Atlantic Council blogs

What’s Next for Syria? What’s Needed to Advance Syria’s Negotiations

By SyriaSource

On July 14, the Atlantic Council hosted a discussion with three distinguished Syrian opposition representatives: Dr. Bassma Kodmani, member of the Geneva negotiations team and spokesperson for the opposition; Ms. Alise Mofrej, Syrian politician and member of the negotiations team; and Dr. Seve Aydin-Izouli, lawyer and member of the Bar Association of Paris. Their presentation […]

Stoltenberg on NATO and Cyber: Time to Raise Our Game

By Jens Stoltenberg, Defense News

We may not see it but, in the realm of cyberspace, our countries are under attack every single day.

In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe Cornered by a Nonviolent Opposition

By TK Spandhla

Zimbabwe’s government has never before had to deal with a nonviolent civil resistance movement as it is currently facing, according to Chloë McGrath, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. The non-partisan nonviolent nature of the protests has “really changed the narrative of the way that protests have worked in Zimbabwe in the […]

Deploy the NATO Response Force to Deter Russia

By Ian Brzezinski

At the NATO Summit in Warsaw on July 8 and 9, the Alliance decided to deploy a multinational battalion in each of the following frontline states:  Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Lithuania. These forces, totaling some 4,000 personnel, are expected to arrive sometime in 2017. Their mission: to deter Russian aggression. Six to nine months, if […]

Human Rights is No Game

Panelists call for protections in nations hosting sporting events International sporting organizations need to step up to the plate and pressure countries hosting major sporting events to increase institutional transparency, reduce corruption, and prevent human rights abuses. “This is a moment of great concern and crisis for world sport defined by human rights [negligence], corruption, […]

Innovative Energy Technology Makes India Prime Candidate for Nuclear Suppliers Group

By Anil Kakodkar

Subsequent to the setback India suffered to its effort to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) at the group’s Seoul plenary in June, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center commissioned a series of essays on India and its integration into the nonproliferation regime. This initiative seeks to engage academics, policy makers, and analysts on some […]

NATO Faces Up to Russian Challenge

By Ian Brzezinski, CNN

[T]he alliance today is confronted by Russia’s ability to suddenly seize limited swaths of territory along its periphery, including that of the Baltic states and Poland.

Post-Ceasefire, Entrepreneurship Enables Social Inclusion in Colombia

By Meghan Rowley

With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on June 23, many have asked how the deal will help the country recover from decades of violence. However, the solution may depend on not just the agreement, but also the stable economic development of civil […]

Congolese Presidential Candidate Urges Use of Sanctions to Bring About Democratic Change in DRC

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Moise Katumbi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s leading opposition candidate for president, has urged the international community to use sanctions to press Congolese President Joseph Kabila to give up power. A political crisis in a country where war claimed around five million lives between 1994 and 2003 could create instability that spreads to the […]