{{Short description|American foreign policy expert and diplomat (born 1977)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Wess Mitchell | image = A. Wess Mitchell official photo.jpg | office = 26th Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs | president = Donald Trump | term_start = October 12, 2017 | term_end = February 15, 2019 | predecessor = Victoria Nuland | successor = Karen Donfried | birth_name = Aaron Wess Mitchell | birth_place = Texas, U.S. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|4|1}} | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = Elizabeth | children = 2 | education = {{ubl|Texas Tech University (BA)|Georgetown University (MA)|Free University of Berlin (PhD)}} }} '''Aaron Wess Mitchell'''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-06 |title=Statement by H.E. Aaron Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasion Affairs |url=https://www.osce.org/whoweare/405530 |access-date=2026-02-09 |website=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe |language=en}}</ref> (born April 1, 1977) is an American strategist, historian and former diplomat who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2017 to 2019. In 2019 he co-founded The Marathon Initiative, a grand strategy think tank, with Elbridge Colby.

==Early life and education== Mitchell was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1977. He received a B.A. in history from Texas Tech University, where he later received a Distinguished Alumni Award.<ref>{{cite news |date=2018 |title=Most Distinguished 2018 |url=https://www.depts.ttu.edu/artsandsciences/giving/DistinguishedAwards/index-2018.php |access-date=August 26, 2019 |publisher=Texas Tech University}}</ref> He received an M.A. in German and European studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where he was awarded the 2004 Hopper Award.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Honorable A. Wess Mitchell |url=https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20180418/108182/HHRG-115-FA00-Bio-MitchellA-20180418.pdf |access-date=August 26, 2019 |publisher=United States Government}}</ref> He received his DPhil in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin.<ref name="allgov">{{cite news|last1=Bewig|first1=Matt|last2=Wallechinsky|first2=David|title=Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs: Who Is A. Wess Mitchell?|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/bureau-of-european-and-eurasian-affairs-who-is-a-wess-mitchell-170815?news=860276|access-date=6 September 2017|publisher=AllGov|date=August 15, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cepa.org/a-wess-mitchell|title=A. Wess Mitchell |publisher=CEPA |access-date=2019-08-26}}</ref>

== Career == In 2005, Mitchell co-founded the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) with Laurence E. Hirsch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs: Who Is A. Wess Mitchell? |url=http://www.allgov.com/news?news=860276 |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=AllGov}}</ref> At CEPA he argued that U.S. foreign policy should shift away from the focus on nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan to a focus on competition with major powers Russia and China and maintaining a balance of power in key regions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |date=July 2008 |title=A Foreign Policy You Can't Refuse |url=https://harpers.org/archive/2008/07/a-foreign-policy-you-cant-refuse/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113020258/https://harpers.org/archive/2008/07/a-foreign-policy-you-cant-refuse/ |access-date=July 13, 2025 |website=Harpers Magazine |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=A. Wess |last2=Grygiel |first2=Jakub |date=2016-02-12 |title=Predators on the Frontier |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2016/02/12/predators-on-the-frontier/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The American Interest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=A. Wess |last2=Grygiel |first2=Jakub |date=2011-03-01 |title=The Vulnerability of Peripheries |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2011/03/01/the-vulnerability-of-peripheries/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The American Interest |language=en-US}}</ref> He was an early proponent of using deterrence-by-denial to defend frontline U.S. allies from Russian or Chinese attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grygiel |first=A. Wess Mitchell, Jakub |title=Limited War Is Back |url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/limited-war-back-11128 |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The National Interest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gallagher |first=Mike |date=Summer 2019 |title=State of (Deterrence by) Denial |url=https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Rep.-Gallagher-State-of-Deterrence-by-Denial.pdf |journal=The Washington Quarterly |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=31–45 |doi=10.1080/0163660X.2019.1626687 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Calvo Albero |first1=Jose Luis |last2=McAfee |first2=Angus |last3=Messina |first3=Stefano |last4=Gallinger |first4=Kirk |date=2018-05-23 |title=Friendly Force Dilemmas in Europe: Challenges Within and Among Intergovernmental Organizations and the Implications for the U.S. Army |url=https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/398 |journal=Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Emmanuel |first=Gordon |date=June 2020 |title=Smash Bullies: Interpreting the "why" behind our Commandant's Force Design Report |url=https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/Smash-Bullies.pdf |journal=Marine Corps Gazette |pages=10–15}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |date=2015-08-12 |title=The Case for Deterrence by Denial |url=https://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/08/12/the-case-for-deterrence-by-denial/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The American Interest |language=en-US}}</ref> Mitchell's 2016 book ''Unquiet Frontier'' (co-authored with Jakub Grygiel) has been cited as having influenced the shift in U.S. national security in the first Trump administration toward an emphasis on great-power competition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Uri |date=2019-08-06 |title=The New Concept Everyone in Washington Is Talking About |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/what-genesis-great-power-competition/595405/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

