Europe

France’s vow to battle Islamist militants in Mali “as long as necessary” risks plunging the former colonial power into a prolonged campaign, according to diplomats and experts.

Read the full Globe and Mail article here

It took France the better part of a year to craft a UN-backed plan for dealing with the Islamist takeover of northern Mali that would avoid a French military intervention. Yet itonly took only a few hours to turn that project on its head.

Read the full BBC article here

History may be about to play a nasty trick on the Obama administration. The diplomatic renaissance in the U.S. seems to be coinciding with a worrying decline in interest in diplomacy among other powers.

Read the full World Politics Review article here 

Most Europeans are relieved at the re-election of Barack Obama. But in his second term he will face greater pressure to cut costs and will likely continue the US "pivot" to Asia. Though transatlantic security cooperation will continue, Europe now needs to grow up and focus on managing the crises in its own backyard.

Read the full European Council on Foreign Relations Policy Memo here