Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Daniel B. Baer
Trump's Brain Drain Will Be Europe's Gain
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a conference at Sorbonne University in early May aimed at attracting U.S. scientists to France. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave him an assist, announcing a two-year, 500 million euro ($556 million) effort to support U.S. scientists moving to Europe.
Making Sense of Macron’s Hint at Troops in Ukraine
By signing up for our newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Making Sense of Macron's Hint at European Troops in Ukraine
NATO Russia Ukraine French President Emmanuel Macron surprised fellow European leaders this week with his suggestion that some European countries might send troops to Ukraine to prevent Russia from winning its war of aggression there. Taken at face value, Macron’s remarks—made at a newly created European Union-Ukraine summit in Paris—put him immediately at the more forward-leaning end of the spectrum of Western leaders.
Looming U.S. Budget Shutdown Has Geopolitical Costs
The basic geopolitical strategy puzzle faced by the United States today is how to manage the relative decline of U.S. economic and military power, while maintaining U.S. leadership and influence to protect the country’s security and prosperity. After a long era of unquestioned global primacy, the United States needs to figure out how to continue to lead with fewer of the tools of hegemony than it once had at its disposal.
Biden addresses a world skeptical of, yet desperately needing, US leadership Original
President Joe Biden will address world leaders at the United Nations today. Although few in Topeka, Tulsa, or Tampa will pay much attention to the content of his words, the assembled crowd of presidents and prime ministers will be listening closely. Much of the world is at once skeptical of and desperate for American leadership.
Russia's neighbors are taking note of Putin's sudden weakness.
The World The Wagner rebellion will have reverberations outside Russia. The New York Times called it Russia’s “36-hour rebellion,” as if the weekend’s shattering events could be confined to a day and a half. Even if Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his group’s march on Moscow and has apparently begun his exile in Belarus, the continuing aftershocks of the mutiny that came within 125 miles of Russia’s virtually defenseless capital cannot be separated from the crisis itself.
On Russia's Periphery, Neighbors Take Note of Putin's Sudden Weakness
In Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Wagner rebellion has exposed Russia’s fragility. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive at the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Oct. 14, 2022. Dmitry Azarov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images The New York Times called it Russia’s “36-hour rebellion,” as if the weekend’s shattering events could be confined to a day and a half.
Democracies Must Empower a Biotech Future for All
Editor’s Note: Although the science of biotechnology is moving forward at breakneck speed, regulation, diplomatic agreements, and other forms of control remain limited at best. Stanford University’s Megan Palmer, Georgetown’s Andrew Imbrie and Anna Puglisi, and Daniel Baer, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discuss the awesome potential for good that biotech represents but also the many potential dangers.
Democracies Must Empower a Biotech Future for All
Published by The Lawfare Institute in Cooperation With Editor’s Note: Although the science of biotechnology is moving forward at breakneck speed, regulation, diplomatic agreements, and other forms of control remain limited at best. Stanford University’s Megan Palmer, Georgetown’s Andrew Imbrie and Anna Puglisi, and Daniel Baer, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discuss the awesome potential for good that biotech represents but also the many potential dangers.
Weakened by Ukraine, Russia Faces a Power Vacuum on Its Periphery
We don’t know how exactly this war will end, but we do know that Russia will not win. Even if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strained mobilization of hundreds of thousands of inexperienced new troops leads to some tactical wins, his invasion of Ukraine is already a strategic loss. Russia is weakened economically, politically, and militarily. Putin has ensured a painful winter in Europe but hastened Europe’s energy diversification and transition.
How Ukraine Can Undercut Putin's Food and Grain Export Blockade
In a few short weeks, the summer harvest in Ukraine will be in full swing. Despite Russia’s war, scorched-earth strategy, and destructive occupation of Ukraine, as much as 70 percent of Ukraine’s grain-planting . As the war rages on, military and economic support for Ukraine remains essential.
Perspective | Biden may be outplaying Putin in one critical way
The situation on the Russia-Ukraine border remains dire: Those with access to the best intelligence continue to warn that a new attack on Ukraine by Russia remains likely and could happen at any time. Yet the tenor of Moscow’s rhetoric has shifted. Instead of ultimatums threatening to take “military-technical” measures, the Russians, including President Vladimir Putin, have accused the United States of being alarmist about the prospect of an invasion.