=== First Trump administration === In July 2017, President Donald J. Trump appointed Mitchell to become the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, a capacity in which he served into 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-07-19 |title=President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/19/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-personnel-key |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010014521/https:/www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/19/president-donald-j-trump-announces-intent-nominate-personnel-key |archive-date=2017-10-10 |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=whitehouse.gov |language=en}}</ref> In this role, he was responsible for diplomatic relations with the 50 countries of Europe and Eurasia, as well as the institutions of NATO, the EU, and OSCE.

As Assistant Secretary, Mitchell played a principal role in formulating Europe strategy in the first Trump administration.<ref>''U.S. Policy in Europe: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, Second Session, June 26, 2018''. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2018. Available at: <nowiki>https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115shrg37954/html/CHRG-115shrg37954.htm</nowiki> (accessed July 13, 2025).</ref> Mitchell's approach to policy emphasized Europe's role in strategic competition between the United States and Russia and China.<ref name="ee1">{{Cite web |title=Trump is choosing Eastern Europe |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/trump-is-choosing-eastern-europe/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref> In a speech at the Heritage Foundation on June 5, 2018, he advocated for a policy of "strategic renovation" aimed at improving the performance of alliances to offset U.S. global burdens.<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "Anchoring the Western Alliance." Speech at the Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC, June 5, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.heritage.org/europe/event/the-transatlantic-bond-preserving-the-west</nowiki></ref> In Congressional testimony on June 26, 2018, he argued for increasing Western European burden-sharing, competing for influence in East-Central Europe, and increasing U.S. involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "U.S. Policy in Europe" (written testimony). Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, June 26, 2018. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/062618_Mitchell_Testimony.pdf</nowiki></ref>

While at State, Mitchell criticized Western European allies for "failing to take strategic competition seriously" by maintaining close commercial and energy ties with China, Russia and Iran while relying on the United States for security.<ref name="ee1"/> He was an advocate for European allies increasing defense spending, increasing purchases of U.S. liquified natural gas, and lowering EU tariff barriers against U.S. goods.<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "U.S. Policy in Europe" (written testimony). Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, June 26, 2018. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 13 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/062618_Mitchell_Testimony.pdf</nowiki></ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "U.S. Policy in Europe" (written testimony). Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, June 26, 2018. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 13 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/06%2026%2018%20US%20Policy%20in%20Europe.pdf</nowiki></ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "European Energy Security: U.S. Interests and Coercive Russian Diplomacy" (written testimony). Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, December 12, 2017. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 13 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/121217_Mitchell_Testimony.pdf</nowiki></ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. Remarks at Carnegie Europe. Press Club Brussels Europe (Belgium), date unspecified. Retrieved July 13 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.pressclub.be/press-releases/flash-u-s-assistant-secretary-wess-mitchells-remarks-at-carnegie-europe</nowiki></ref>

