Atlantic Council blogs

Brazil After Dilma: A Reason for Optimism

By Andrea Murta

A year ago, Dilma Rousseff, the former president of Brazil, and Eduardo Cunha, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, were involved in a public duel that threatened the pillars of the republic. Today, both have lost their jobs. That doesn’t mean that a turbulent chapter in Brazil’s history has ended. Now begins an […]

Anti-Terror Law Casts Shadow Over Russian Election

A combination of suspicions of Russian government involvement in the theft of Democratic National Committee e-mails and new anti-terrorism measures recently signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin bode ill for Duma elections scheduled for September 18. The DNC hack, while not confirmed as an attempt by the Kremlin to manipulate the results of […]

Israel’s First Ambassador to NATO Presents His Credentials

By Times of Israel

Israel’s first ambassador to the 28-member NATO military alliance on Friday presented his credentials to its secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg as the Jewish state opened a permanent mission at the organization’s Brussels headquarters.

Long Read: Game of Shrines and the Road to Darayya

By Annia Ciezadlo

As the Syrian government and its allied militias evacuate mostly Sunni populations from rebel-held areas, sectarian narratives are filling the vacuum.

Factbox: Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act

By Brittany Keroack

On July 12, 2016, Representative Eliot Engel of New York introduced H.R. 5732, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016. This bill uses sanctions to put pressure on the Syrian government and anyone supporting it to stop committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Syrian government, empowered with support from Iran and Russia, […]

Juncker Calls For a Europe that Defends

By Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission

A Europe that protects is a Europe that defends – at home and abroad.

Juncker: EU is in an Existential Crisis

By Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission

Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis.

Venezuelan Opposition Looks for Game Changer in Bid to Oust Maduro

Venezuelans currently face “the challenge of beating by democratic means a regime that is not democratic,” said Julio Andrés Borges Junyent, the majority leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly and part of the opposition that is challenging the leadership of President Nicolás Maduro. On September 1, thousands of Venezuelans participated in a protest organized by the […]

The Myth of a European Army

By Leo Michel

Are European Union member states about to launch a serious effort to create a “European army?” EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, reacting to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, famously broached the idea in March 2015.

What’s the Alternative?

By Frederic C. Hof

One prays that Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest foray into the tangled web of Syrian diplomacy will bear the most precious fruit of all: the sustained and even permanent protection of Syrian civilians from the rapacious assaults of the Assad regime (fully supported by Iran), Russia, the Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS, Daesh), and others. […]