Why the Chess Metaphor for Putin Is Wrong Original
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision in late 2021 to amass more than 100,000 soldiers on the Russian border with Ukraine and then to send thousands more into Belarus last month—ostensibly for exercises—has seized the West’s, if not the world’s, attention.
Privacy Is Power
In 1992, a group of pioneering policymakers and technologists gathered at an international conference to chart the course of a distributed computing network. The arrival of digital platforms that would enable the near-instantaneous sharing of information by millions of people and institutions globally was just around the corner. The technology seemed poised to change the world, these visionaries understood, yet the direction of change was far from certain.
What Biden Can Learn From Hillary Clinton's 2011 LGBT Rights Speech
Ten years ago this past week, my colleagues and I were hard at work with then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton debating, drafting, re-drafting, and refining a speech. On Dec. 6, 2011, in anticipation of International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, Clinton delivered that speech in front of a packed auditorium at the United Nations office in Geneva’s Palais des Nations.
No More Transatlantic Love Fest
Europe and the United States were never going to be the reunited couple in a geopolitical rom-com.
No More US-Europe Love Fest as Biden Heads to Climate Summit
To many watchers of trans-Atlantic politics, U.S. President Joe Biden’s successful European grand tour in June was a scene out of a geopolitical rom-com. Estranged for four years under the Trump administration, the two sides were like a reunited couple. Back together at last, they laid out a robust and forward-looking agenda for the U.S.-European Union partnership. Biden reassured jilted NATO allies that the United States was committed to the alliance’s next chapter.
French AUKUS Ire Over Submarines Should Not Prevent Future Cooperation
Argument An expert's point of view on a current event. The French are right to be upset—about the money, not the strategy. By Daniel Baer, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. French President Emmanuel Macron meets with a submarine crew at the official launch ceremony of a new French nuclear submarine in Cherbourg, France, on July 12, 2019. LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images September 17, 2021, 2:24 PM The Sept.
Hungary's Orban Lashing Out at Minorities Is a Dangerous Farce
Argument An expert's point of view on a current event. Lashing out at vulnerable minorities is the hallmark of a weak bully who fears losing power. By Daniel Baer, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban takes part in a press conference at the Visegrad Summit in Lublin, Poland, on Sept. 11, 2020. Omar Marques/Getty Images July 13, 2021, 12:41 PM Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban started his career as a democrat.
In Historic Shift, Biden Aligns NATO, U.S. Allies on China
Argument An expert's point of view on a current event. But can he get them to act, too? By Daniel Baer, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. U.S. President Joe Biden holds a post-summit press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on June 14. OLIVIER HOSLET/POOL/AFP via Getty Images June 22, 2021, 2:03 PM U.S. President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe last week was rightly heralded as a success.
Here's How Biden Can Wage Political Warfare Against Putin
Now that Biden has stared Vladimir Putin in the eye, it’s time for his administration to deal with the ongoing challenge Russia presents to our democratic order. How? Three words: Quiet political warfare. Vladimir Putin is weak. Russians are getting tired of him, the economy is terrible, living standards are declining, inflation has set in, wages are stagnant—this is all serious danger territory for Russian autocrats.
How We’ll Know If the Biden-Putin Summit Was a Success
The Biden administration set the bar so low for the president’s Geneva summit with Vladimir Putin that it was pretty much foreordained to be a “success.” Pre-summit backgrounding by an unnamed U.S. senior official indicated that “we’re not expecting a big set of deliverables out of this meeting.” The basic point of the meeting appeared to be branding, or what has been dubbed “station identification.” There would be no Obama-like effort to “reset” the relationship, nor a Trump-like slavish...
Five Ways Biden Can Get the Most from His Meeting with Putin
Joe Biden’s tough-sounding talk during his campaign and his rhetoric and actions in the first three months of his administration didn’t give any indication that he was eager to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yet that’s exactly what he will do on June 16 in Geneva. The purpose of the summit is unclear.
Five Surprising Things Biden Should Discuss During His European Trip
European leaders have heard it before—again and again and again: Every U.S. administration since that of Dwight Eisenhower has asked our NATO allies to pay for their own defense. And every administration has failed to persuade them. Now it’s Joe Biden’s turn. Over the next week, President Biden will meet with NATO leaders and attend the annual U.S.-EU summit (in addition to the G7 meeting and his planned summit with Vladimir Putin).
