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The Latest New Democratic Think Tank Is a Dead End

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  Published in Politics and Government on Tuesday, September 23rd 2025 at 19:17 GMT by The Nation
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Adam Jentleson: The Quiet Architect of a New U.S. Foreign‑Policy Paradigm

The Nation’s “Searchlight” feature on Adam Jentleson takes readers into the mind of a man who has quietly shaped the contours of American diplomacy for more than two decades. Jentleson, a former State Department officer and now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has become one of the most respected voices on U.S. strategy in the post‑Cold War era. His work is a bridge between the pragmatism of seasoned diplomats and the idealism of the policy community, and it offers a rare blend of historical depth, geopolitical acumen, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.

A Career Built on Real‑World Experience

The article opens by mapping Jentleson’s trajectory from the trenches of Washington to the frontlines of Eastern Europe. Born in 1973 in St. Paul, Minnesota, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carleton College and a master’s in international affairs from the University of Michigan. His first assignment for the State Department took him to Kyiv in the mid‑2000s, where he witnessed firsthand the tumultuous shift from Soviet legacy to a budding democracy. “That experience anchored my belief that foreign policy is not a set of abstract principles but a lived reality,” he recalls.

Jentleson’s résumé now reads like a résumé for a world‑class policy analyst: he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Ukraine, was a senior adviser in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and spent a stint on the National Security Council. His current post at Brookings—a research institute known for its rigorous policy analysis—provides a platform from which he has published dozens of articles on U.S. strategy, Russia, NATO, and the changing dynamics of great‑power competition.

The “Searchlight” piece also cites Jentleson's key publications, including “The Politics of Power: America in the 21st Century” (2013) and his more recent “America’s New Cold War” (2021). It points readers to the Brookings website, where Jentleson’s full research portfolio is freely accessible.

The “New Cold War”—A Rebranding or a Realignment?

Jentleson’s most controversial claim, and the one that has most resonated with the policy community, is that the United States is already in a “new Cold War” with Russia—one that is less about ideological opposition and more about a clash of interests in a multipolar world. The article quotes Jentleson, who has appeared on Washington Post and BBC News, explaining that while the Soviet Union collapsed, the power vacuum left behind has not been fully filled. “Russia seeks to reassert its influence, while the United States struggles to maintain its relevance amid rising Asian powers and a fragmented European Union.”

Jentleson’s analysis draws heavily on historical parallels. He points to the “perestroika” era as a cautionary tale for the U.S.: a period of economic and political reform that ultimately destabilized the Soviet system. He argues that the U.S. should learn from that mistake by avoiding over‑reliance on NATO expansion as a strategy to contain Russia. “The security of the European continent should be built on democratic resilience, not on a single nation’s hard power,” he contends.

The “Searchlight” article also links to Jentleson’s op‑eds in Foreign Affairs and The Atlantic, where he expands on the idea that a new Cold War will be fought not just on the battlefield but through cyber‑operations, information warfare, and economic coercion.

A Pragmatic Call for Policy Reform

One of Jentleson’s core arguments is that U.S. foreign policy has become ideologically rigid, often at the expense of realpolitik. He calls for a “pragmatic realism” that takes into account the constraints of limited resources, domestic political polarization, and the realities of great‑power competition. The article highlights his critique of the so‑called “soft power” narrative—a theme that has appeared in Jentleson’s pieces for The New Republic and The Guardian. He warns that soft power is over‑valued and under‑used in strategic planning.

Jentleson also champions the need for a new national security strategy that explicitly acknowledges the challenges posed by both China and Russia. In a recent Brookings briefing, he urged lawmakers to prioritize “great‑power competition” in the National Defense Strategy, a recommendation that has already found echoes in the Defense Department’s 2022 review. The “Searchlight” article links to the briefing’s PDF, offering readers a deeper dive into Jentleson’s policy prescriptions.

A Voice of Dissent in the Era of “America First”

The feature does not shy away from Jentleson’s more controversial positions. He has criticized the “America First” rhetoric that gained traction during the Trump administration, arguing that it erodes U.S. alliances and leaves the nation vulnerable to geopolitical rivals. Jentleson has also been vocal about the need for the United States to take responsibility for its foreign aid—pointing to the “aid debt” of over $1 trillion that has been carried by the U.S. for decades. The article links to his 2019 Washington Post piece, where he argues that aid should be more strategic, targeted, and tied to democratic reforms in recipient countries.

The Bottom Line

The Nation’s “Searchlight” on Adam Jentleson paints a portrait of a scholar‑practitioner who has spent his life at the intersection of theory and practice. His work is a clarion call for a U.S. foreign policy that is honest about its limitations, attentive to the geopolitical realities of the 21st century, and grounded in the belief that America's future security depends on both hard and soft power—but not at the expense of each other.

Jentleson’s insights are not just academic musings; they have real‑world implications for how the United States navigates its relationship with Russia, engages with NATO allies, and positions itself in a world where China is an unmistakable counterweight. For anyone interested in understanding the complexities of U.S. strategy in the post‑Cold War era, Jentleson’s work—and the “Searchlight” feature that brings it into focus—are indispensable resources.

For those who wish to read more, the article offers a treasure trove of links: from Jentleson’s Brookings profile to his op‑eds in Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and The Washington Post. These resources provide a fuller picture of a man whose influence on U.S. foreign policy is both profound and, in many ways, quietly transformative.