Atlantic Council blogs

UAE’s Energy Strategy 2050 Embraces Renewables

The changing dynamics of the energy landscape have undeniable geopolitical implications, said the United Arab Emirates’ Energy Minister, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, noting that his nation has made great strides toward establishing regional stability through the development of clean energy. “In any geopolitical situation… you’ll find energy is either an enabler or an issue […]

Trump’s Travel Ban: A Self-Inflicted Wound

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s executive order that prevents refugees from around the world and citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States has triggered warning calls from critics about the damage it could inflict on US interests, values, and national security. “The ban not only provides fuel for the radicals, but it also […]

Are the Baltic States Really Indefensible?

By Stephen Blank

One of the great canards of our time is that the Baltic states are indefensible. Although the reasons for making this argument are rarely spelled out, they revolve around the presumption that Russia not only enjoys local conventional superiority, but also that NATO cannot and often implicitly should not defend them and thereby make a […]

Trump’s Immigration Ban Will Have ‘Catastrophic Implications’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) sees order as a ‘gift’ to hardliners in Iran US President Donald Trump’s executive order that curtails immigration and the rights of refugees is illegal, has “catastrophic implications” for the United States, and is a “gift” to hardliners in Iran as it paints all Iranians as a security threat to the […]

Ukraine Needs Investment, Not Just Solidarity: Time for International Donors to Pony Up

By Anders Åslund

After three years of heroic reforms following the Euromaidan, Ukraine has restored macroeconomic stability. The economy is growing again, but far too slowly. The expected growth is 2.5 percent in 2017. But it should swing up to six to eight percent, as it was for eight years in the early 2000s. The key now is […]

What Does Astana Bode for Next Week’s Peace Talks

By Daniel R. DePetris

For the first time since the war in Syria began six years ago, representatives from the Assad regime and the multiple opposition factions seeking its overthrow met face-to-face in a Kazakhstan conference room in an attempt to arrive at some minor understanding on tamping down the violence.  The initiative devised and sponsored by Russia, Iran, […]

The Executive Order

By Frederic C. Hof

Tailors understand the necessity of measuring at least twice before cutting.  Good leaders and managers customarily apply the same procedure to decision-making.  “Act in haste, repent at leisure” is not just an aphorism.  It is a lesson often learned the hard way by those who cut carelessly.  Although White House reactions to the confusion and […]

Colleges Must Find Ways to Serve Students Shut Out by the Ban

By Jessica Ashooh and Richard LeBaron

Regardless of whether it stands up in court, President Trump’s executive order banning the entry of refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries into the United States has done enormous harm to Muslim students who are studying or aspire to study here. American colleges and universities must react quickly and effectively to limit the damage, which reverberates […]

A Call to Europe’s Leaders to Fight the Rising Tide of Populism

By Rachel Ansley

European leaders must address the economic factors that have contributed to the rise of populism in the West and cater to their constituents who have been on the losing end of globalization, said George Alogoskoufis, a former finance minister of Greece. Alogoskoufis contended that globalization is good for societies as a whole, but there are […]