What Becomes of the Afghans?
After twenty years of fighting, the Taliban still controls about one-fifth of the territory of Afghanistan, and it’s likely stronger than at any point since 2001. Meanwhile, the Afghan government is still mired in corruption and its security forces have proven incapable of resisting the Taliban’s advances across the country. Afghanistan is the United States’ longest war—a significant proportion of the American military was born after the 9/11 attacks.
Keep One Eye on Xi and the Other on Putin
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kiev last week on the heels of his first G7 meeting in London. The trip demonstrated strong, high-level U.S. support for Ukraine, suggesting that the Biden administration takes seriously the threat posed by Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime. Such a message of resolve in Europe is especially welcome as the growing challenge from China tends to crowd out attention to other enduring geopolitical threats, including those coming from Moscow.
Engage Americans in Foreign Policy
The Biden administration's new mantra falls one step short.
Don’t Just Make Foreign Policy for Working Americans. Engage Them in It.
Argument The Biden administration’s new mantra falls one step short. This article is part of Foreign Policy’s ongoing coverage of U.S. President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, detailing key administration policies as they get drafted—and the people who will put them into practice. Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a welcome ceremony at the State Department in Washington on Jan. 27.
Biden Can Help Armenia and Azerbaijan Make Peace. Here’s How.
Four steps Washington can take to facilitate a lasting end to the conflict. https://foreignpolicy.com-By Daniel Baer Biden’s first 100 days This article is part of Foreign Policy’s ongoing coverage of U.S. President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, detailing key administration policies as they get drafted—and the people who will put them into practice.
Biden Can Help Armenia and Azerbaijan Make Peace. Here’s How.
The first 100 days are not even over, and the Biden administration’s national security and foreign-policy team has already dealt with major fires around the world—from the Saudi-backed war in Yemen to a military coup and brutal crackdown in Myanmar to calibrating the relationship with a bristling China. Late last year, a war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and although the bullets and bombs have stopped for now, the underlying conflict has not ended.
America Is Back. But Can Allies Ever Trust It Again?
Despite U.S. President Joe Biden’s long history as a supporter of liberal internationalism, Washington’s allies are deeply scarred by the last four years. Today, former President Donald Trump remains the second most likely person to be inaugurated as president on Jan. 20, 2025.
With Biden, America is Back. Europe, Are You There?
For four long years, I received countless emails and text messages from European diplomat friends distressed by the Trump administration’s reckless, ham-handed foreign policy. Last month, gratefully, those messages turned into expressions of relief and hope for the Biden administration.
The Trump State Department’s Swan Song? A Strange, Flawed China Paper.
The U.S. State Department’s new China strategy paper, released on Nov. 20, brings to mind an old line from British playwright Tom Stoppard: “It’s half as long as Das Kapital and only twice as funny.” The document is a slog.
America Under Biden Won’t Go Soft on China
Election 2020 Beijing may appreciate a less erratic U.S. administration. But it shouldn’t expect Biden to be more pliable. This article is part of Election 2020: America Votes, FP’s round-the-clock coverage of the U.S. election results as they come in, with short dispatches from correspondents and analysts around the world. The America Votes page is free for all readers.
Biden Plus a Republican Senate Will Make America a Difficult Partner
Election 2020 Biden’s ambitious domestic and international agenda will be stymied by a Senate the Democrats failed to win. This article is part of Election 2020: America Votes, FP’s round-the-clock coverage of the U.S. election results as they come in, with short dispatches from correspondents and analysts around the world. The America Votes page is free for all readers. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at Philadelphia City Hall on June 2.
Doug Jones: An unlikely senator, an example of integrity
Minutes after he learned that he had won his special election in December of 2017, Doug Jones took to the podium to celebrate his unlikely victory as Democrat in Alabama. Bon Jovi blared from loudspeakers for more than three minutes as the crowd cheered.
The Death Penalty Isolates America
Ending Capital Punishment Would Send a Clear Signal to the World On January 22, 2009, his second full day in office, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order prohibiting the use of torture by the U.S. government and revoking legal interpretations from President George W. Bush's administration that denied protections under international law to certain overseas detainees. Few Americans outside of national security policy circles took note of the executive order.
The Death Penalty Isolates America
On January 22, 2009, his second full day in office, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order prohibiting the use of torture by the U.S. government and revoking legal interpretations from President George W. Bush’s administration that denied protections under international law to certain overseas detainees. Few Americans outside of national security policy circles took note of the executive order.