Mitchell increased the U.S. diplomatic focus on East-Central Europe.<ref name="ee1"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wemer |first=David |date=2018-10-19 |title=Winning the Competition for Influence in Central and Eastern Europe: US Assistant Secretary of State A. Wess Mitchell |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/commentary/transcript/winning-the-competition-for-influence-in-central-and-eastern-europe-us-assistant-secretary-of-state-a-wess-mitchell/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}</ref> During his tenure, the United States for the first time held strategic dialogues with the countries of Austria, Greece and Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Austria |first=U. S. Mission |date=2022-08-05 |title=U.S.-Austrian Relations: A Conversation with Ambassador Kennedy |url=https://at.usembassy.gov/u-s-austrian-relations-a-conversation-with-ambassador-kennedy/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=U.S. Embassy in Austria |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The United States and Greece: United by Democratic Values, Advancing Shared Goals for Peace and Prosperity |url=https://2021-2025.state.gov/the-united-states-and-greece-united-by-democratic-values-advancing-shared-goals-for-peace-and-prosperity/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=United States Department of State |language=en}}</ref> Mitchell supported the Three Seas Initiative,<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. "European Energy Security: U.S. Interests and Coercive Russian Diplomacy" (written testimony). Statement before the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, United States Senate, December 12, 2017. Washington, DC. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/121217_Mitchell_Testimony.pdf</nowiki></ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-18 |title=Assistant Secretary Wess Mitchell at the University of Bucharest |url=https://ro.usembassy.gov/assistant-secretary-wess-mitchell-at-the-university-of-bucharest/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=U.S. Embassy in Romania |language=en-US}}</ref> increased U.S. participation in efforts to resolve the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo,<ref>{{Cite web |last=BIRN |date=2018-03-13 |title=Mitchell Tours Balkans on Mission to Resolve Conflicts |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/03/13/mitchell-s-visit-pushes-for-solution-of-balkans-conflicts-03-12-2018/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Balkan Insight |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="cozy">{{Cite news |title=Here's Why The US Has Been Cozying Up To Authoritarians In Eastern Europe |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilytamkin/russia-hungary-trump-policy-wess-mitchell |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302142953/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilytamkin/russia-hungary-trump-policy-wess-mitchell |archive-date=2024-03-02 |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=BuzzFeed News |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> and played a role in the resolution of the Greece-Macedonia dispute.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diplomacy triumphs: Greece and Macedonia resolve name dispute |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/diplomacy-triumphs-greece-and-macedonia-resolve-name-dispute/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Santora |first=Marc |date=2018-03-20 |title=What's in a Name? For Macedonia, the Key to Peace and Security |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/world/europe/macedonia-greece-name.html |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Mitchell was responsible for a series of diplomatic thaws involving countries with which&nbsp;the United States had formerly maintained antagonistic relationships.<ref name="cozy"/> He reopened dialogue with Serbia and Hungary and was the first senior U.S. diplomat to travel to Minsk in more than a decade.<ref name="ab1">{{Cite web |title=What if the US hadn't abandoned Belarus? {{!}} Responsible Statecraft |url=https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-belarus-ukraine/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=responsiblestatecraft.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Official Visit Symbolizes New U.S. Attitude to Belarus |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2019/08/official-visit-symbolizes-new-us-attitude-to-belarus?lang=en |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trump's advisor in Minsk: why should we care? {{!}} BelarusDigest |url=https://belarusdigest.com/story/trumps-advisor-in-minsk-why-should-we-care/ |access-date=2025-07-13}}</ref> Some observers criticized these moves for engaging with non-democratic regimes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-10 |title=US lawmakers raise concerns about Trump administration's Hungary policy |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/us-lawmakers-raise-concerns-about-president-donald-trump-administrations-hungary-policy-viktor-orban/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref> Others defended them as an attempt to offer these countries a viable Western strategic alternative to Russia and China<ref name="ab1"/><ref name="cozy"/><ref name="ee1"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=McNamara |first=Kevin J. |title=How America's European Allies Got Stuck In a Foreign Policy Triangle |url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-americas-european-allies-got-stuck-foreign-policy-triangle-74211 |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The National Interest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=digital |date=2019-02-10 |title=Engaging Hungary is good for US interests and values |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/engaging-hungary-is-good-for-us-interests-and-values/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Atlantic Council |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hopkins |first1=Valerie |last2=Williams |first2=Aime |date=2019-05-13 |title=Trump praises Hungary's Orban in White House visit |url=https://www.ft.com/content/06f69c6c-75a8-11e9-bbad-7c18c0ea0201 |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> Mitchell described the policy as an effort to "compete for positive influence" in strategically vital regions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wess Mitchell - Address to the Heritage Foundation on the Western Alliance |url=https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wessmitchellheritagefoundation.htm |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=americanrhetoric.com}}</ref>

