Why Europe Needs a Security Council

The end of any hope for liberal convergence; the tougher tone in international affairs; the United States’ focus on competition with China, and also with Russia; Donald Trump’s ruthlessness toward Europeans; and not least Brexit—all these developments have shaken Europe’s decades-old “business model.”

Europeans increasingly realize that to leave defense and strategic leadership largely to the U.S. and to focus mainly on domestic affairs isn’t going to work anymore—with a U.S. president who often refuses to define U.S. interests in a broad sense, one that includes the interests of allies and partners.