Trump Has Gone AWOL on Belarus Election Fraud and Protests While Putin Decides What to Do With Lukashenko
Shadow Government The Belarusian people may yet achieve the end of the Lukashenko era, but it will be in spite of the United States’ silence. A woman holds a forbidden Belarusian flag during a protest rally in Minsk on Aug. 14. SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images During the Republican National Convention last week, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got a lot of attention for using public resources to travel to Israel to give a convention speech he could have delivered from his living room.
At the Democratic National Convention, Biden’s Party Rejects the Conventional Wisdom on How to Beat Trump
Shadow Government In speaking for all Americans—instead of just a section of them—Biden's team has rejected the conventional narrative about how to beat Trump in November. Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware on July 28.
Poland’s Slide Toward Homophobic Politics
Poland’s embattled president, Andrzej Duda, is campaigning hard to keep his job and his right-wing populist party’s grip on power. After winning only 43 percent of the vote in the first round of elections, he’s in a heated July 12 runoff with Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who hopes to pull off an upset and reverse Poland’s slide into populism.
How Trump could refuse to go
One hundred and forty four years ago, on August 1, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state in the Union. Less than 100 days later, voters across America went to the polls to choose the successor to Ulysses S. Grant in a contest between the Republican governor of Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes and the Democratic governor of New York, Samuel J. Tilden. Voter turnout was the highest in US history — a whopping 82% — but not in Colorado.
Can Higher Ed Survive the Pandemic?
Features Some colleges will close. Most will have less money. But here are six ideas for a strong future. By Daniel Baer from June 2, 2020, 5:35 pm – 17 MIN READ Tagged COVID-19Higher education MacMurray College, in Jacksonville, Illinois, which is closing after 174 years of operation. There is no question that higher education is going to be gutted by the coronavirus.
China and Its Role in the Coronavirus Pandemic Will Be a Major Issue in the 2020 Election
Shadow Government Whether it’s about trade or the coronavirus, it’s possible to be tough on China without being racist or reckless. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019.
Let the Referendum on Trump and Trumpism Begin
Shadow Government The November election isn’t just the most important political event of 2020 in the United States. It’s the most important political event in the world. Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 10, 2019. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Things always seem more inevitable after they’ve happened. Sen.
Viktor Orban's Shocking “Coronavirus Coup” in Hungary Was a Wake-Up Call
Voice While the world is shut down, history hasn’t stopped. Authoritarians are seizing the opportunity. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban delivers his state of the nation address in Budapest on Feb. 18, 2018. On Monday, the Hungarian parliament passed a coronavirus bill that gave Prime Minister Viktor Orban the power to rule by decree, with no end date, and established chilling new penalties on speech and on those who violate quarantine.
Mourning the Olympics and All the Celebrations We're Losing to the Coronavirus Pandemic
Voice Especially in times like these, it's OK to feel for everyone whose milestone events have been canceled or postponed. Allyson Felix of the United States wins gold in the women's 4 x 400 meter relay at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 20, 2016. (Photo Ian Walton/Getty Images Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s announcement on Tuesday that this summer’s Tokyo Olympics will be postponed for one year was not a surprise—it was inevitable.
Coronavirus Pandemic Exposes Recklessness of Trump’s “America First”
Argument The world needs to cooperate to beat the coronavirus pandemic. That includes you, President Trump. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Aug. 15, 2019. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images Last weekend, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had sought to entice a German company working on a coronavirus vaccine to move its research operations from Europe to the United States.
The Transcendentals
When I say that I do not believe free will has any reality other than our immediate experience of it, that is not to say that I do not think we experience degrees of freedom. I do believe that causal forces (physical environment, genetics, quality of life in utero, how we’re raised, how we’re schooled, etc.) do ultimately all weave together—however subtly and complexly—to determine the decisions we make; however, we definitely experience greater and lesser degrees of freedom.
Perspective | Is China for Trump in ’20? It might give him a thin trade deal to brag about.
President Trump announced by tweet this morning that “Phase One” of a trade deal with China had been “agreed to.” His news served as a good reminder: While Americans focus on early caucus or primary states and swing states, the most consequential evaluation of Donald Trump’s presidency might not be happening in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa or even Moscow.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Daniel B.
Contact Daniel B., search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack