Atlantic Council blogs

TRADE in ACTION – February 2, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

This week in TRADEinACTION: President Trump roils relations with Mexico, British PM Theresa May announced she will trigger Brexit negotiations on March 9, IMF’s Christine Lagarde visits the Atlantic Council on February 8, and Japan’s PM Abe to meet with President Trump in Washington, DC on February 10.

Czech Foreign Ministry Hacked: Russia Suspected

By Reuters and the Guardian

From Robert Muller, Reuters: Hackers have breached dozens of email accounts at the Czech Foreign Ministry in an attack resembling one against the U.S. Democratic Party

Transatlantic Energy Cooperation Seen as Vital

Energy resources and innovative technology could be a cornerstone of the independence and security of all countries, but this requires a commitment to transatlantic cooperation, according to Poland’s Deputy Energy Minister Michael Kurtyka. “Our nations, every one of them, are… first for our citizens, but we have to cooperate,” Kurtyka said at the Atlantic Council […]

A Year Full of Challenges (and Opportunities) for the EU

By Earl Anthony Wayne

While the European Union (EU) will continue to face a broad range of challenges—foreign as well as domestic—in 2017, there is also an opportunity for EU leaders, if they can muster the will and ideas, to skillfully present a European vision. Challenges such as terrorism, migration, and the economy could either accelerate the anti-EU sentiment […]

Iran Nuclear Deal: Future Tense

The future of the Iran nuclear deal—a multilateral agreement that cuts off the Islamic Republic’s path to a nuclear weapon—appears uncertain with US President Donald Trump in the White House. On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to rip up the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). His top cabinet picks […]

On Iran Deal, Trump Should Leave Good Enough Alone

By Barbara Slavin

Since his election, US President Donald Trump has taken steps that harm the Iranian people by suspending visas to the United States. Trump has also adopted harsh rhetoric toward the Iranian government over missile tests and attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. So far, however, he has not carried out a threat to dismantle the landmark […]

Predicting History

By Chris Ellis

Two plus two equals four. Math has a finality to it, a precision that yields a comfortable black and white. But economics at the state level is not purely math. Macroeconomics is the science that perfectly foresees the future of human activity … after the future has taken place. That is, it is a science that […]

Trump’s Foreign Policy Opportunities in South Asia

By Shuja Nawaz

Tighten your seat belts! South Asia, along with much of the rest of the world, should get ready for a more muscular, business-like, and unorthodox foreign policy under US President Donald Trump. His team of security and foreign policy experts, many of whom have unorthodox backgrounds and credentials, will help him implement a more personalized […]

India Warily Watches Trump

By Maya Mirchandani

Americans may still be coming to terms with Donald Trump’s election victory, but more than 7,000 miles away, the wheels of India’s diplomatic machinery began turning soon after the November results. Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval both visited the United States within a month of the elections with the […]

Danish Intelligence Report Warns NATO Members of New Russian Cyberattacks

By Gerard O’Dwyer, Defense News

Russia has the willingness and capacity to launch serial cyberattacks against Denmark and any neighboring Nordic or Baltic state