A. Wess Mitchell

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Wess Mitchell
A. Wess Mitchell official photo.jpg
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
In office
October 12, 2017 –February 15, 2019

Aaron Wess Mitchell (born April 1, 1977) is an American foreign policy expert and former diplomat who was the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from October 2017 until February 2019. Prior to assuming the role at State Department, he was president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis. On July 19, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Mitchell as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. [1]

Contents

He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in September 2017. On January 22, 2019, it was announced Mitchell would resign from his post in February. [2]

Early life

Aaron Wess Mitchell is a sixth generation Texan who was born in Lubbock, Texas in 1977. He received his B.A. in history from Texas Tech University. He received his M.A. in German and European studies from the BMW Center for German and European Studies at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. While studying there, he was awarded the 2004 Hopper Award. He received his DPhil in Political Science from the Otto-Suhr-Institut für Politikwissenschaft from the Freie Universität Berlin. [3] [4]

Career

Mitchell co-founded the Center for European Policy Analysis [5] in Washington D.C., in 2005 at the age of twenty-eight. CEPA is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research institute that studies Central and Eastern Europe. [6] Before co-founding CEPA, Mitchell was a research associate at the National Center for Policy Analysis. At CEPA, the bulk of Mitchell's reports and articles advanced the argument that the United States should increase its diplomatic and military engagement with allies in Central and Eastern Europe and East Asia that could otherwise fall under Russian or Chinese influence. [7] [8] [9]

Mitchell was among the earliest proponents of placing U.S. and NATO military personnel in Poland and the Baltic States in the aftermath of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. [10] He was a critic of the Obama Administration's U.S.-Russia Reset. [11] In November 2008, he wrote that "Moscow could precipitate a major crisis in Ukraine within [the Obama administration’s] first two years in office." [10]

In 2009, he wrote: "Signs of [U.S.] retreat... discourag[e] regional democrats and embolden Moscow to push its luck elsewhere, particularly in Ukraine." [11] Mitchell was an early proponent of using deterrence-by-denial to defend vulnerable U.S. allies like Estonia or Taiwan from Russian or Chinese attack. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Where deterrence-by-punishment seeks to dissuade aggression by threatening retaliation against the attacker, deterrence-by-denial seeks to dissuade aggression by making the object of attack itself more resistant to attack. [12] In 2012, Mitchell was an adviser to the national security transition team for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. [3]

As Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Mitchell was responsible for diplomatic relations with the 50 countries of Europe and Eurasia, as well as the institutions of NATO, the EU, and OSCE. He was seen as an advocate for providing military assistance to Ukraine and Georgia, [18] [19] and for stepping up U.S. efforts to counter Russia and China. [20] [21] In a August 2018 testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Mitchell stated:

"Russia and China are serious competitors that are building up the material and ideological wherewithal to contest U.S. primacy and leadership in the 21st Century. It continues to be among the foremost national security interests of the United States to prevent the domination of the Eurasian landmass by hostile powers." [22] [21] [23] [24]

Mitchell was seen as an architect of State Department efforts to increase U.S. engagement with states in East-Central Europe, the Caucasus, and Western Balkans as a means of countering Russian and Chinese geopolitical influence. [18] [25] [24] [21] Mitchell was also seen as a driver of greater U.S. involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean, including through the deepening of U.S. ties with Greece, Cyprus and Israel. [26] [27] [28] [29] [24]

He played a role in the resolution of the Greece-North Macedonia name dispute that created the possibility for North Macedonia to join NATO. [30] [31] [32]

Post-Trump administration

In a January 4, 2019 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Mitchell stated personal and professional reasons for his decision to resign from his post. In an interview, he said he had not taken this decision in a protest at the Trump administration's policies. Mitchell's resignation, which became publicly known on January 22, became effective in February 2019. [2]