Mitchell was an advocate for increased U.S. diplomatic involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-02 |title=East Med partnership in US interest {{!}} eKathimerini.com |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/239997/east-med-partnership-in-us-interest/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=ekathimerini.com |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-21 |title=Wess Mitchell sends clear message to Turkey over Cyprus {{!}} eKathimerini.com |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/interviews/235913/wess-mitchell-sends-clear-message-to-turkey-over-cyprus/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=ekathimerini.com |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-27 |title=Mitchell: US works to strengthen security and energy cooperation with Cyprus {{!}} The Greek Observer |url=https://thegreekobserver.com/cyprus/article/45777/mitchell-us-works-to-strengthen-security-and-energy-cooperation-with-cyprus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826162118/https://thegreekobserver.com/cyprus/article/45777/mitchell-us-works-to-strengthen-security-and-energy-cooperation-with-cyprus/ |archive-date=2019-08-26 |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=The Greek Observer |language=en-US |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-06 |title=Wess Mitchell: The US support Greece as a pillar of stability in SE Mediterranean and the Balkans {{!}} The Greek Observer |url=https://thegreekobserver.com/politics/article/44350/wess-mitchell-the-us-support-greece-as-a-pillar-of-stability-in-se-mediterranean-and-the-balkans/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826162117/https://thegreekobserver.com/politics/article/44350/wess-mitchell-the-us-support-greece-as-a-pillar-of-stability-in-se-mediterranean-and-the-balkans/ |archive-date=2019-08-26 |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=The Greek Observer |language=en-US |url-status=dead }}</ref> He shifted from longstanding U.S. policy by upgrading relations with Greece and normalizing relations with Cyprus.<ref name="mov">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-18 |title=Republican leadership moving party to better see US interests in US-Turkish East Med policy {{!}} eKathimerini.com |url=https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1164667/republican-leadership-moving-party-to-better-see-us-interests-in-us-turkish-east-med-policy/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=ekathimerini.com |language=English}}</ref> This paved the way for the so-called 3+1 Format, a trilateral framework involving Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the US, as well as the EastMed Act, which formalized closer US strategic cooperation with Greece and Cyprus.<ref name="mov"/>

Mitchell played a lead role in negotiating a diplomatic deal between the United States and Turkey known as the "Manbij Roadmap" that reduced tensions in northern Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Soylu |first=Ragıp |date=2018-06-06 |title=Turkish officials credit Trump for Manbij road map |url=https://www.straturka.com/turkish-officials-credit-trump-for-manbij-road-map/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Straturka |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-07-16 |title=Erdogan, Trump emphasize importance of Manbij roadmap: Turkish presidency |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/erdogan-trump-emphasize-importance-of-manbij-roadmap-turkish-presidency-idUSKBN1K61EU/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}</ref> [[File:President of Ukraine held a meeting with the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.jpg|thumb|right|Mitchell greeting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in November 2017]] In relations with Russia, Mitchell was an advocate for supporting the national independence of Ukraine and Belarus while engaging diplomatically with Russia when its interests aligned with those of the US. He was a frequent defender of Trump's Russia policy in Senate hearings.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UkEhOPeGtM |title=Trump State Dept. Shreds Dem. Senator's 'Weak On Russia' Attack, Reminds Him Obama Praised Russia |date=2018-08-21 |last=GOP War Room |access-date=2025-07-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrHcObVeWA |title=Murphy Questions Secretary Mitchell in Senate Foreign Relations Commitee [sic] |date=2018-08-21 |last=Senator Chris Murphy |access-date=2025-07-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlNZ4bTLjmQ |title=State Dept Officials Grilled On Russia Sanctions |date=2018-04-23 |last=AP Archive |access-date=2025-07-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref> He was credited with creating a U.S. "deterrence by denial" strategy to support Ukraine and for what Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called "diplomatic jujitsu" in organizing NATO support for the U.S. decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pompeo |first=Mike |title=Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love |date=2023 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-06-324744-4 |edition=1st |location=Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar}}</ref>

