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.
View all
of our blogs
Subscribe to our
newsletters

Latest from across our blogs

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

Western Balkans leaders meet to drive coronavirus recovery and deepen regional economic cooperation

By David A. Wemer

Leaders from the Western Balkans Six—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia—participated in the Western Balkans Partnership Summit on July 29 to take steps to deepen regional economic cooperation and stimulate growth amid the widespread economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Inclusive Growth Macroeconomics

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

The 5×5—Fighting COVID-19 with surveillance: Perspectives from across the globe

By Simon Handler and Lily Liu

As more countries rely on digital tools to contain the spread of COVID-19, how will enhanced surveillance challenge privacy norms in the future? According to the World Health Organization, public health surveillance is critical to containing the pandemic. However, can enhanced surveillance during a public health crisis set precedents for digital surveillance in the future?

Africa Coronavirus

IranSource

Jul 29, 2020

The tale of an Iranian foreign minister’s rise and fall from grace

By Ali Fathollah-Nejad and Amin Naeni

Mohammad Javad Zarif's fall from grace cannot be considered apart from the Rouhani administration’s and the larger moderate camp’s loss of credibility in the eyes of many Iranians.

Iran Middle East

The future is here

Jul 29, 2020

Hong Kong faces threat to healthcare system; race to access vaccine heats up

By Atlantic Council

Hong Kong faces a coronavirus outbreak that may overwhelm its healthcare system, the city’s top official said. The competition for access to a future vaccine heated up as the United Kingdom reached a deal on sixty million doses, while Europe may face a slew of job losses later this year.

Coronavirus

IranSource

Jul 29, 2020

Iran’s air attack tools have limited utility against adversaries

By Robert Czulda

From Tehran’s point of view, a strong emphasis on air attack tools is understandable and reasonable. However, it is important not to overestimate the impact these means can deliver.

Iran Middle East

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2020

Singapore’s prime minister has a message for the US: Don’t choose China confrontation or Asia withdrawal

By David A. Wemer

Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, worries that Washington’s increasingly tense relationship with Beijing and domestic pressures to reduce its commitments abroad will force US policymakers to choose either a path of “colliding with China” or “deciding that you have no stake in the region and leave us to our own defenses.”

China Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

Jul 28, 2020

Zelenskyy’s bad economics: Inflation and devaluation will not help Ukraine grow

By Anders Åslund

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policymakers are causing concern by flirting with the dangerous idea that high inflation and substantial currency devaluation can boost economic growth.

Democratic Transitions Economy & Business

The future is here

Jul 28, 2020

Madrid mandates masks, Germany discourages travel to Spain; human trials spur vaccine hopes

By Atlantic Council

Madrid officials stepped up coronavirus restrictions and plan to target prevention efforts at young people, while Germany advised against non-essential travel to Spain in a further blow to its tourist industry. Large-scale human trials began on coronavirus vaccine, prompting hopes of a safe and effective way to help bring an end to the pandemic.

Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2020

As central banks implement coronavirus rescue plans, has moral hazard been forgotten?

By Hung Tran

With financial markets beginning to astoundingly recover, despite continued economic pain and an uncertain pandemic picture, the fear of moral hazard seems to have been forgotten.

Coronavirus Financial Regulation

TURKEYSource

Jul 28, 2020

The EU must begin to show Turkey some respect

By Ambassador Faruk Kaymakcı

Turkey, the EU, and the United States have more in common than we do not in common, and the stakes are higher than anyone in these crazy times seems to understand. It is now high time that the EU and its member states treated Turkey as an accession-negotiating candidate and a strategic partner rather than as a rival.

European Union Turkey