Atlantic Council blogs

Atlantic Council blogs provide short-form analyses from Council experts and a wider community of global voices on the world’s most important news stories.
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New Atlanticist

Jun 16, 2016

Ben Rhodes: Tearing Up Iran Nuke Deal Will Precipitate a Crisis in the Middle East

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The next US president would precipitate a crisis in the Middle East and alienate America’s allies if he or she decides to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran, a senior White House official said at the Atlantic Council on June 16. “The way in which the Iran deal was structured creates enormous disincentives for […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

SyriaSource

Jun 16, 2016

The Nusra Front’s Impossible Position

By Hasan Arfeh

The city of Maarat al-Num’an in Idlib Province is continuing its revolt against the Syrian regime and extremist groups like the Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s arm in Syria, and Jund al-Aqsa group. The dynamics between Nusra trying to impose control and Sharia law on the city, and the locals resisting it, give insight into the armed […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 16, 2016

Egypt’s Economy Stuck in the ‘Doldrums’

By Julia Goldman

Political instability, insecurity seen hurting foreign investment, tourism The Egyptian economy is “in the doldrums” as a result of political instability and insecurity that have led to inconsistent economic policies and depressed foreign investment, said Mohsin Khan, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Khan spoke in […]

North Africa

SyriaSource

Jun 15, 2016

Syria Civil Defense: How a Group of Volunteers Has Saved Thousands of Lives

By Hosam al-Jablawi

In the early days of the Syrian Civil War, following an increase in casualties from regime air strikes on opposition-held areas, poorly trained civilians volunteers would transport the wounded for treatment and try to save civilians trapped in the rubble.  Their lack of experience led to the deaths of a number of wounded people due […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2016

Russian Cyber Attacks in the United States Will ‘Intensify’

By Mitch Hulse

Russian intelligence hacked the Democratic National Committee’s network, says Atlantic Council’s Dmitri Alperovitch Russian intelligence services hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computer network and accessed opposition research on Donald Trump, according to the Atlantic Council’s Dmitri Alperovitch. Two Russian groups—codenamed FancyBear and CozyBear—have been identified as spearheading the DNC breach. “We have a very high-level […]

Cybersecurity Russia

Trade in Action

Jun 15, 2016

TTIP&TRADE in Action – June 15, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

The Atlantic Council’s Global Business & Economics Program‘s latest EconoGraphic “Britannia, Rule the Trade!” analyzes the benefits of Britain’s accession to the European Union, and the negative effects a “Brexit” would have on the British economy.  If you missed last week’s new Atlantic Council publication “To Brexit or to Bremain- That is the Question“, make sure to read it […]

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2016

Ukraine’s New Reform Plan Is Better but Not Radical Enough

By Hlib Vyshlinsky

Two months ago, the Ukrainian parliament appointed Volodymyr Groisman as the country’s new prime minister. “I will show you how the country should be managed,” he said in his appointment speech. Groisman’s predecessor Arseniy Yatsenyuk was widely criticized for lacking a detailed action plan, so the new prime minister began managing the country from exactly […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2016

Tourism in Turkey Takes a Hit

By John M. Roberts

Istanbul is commonly described as a city on two continents. Well, Istanbul’s main airport is now a city of two worlds: its transit halls as full as ever; the arrival areas eerily quiet. This is the visible side of the collapse of tourism in Turkey, the consequence of bombings in cities and a return to […]

Turkey
Photo: FSA soldiers hold a planning session during the Battle of Aleppo, October 2012. Voice of America News, Scott Bobb reporting from Aleppo, Syria.

SyriaSource

Jun 15, 2016

#ACInteractive: Armed Opposition Groups in Syria

By Reema Hibrawi

This infographic below represents data collected on armed groups in the northwestern provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, and Hama as of May 2016. The data is compiled from the Carnegie Endowment, Carter Center, Institute for the Study of War, Clarion Project, archicivilians, and contacts in northern Syria.

Syria

UkraineAlert

Jun 15, 2016

Ukraine’s Grassroots Transformation of Education

By Yuriy Didula and Nadiya Mykhalevych

In today’s globalized world, education is perhaps the greatest challenge in a developing country. To keep pace with new technology and innovation, young people must possess not only basic skills but also be proactive, creative, innovative, and able to adjust quickly. According to the New Vision for Education report compiled at the World Economic Forum in […]

Ukraine