Mitchell played a role in securing the release of the American evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson from Turkish prison.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Matthew |title=US warns Turkey of consequences if jailed NC pastor isn't freed |url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/04/18/us-warns-turkey-consequences-if-jailed-nc-pastor-isnt-freed/528617002/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The Asheville Citizen Times |language=en-US}}</ref> He also played a role in persuading the German government to facilitate the deportation of the alleged Holocaust prison camp guard Jakiw Palij, the "last known Nazi collaborator living in America."<ref>{{Cite web |title=On-the-Record Press Call on the Removal of Former Nazi Labor Camp Guard Jakiw Palij {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-record-press-call-the-removal-former-nazi-labor-camp-guard-jakiw-palij |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hart |first=Benjamin |date=2018-08-21 |title=ICE Deports Last Known Nazi Collaborator Living in America |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/ice-deports-jakiw-palij-nazi-labor-camp-guard-to-germany.html |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Intelligencer |language=en}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Morello |first1=Carol |last2=Knowles |first2=Hannah |last3=Frost |first3=Alexandra |last4=Arnsdorf |first4=Isaac |last5=Paquette |first5=Danielle |last6=Allison |first6=Natalie |date=2019-01-22 |title=Top diplomat for European affairs resigns from State Department |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-diplomat-for-european-affairs-resigns-from-state-department/2019/01/22/ada80048-1e3f-11e9-8b59-0a28f2191131_story.html |access-date=2025-07-13 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

After stepping down as Assistant Secretary, Mitchell was named by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to co-chair a commission to review the political cohesion of NATO in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's claim that the Alliance was "braindead."<ref>Brzozowski, Alexandra. "NATO expert panel to determine how to revive ‘brain dead' alliance." *Euractiv*, April 1, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence/news/nato-expert-panel-to-determine-how-to-revive-brain-dead-alliance/</nowiki></ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=NATO |title=Secretary General appoints group as part of NATO reflection process |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_174756.htm |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=NATO |language=en}}</ref> Mitchell co-chaired the commission with former German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière. The body's report, which was released on November 25, 2020, called for NATO to institute reforms aimed at shifting from a focus on Afghanistan to competition with Russia and China.<ref>North Atlantic Treaty Organization. *NATO 2030: United for a New Era – Final Report of the Reflection Group Appointed by the NATO Secretary General*. Brussels, 1 December 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2025, from <nowiki>https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2020/12/pdf/201201-Reflection-Group-Final-Report-Uni.pdf</nowiki></ref>

=== Post-administration career === In 2019 Mitchell co-founded with Elbridge Colby The Marathon Initiative, a 501c3 think tank that studies great-power competition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-12 |title=Wess Mitchell |publisher= The Marathon Initiative |url=https://www.themarathoninitiative.org/wess-mitchell/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> Mitchell's work at The Marathon Initiative has focused on the so-called "simultaneity problem," or problem of two-front war in American strategy. He has advocated for a sequential approach to dealing with the threat of simultaneous conflicts with Russia, China and Iran.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-07-02 |title=Opinion {{!}} America is overextended. After Iran, here's a better way forward. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/02/middle-east-sequencing-strategy-china/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250702140930/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/02/middle-east-sequencing-strategy-china/ |archive-date=2025-07-02 |access-date=2025-07-13 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |title=A Strategy for Avoiding Two-Front War |url=https://nationalinterest.org/feature/strategy-avoiding-two-front-war-192137 |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=The National Interest |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. ''ONA Report''. The Marathon Initiative, 14 February 2022. Available at: <nowiki>https://www.themarathoninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ONA-Report_Mitchell_TMI_FINAL-220214.pdf(accessed</nowiki> July 13, 2025).</ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess & Jakub Grygiel. ''Getting Strategic Deprioritization Right''. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Net Assessment and published by The Marathon Initiative, 23 June 2023. Available at: <nowiki>https://themarathoninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Marathon-Initiative_Getting-Strategic-Deprioritization-Right96.pdf</nowiki> (accessed 13 July 2025).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-16 |title=Opinion: Does strategic sequence theory guide U.S. foreign policy? |url=https://www.defensemagazine.com/article/opinion-does-strategic-sequence-theory-guide-us-foreign-policy |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Defense Magazine |language=en}}</ref> He has advocated for a "diplomacy first" approach to reduce tensions with major U.S. adversaries.<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. ''"America is overextended. Here's a better way forward."'' The Washington Post, 2 July 2025. Available at: <nowiki>https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/07/02/middle-east-sequencing-strategy-china/</nowiki> (accessed 13 July 2025).</ref>

