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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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UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2020

Ukraine caught between constitutional crisis and counter-revolution

By Mattia Nelles

Ukraine finds itself caught between a constitutional crisis and a counter-revolution after the country's Constitutional Court canceled key anti-corruption reforms passed following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

Fast Thinking

Nov 5, 2020

FAST THINKING: The US election’s implications for allies and adversaries

By Atlantic Council

We don’t yet know the winner of the US presidential race—and, with the count so close and the prospect of contested results, we might not for some time, but the world is already drawing lessons from the outcome. So what are the likely takeaways in foreign capitals right now?

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2020

China’s fourteenth five-year plan: The technologies that shall not be named

By Jeremy Mark

Amid the CCP Central Committee’s paeans to General Secretary Xi Jinping and a laundry list of expected reforms and goals to be reached by 2025, the plan contains a note of uncertainty about an era that looks to be dominated by competition with the United States over advanced technology.

China Macroeconomics

MENASource

Nov 5, 2020

Factbox: Iranian influence and presence in Syria

By Navvar Saban

This factbox presents a limited summary of Iran's military and security power in Syria, revealing the extent of its sway over Syrian society and its economy.

Iran Middle East

MENASource

Nov 5, 2020

Libyan ceasefire agreement faces hurdles due to foreign intervention

By Karim Mezran, Emadeddin Badi

There are virtually no coercion or accountability mechanisms that international stakeholders are committed to leveraging against domestic parties that are working to undermine the agreement with the support of foreign actors.

Libya Middle East

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2020

What really lurks behind the official unemployment rate

By Ekta Deshmukh

The headline numbers leave out more than just the numbers of those who are underemployed, discouraged, and furloughed and thus overlook crucial insights that more accurately represent the labor force.

Coronavirus Inclusive Growth

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2020

Why war-torn east Ukraine votes for pro-Russian parties

By Mykhaylo Shtekel

Pro-Russian parties did well in eastern Ukraine during local elections on October 25 as Kremlin-friendly politicians continued to dominate the region despite six years of undeclared war with Moscow.

Conflict Elections

Elections 2020

Nov 4, 2020

What America’s allies and adversaries will make of the 2020 election

By William F. Wechsler

Rather than provide an opportunity to “bind up the nation’s wounds” once again, the election has instead clearly confirmed the deep divisions in American society by class, region, race, gender, religion, and culture. No matter who wins the presidency, the result will likely be a nation increasingly focused inward on the implications of these divisions.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

Global Energy Forum

Nov 4, 2020

What the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement means for the global fight against climate change

By Margaret Jackson and Jorge Gastelumendi

The pandemic illustrated the critical role for strong national leadership in combating a crisis and what happens when countries—including the United States—fail to cooperate on a multilateral level to find a solution.

Climate Change & Climate Action United States and Canada

BelarusAlert

Nov 4, 2020

Belarus’s nation-building journey is just beginning

By Vladislav Davidzon

The pro-democracy uprising in Belarus against the rule of dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been called a national awakening, but huge challenges lie ahead as the country's transformation continues.

Belarus Democratic Transitions