Mitchell currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Center for European Policy Analysis, as Senior Advisor at the Office of Strategic Stability and Security at the United States Institute of Peace, as a Non-Resident Fellow in the Applied History Project at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and as a member of the international advisory board for Cambridge University's Centre for Geopolitics. [33] [34] [35] [36]

He previously served as a Chair of the Europe Group for the John Hay Initiative, and as a member of the advisory councils of the Richard G. Lugar Institute for Diplomacy and Congress, the Slovak Atlantic Commission, the Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations, the Atlantic Initiative, and the Alexander Hamilton Society. [3]

Mitchell is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. [37] On March 31, 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appointed Mitchell co-chair of NATO's high-level Reflection Group, a commission of senior experts tasked with providing recommendations to the Secretary General for strengthening the political cohesion and decision-making of the Alliance. [38] The Reflection Group submitted the final report to the Secretary General on November 25, 2020. [39]

The Marathon Initiative

In 2019, Mitchell co-founded with Elbridge Colby The Marathon Initiative, a 501c3 think-tank that studies great-power competition. [40] Mitchell’s work at The Marathon Initiative focuses on the intersection of history, diplomacy and strategy; his writing has used the experiences of historical empires, including Byzantium, Venice, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the British Empire, to understand the problem of two-front war in strategy, as a way of examining America’s strategic options for dealing with Russia and China. [41] [42]

Authorship

Mitchell is the author of three books, The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire (Princeton University Press, 2018), The Unquiet Frontier: Vulnerable Allies, Rising Rivals and the Crisis of American Power with Jakub J. Grygiel (Princeton University Press, 2016) and The Godfather Doctrine: A Foreign Policy Parable with John Hulsman (Princeton University Press, 2009).

In his historical writing, Mitchell has focused mainly on the Habsburg Empire. [43] In his 2018 book The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire, Mitchell argued that Austria successfully managed over-extended frontiers against numerous stronger rivals by employing strategies of time-management that allowed it to sequence military contests and avoid contests of strength beyond its ability to bear. [44] An article in The Wall Street Journal about the Habsburg Empire that Mitchell co-authored with Purdue University historian Charles Ingrao received the Stanton Prize for using applied history to illuminate contemporary challenges. [45]

Mitchell and Grygiel's 2016 book Unquiet Frontier has been cited as having had a significant influence on National Security Advisor General H.R. McMaster's formulation of the 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy and the shift of emphasis in U.S. foreign policy to great-power competition. [46] [47] [48] [49] The book argues that rising and revisionist powers, Russia and China, are "probing" the periphery of the U.S.-led international order by placing pressure on U.S. allies, and that the United States should strengthen its alliances as a way of achieving strategic stability.

Personal life

He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children. He speaks German.