== Political views == Mitchell is a conservative.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-02 |title=Conservatives and Geopolitical Change |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/04/20/conservatives-and-geopolitical-change/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-05-07 |title=Opinion {{!}} Wake up, Europe. Vance's criticisms have merit. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/07/vance-europe-speech-reform-democracy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250509005136/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/07/vance-europe-speech-reform-democracy/ |archive-date=2025-05-09 |access-date=2025-07-13 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> He has argued against a "transformationalist" U.S. foreign policy based on democracy promotion and nation-building and in favor of basing policy on a traditional conception of U.S. national interests and maintenance of a balance of power in key regions.<ref name="mit">{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |date=2025-04-22 |title=The Return of Great-Power Diplomacy {{!}} Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/return-great-power-diplomacy-strategy-wess-mitchell |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=foreignaffairs.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Middle East In An Era Of Great Power Competition |url=https://www.hoover.org/research/middle-east-era-great-power-competition |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Hoover Institution |language=en}}</ref> He has criticized globalization and the decision to admit China to the WTO.<ref name="mit"/> He has argued against using U.S. foreign policy to promote progressive political causes.<ref name="mit"/><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess & Christopher Vassallo. ''China's "New" Diplomacy: Opportunities for American Statecraft''. The Marathon Initiative, 20 February 2024. Available at: <nowiki>https://themarathoninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Chinas-New-Diplomacy_vF.pdf</nowiki> (accessed 13 July 2025).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |date=2025-07-15 |title=Why Biden's China Reset Is a Bad Idea |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/02/biden-china-xi-burns-beijing-reset-detente-election-campaign/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=A. Wess |date=2025-07-15 |title=The State Department Overhaul Is Long Overdue |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/08/state-department-reform-reorganization-cuts-trump-rubio/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Mitchell is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/membership/roster |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=cfr.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Books == Mitchell's scholarly writing has focused on diplomatic history during the classical European states system, with an emphasis on the Habsburg Monarchy and the foreign policies of Cardinal Richelieu, Wenzel von Kaunitz, Klemmens von Metternich and Otto von Bismarck.<ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. ''Strategic Sequencing: How Great Powers Avoid Multi-Front War''. The Marathon Initiative, September 2020. Available at: https://www.themarathoninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ONA-Report_Mitchell_TMI_FINAL-220214.pdf (accessed 13 July 2025).</ref><ref>Mitchell, A. Wess. ''Mastering the Multi‑Front Challenge: The Diplomatic Strategies of Metternich and Bismarck''. The Marathon Initiative, December 2021. Available at: https://themarathoninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ONA-Report-II_Mitchell_TMI.pdf (accessed 13 July 2025).</ref>

