administration stopped pretending to respect each other.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
What Trump's UN Speech Says About What Comes Next
His General Assembly speech laid out his worldview—and offered some clues about what could lie ahead.
- Thomas Wright
Ideas
What’s Old Is New Again: It’s the Free World Vs. Neo-Authoritarians
The U.S. must abandon the notion of a liberal world order, and get to work deterring those who would bring down democracy.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Trump Is Choosing Eastern Europe
That is the subtext of the mini-crises sparked by his ambassador to Germany and of a recent speech by the assistant secretary of state for Europe.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic
Ideas
Trump Risks Trading Away the US-South Korean Alliance
Kim Jong Un is offering a deal at a price that could be way too high—and that the president could easily accept.
- Thomas Wright, The Atlantic