Publications

Honors

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References

  1. ↑ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". The White House. July 19, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 Morello, Carol (January 22, 2019). "Top diplomat for European affairs resigns from State Department". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Bewig, Matt; Wallechinsky, David (August 15, 2017). "Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs: Who Is A. Wess Mitchell?". AllGov. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "A. Wess Mitchell". CEPA. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  5. ↑ "Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)" . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ↑ ""Our Issues" Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)" . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "America Needs Its Frontline Allies Now More Than Ever". The Wall Street Journal. July 4, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  8. ↑ "A Way to Stave Off 'American Decline'". RealClear World. March 22, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ "The Vulnerability of Peripheries". The American Interest. March 1, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Memo to Obama: a Europe policy 3.0". openDemocracy. 11 November 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  11. 1 2 "The Perils of Losing Mitteleuropa". openDemocracy. September 22, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "The Case for Deterrence by Denial". The American Interest. August 12, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  13. ↑ "A Bold New Baltic Strategy for NATO". The National Interest. January 6, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Limited War Is Back". The National Interest. August 28, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. ↑ "State of (Deterrence by) Denial" (PDF). The Washington Quarterly. Summer 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  16. ↑ "FRIENDLY FORCE DILEMMAS IN EUROPE: CHALLENGES WITHIN AND AMONG INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. ARMY" (PDF). United States Army War College Press. May 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Smash Bullies Interpreting the "why" behind our Commandant's Force Design Report" (PDF). Ideas & Issues (Force Design). June 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. 1 2 "Winning the Competition for Influence in Central and Eastern Europe: US Assistant Secretary of State A. Wess Mitchell". Atlantic Council. October 18, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Statement of A. Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs" (PDF). Senate Foreign Relations Committee. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Trump Is No 'Isolationist'". The Wall Street Journal. October 22, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  21. 1 2 3 "Statement of A. Wess Mitchell" (PDF). Senate Foreign Relations Committee. August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Remarks by Assistant Secretary Mitchell: Anchoring the Western Alliance". U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  23. ↑ "With Wess Mitchell's Resignation, the State Department is Losing a Committed Atlanticist". Atlantic Council. January 22, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  24. 1 2 3 "Hearing: U.S. Policy in Europe" (PDF). Senate Foreign Relations Committee. June 26, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Weathering Threats to Central Europe". VOA. July 9, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  26. ↑ "East Med partnership in US interest". ekathimerini. May 5, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Wess Mitchell sends clear message to Turkey over Cyprus". ekathimerini. December 21, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Mitchell: US works to strengthen security and energy cooperation with Cyprus". The Greek Observer. 27 Jun 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Wess Mitchell: The US support Greece as a pillar of stability in SE Mediterranean and the Balkans". The Greek Observer. 6 Jun 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Diplomacy triumphs: Greece and Macedonia resolve name dispute". Brookings Institution. June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  31. ↑ "What's in a Name? For Macedonia, the Key to Peace and Security". The New York Times. March 20, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  32. ↑ "US Foreign Policy Toward North Macedonia". Center for European Policy Analysis. February 2, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Dr. A. Wess Mitchell Rejoins CEPA Board". Center for European Policy Analysis. 22 April 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  34. ↑ "USIP Welcomes A. Wess Mitchell as Senior Advisor". United States Institute of Peace. April 18, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Wess Mitchell Named Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center". Harvard Kennedy School. September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  36. ↑ "International Advisory Board". University of Cambridge. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Council on Foreign Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  38. ↑ "Secretary General appoints group as part of NATO reflection process". NATO. March 31, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  39. ↑ "NATO 2030: United for a New Era" (PDF). NATO. November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Wess Mitchell". The Marathon Initiative. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  41. ↑ Mitchell, A. Wess (22 August 2021). "A Strategy for Avoiding Two-Front War". The National Interest. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  42. ↑ A. Wess Mitchell. "Strategic Sequencing : How Great Powers Avoid Multi-Front War" (PDF). Themarathoninitiative.org. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  43. ↑ "Defending Against the Old Chaos". The Russell Kirk Center. Jul 15, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  44. ↑ "The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire". Princeton University Press. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  45. 1 2 "Prize Winners". Stanton Foundation. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  46. ↑ "The New Concept Everyone in Washington Is Talking About". The Atlantic. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  47. ↑ "The World According to H.R. McMaster". The Atlantic. January 9, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  48. ↑ "Harbingers of Future War: Implications for the Army with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster". CSIS. May 4, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  49. ↑ "Probing for Weakness". The Wall Street Journal. March 23, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  50. ↑ "Presentation of the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland to Wess Mitchell". Embassy of the Republic of Poland. 28 May 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  51. ↑ "Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó presented the Middle Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit to @cepa founder and former Assistant Secretary of State @wess_mitchell for his outstanding contribution to Hungarian-US relations". Twitter.com. @rajmundfekete. April 4, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  52. ↑ "Lajčák Starts Working Visit to the USA". The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington. April 3, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  53. ↑ "The Honorable A. Wess Mitchell" (PDF). United States Government. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  54. ↑ "Most Distinguished 2018". Texas Tech University. 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
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