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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

Dec 2, 2016

Ukraine’s Most Overlooked Reform Could Bring in Billions

By Maxim Martynyuk and Alexei Sobchenko

Of the key battles fought in post-Maidan Ukraine, the one over land reform attracts little attention. That’s a shame, too. Parliament’s unwillingness to allow the sale of private farmland “is the biggest source of immediately available economic growth that the government has failed to utilize,” Swedish economist Anders Åslund has noted. The latest clash over […]

Ukraine

SyriaSource

Dec 2, 2016

The Broken Record Club

By Frederic C. Hof

If inaction indicates thought and feeling, the hell that is eastern Aleppo signifies nothing at all in the mind or heart of he who occupies—for 50 more days—the Oval Office. As civilian neighborhoods targeted mercilessly and criminally by the air forces of the Assad regime and Russia become the “one giant graveyard” described by the […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2016

The Gambia Votes: A Rare Victory for Democracy in Africa?

By Kelsey Lilley

The results from The Gambia’s presidential election, which pitted opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate Adama Barrow against longtime president, Yahya Jammeh, made history as they trickled in late at night on December 1. The small West African country, bound on three sides by Senegal, has been ruled for more than two decades by the […]

Africa

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2016

Can the Iran Nuclear Deal Survive Donald Trump?

By Giorgio Cafiero and Daniel Wagner

Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States has created uncertainty for the future of the nuclear deal with Iran. On the campaign trail, Trump made no secret of his opposition to the deal—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). However, even if Trump’s administration retards the implementation of […]

China European Union

SyriaSource

Dec 2, 2016

In Eulogy for my Brother: “Our Lives Have Become Like This”

By Haid Haid

Editor’s note: This article is a personal piece from one of our regular contributors, Haid Haid. Though outside of SyriaSource’s normal analytical articles, it is important that those of us invested in the Syrian conflict—as observers, researchers, participants, or in any other capacity—remember that the war is brutal and every day there is a significant […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2016

Mosul Will Be Remembered As a Turning Point

By Tyler Nocita

The US-led coalition offensive to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the final major foothold of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Iraq, has progressed slowly but positively over the course of the past month. However, questions still remain whether the offensive, Operation Inherent Resolve, will prove to be a coalition of […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2016

A Referendum on Renzi

A “yes” vote in the Italian referendum on December 4 will reinforce Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, bolstering his leadership in the face of rising populism throughout Europe and enabling his efforts to encourage economic growth, said Andrea Montanino, director of the Atlantic Council’s Global Business and Economics Program, in a Facebook live discussion on December […]

Italy

UkraineAlert

Dec 1, 2016

A New Approach to Reintegrating Eastern Ukraine and Crimea

By Oksana Bedratenko

Russian aggression is not likely to go away soon. As a result, Ukraine needs to revise the current framework guiding its economic disengagement from the occupied regions of the Donbas and Crimea. Economic disengagement limits the risks of financing terrorism with money coming from mainland Ukraine, and makes sure that the occupied areas of Donbas […]

Russia Ukraine

Trade in Action

Dec 1, 2016

TTIP&TRADE in Action – December 1, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

The Italian Constitutional Referendum on December 4,  seeks to streamline Italy’s public administration, requiring approval for proposed laws only from the Chamber of Deputies. What is this all about? What will a No vote/Yes vote actually mean? Watch this Atlantic Council live video for predictions and answers.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Middle East Strategy Task Force

Dec 1, 2016

The Middle East’s ‘Moment of Opportunity’

The key to achieving stability and growth in the Middle East is harnessing the potential of entrepreneurial young people who are empowered and committed to creating a better future for the region and supporting their efforts, according to experts on the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Strategy Task Force. Stephen Grand and Jessica Ashooh, executive director […]