Mitchell's 2025 book ''Great Power Diplomacy'' criticizes post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy for over-emphasizing military power and economic sanctions to the exclusion of traditional diplomacy. The book argues against using diplomacy as a tool for advancing liberal goals to supplant the nation-state and in favor of using diplomacy as an instrument of grand strategy to advance state interests and gain competitive advantage against rivals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-14 |title=Great Power Diplomacy {{!}} Princeton University Press |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691236872/great-power-diplomacy |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=press.princeton.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Mitchell's 2018 book ''The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Monarchy'' argued that the empire of Austria succeeded against militarily stronger opponents by conducting a conservative grand strategy that emphasized "conserving power, recognizing limits, and preserving the dynasty."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Defending Against the Old Chaos {{!}} The Russell Kirk Center |url=https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/defending-against-the-old-chaos/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> An article in ''The Wall Street Journal'' about the Habsburg Empire that Mitchell co-authored with Purdue University historian Charles Ingrao received a Stanton Prize for using applied history to illuminate contemporary challenges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prize Winners {{!}} The Stanton Foundation (en-US) |url=https://thestantonfoundation.org/informed-citizens/covid-19-ah-prize/prize-winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225211642/https://thestantonfoundation.org/informed-citizens/covid-19-ah-prize/prize-winners |archive-date=2021-02-25 |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=thestantonfoundation.org |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mitchell's 2016 book ''Unquiet Frontier'' (co-authored with Jakub Grygiel) examined U.S. alliance structures in the world's major regions and argued for the United States to shift its foreign policy focus from counter-insurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq toward competition with great-power rivals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-15 |title=The Unquiet Frontier {{!}} Princeton University Press |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178264/the-unquiet-frontier |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=press.princeton.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Mitchell's 2009 book ''The Godfather Doctrine'' (co-authored with John Hulsman) used the interplay between the Corleone brothers in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film ''The Godfather'' to describe the major schools of thought in international relations and advocate for basing U.S. foreign policy on political realism rather than neoconservatism or liberal internationalism.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-01 |title=The Godfather Doctrine {{!}} Princeton University Press |url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691141473/the-godfather-doctrine |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=press.princeton.edu |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life == Mitchell is a member of the vestry at Grace Church in Keswick, Virginia.<ref>Grace Church, Keswick. ''Easter 4 (May 11, 2025) – Final''. Keswick, VA: Grace Church, May 11, 2025. Available at: <nowiki>https://www.gracekeswick.org/uploads/1/2/1/2/12123187/easter4_may_11_2025_-_final.pdf</nowiki> (accessed 15 July 2025).</ref> He is married and has two children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs: Who Is A. Wess Mitchell? |url=http://www.allgov.com/news?news=860276 |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=AllGov}}</ref>

==Selected publications== * ''Great Power Diplomacy: The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Henry Kissinger.'' Princeton University Press. 2025. ISBN 978-0691236872 * ''The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire''. Princeton University Press. 2018. {{ISBN|978-0691176703}} * ''Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power''. Princeton University Press. 2016. {{ISBN|978-0691178264}} * ''The Godfather Doctrine''. Princeton University Press. 2006. {{ISBN|978-0691141473}}

==Honors== {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;" | colspan="2" |'''International and foreign awards'''<ref>{{cite web |title=USA and Foreign Decorations of Dwight D. Eisenhower |url=https://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/awards_medals.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118062616/https://eisenhower.archives.gov/all_about_ike/awards_medals.html |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |access-date=June 10, 2012 |publisher=Eisenhower Presidential Center}}</ref> |- |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=POL Order Zaslugi RP kl4 BAR.svg|width=60}} |Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit, Republic of Poland<ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 2019 |title=Presentation of the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland to Wess Mitchell |url=https://waszyngton.msz.gov.pl/resource/3570986d-e937-4871-b2ed-1840eea03904:JCR |access-date=August 26, 2019 |publisher=Embassy of the Republic of Poland}}</ref> |- |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=HUN Order of Merit of the Hungarian Rep (civil) 4class BAR.svg|width=60}} |Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit, Hungary<ref>{{cite news |date=April 4, 2019 |title=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. |url=https://twitter.com/rajmundfekete/status/1113693746204422144 |access-date=August 27, 2019 |website=Twitter.com |publisher=@rajmundfekete}}</ref> |- |{{ribbon devices|ribbon=Noribbon.svg|width=60}} |Gold Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovak Republic<ref>{{cite news |date=April 3, 2019 |title=Lajčák Starts Working Visit to the USA |url=https://www.mzv.sk/web/washington-en/news/-/asset_publisher/olsKsIdtEfpB/content/m-lajcak-zacal-pracovnu-navstevu-usa/10182?_101_INSTANCE_olsKsIdtEfpB_redirect=%2Fweb%2Fwashington-en%2Fnews |access-date=August 26, 2019 |publisher=The Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington}}</ref> |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}}

* [https://themarathoninitiative.org/wess-mitchell/ Biography at The Marathon Initiative] {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, A. Wess}} Category:1977 births Category:Free University of Berlin alumni Category:Living people Category:Texas Tech University alumni Category:First Trump administration personnel Category:United States assistant secretaries of state Category:Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni