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.
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UkraineAlert

Aug 25, 2016

Does Ukraine Need an Anti-Corruption Court?

By Thomas Firestone

The recent scandal surrounding alleged payments made to Paul Manafort by the former Ukrainian government has again cast a spotlight on corruption in Ukraine. Whatever one thinks of the Manafort story, no one can dispute that Ukrainians are entitled to an honest government that does not steal from them. But how can Ukraine achieve this […]

Russia Ukraine

MENASource

Aug 25, 2016

Egypt and Ethiopia: Fears of Drought and Dreams of Development

By Mohamed Mahmoud

The sign above a modest, one-story shop features a photo of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam next to an image of gold and dollars: revenue expected from the dam, the great dream in Ethiopia’s imagination. For Egyptians, that same dream stirs fears of drought. Tsegaab Getachew, a 29-year old Ethiopian tour organizer, hopes that the […]

Ethiopia North Africa

MENASource

Aug 24, 2016

Can Tunisia’s New Government Deliver?

By Karim Mezran and Elissa Miller

On August 20, Tunisia’s new Prime Minister-designate Youssef Chahed announced his new cabinet. Almost three weeks earlier, Prime Minister Habib Essid had been ousted in a vote of no-confidence. President Beji Caid Essebsi and his supporters, displeased with Essid’s performance and worried by the country’s economic downturn and political tensions, decided to change course and […]

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Aug 24, 2016

Colombia: On the Brink of Peace

By Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez

Colombia is at the brink of a historical moment. With the conclusion of peace negotiations in Havana on August 24, the country is on the verge of signing an accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Important steps must be taken before Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, known […]

Colombia

New Atlanticist

Aug 24, 2016

Making Sense of Turkey’s Intervention in Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels on August 24 seized an Islamic State stronghold in Syria. The military operation marks a significant escalation of Turkey’s role in the war against the Islamic State and comes days after the Turkish government vowed to “cleanse” its borders of the militants. Aaron Stein and Faysal Itani, both senior resident fellows in […]

Syria Turkey

New Atlanticist

Aug 24, 2016

Winning the Peace in Colombia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Colombia’s president must focus on shoring up support for peace and reintegration, says Atlantic Council’s Peter Schechter On the brink of ending Latin America’s longest-running armed conflict, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos must now make a concerted effort to convince Colombians that the peace deal he struck with the leftist guerrillas is worthy of their […]

Colombia

MENASource

Aug 24, 2016

Libya and the HoR Vote: What May Come Next

By Fadel Lamen and Karim Mezran

After many failed attempts to meet and reach a quorum, Libya’s House of Representatives (HoR) seated in Tobruk met on August 22 and voted on the cabinet of the Government of National Accord (GNA) proposed by the Presidential Council (PC) led by Fayez Serraj. With the legal quorum of 101 members, 61 members voted no […]

Libya

SyriaSource

Aug 24, 2016

The SDF takes Manbij but Life is Slow to Return

By Aleppo 24

Local factions in Manbij, in cooperation with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of local forces dominated by Kurdish forces, succeeded on August 11 in ousting the Islamic State (ISIS) from the city after intense fighting that began on May 28 and forced the group to withdraw from the last areas it controlled in al-Sirb, […]

Syria

FutureSource

Aug 23, 2016

Human Enhancements: What the Public and National Security Experts Worry About

By Kevin Fulgham

As medical enhancement technology develops at an ever-increasing rate, the American public is more concerned about the future ethical implications of these new discoveries. Which medical enhancements provoke the strongest reaction, and are bioethicists prepared to respond to emerging ethical questions?

Vice President Joe Biden

NATOSource

Aug 23, 2016

Biden Assures Allies and Criticizes Trump’s Ignorance of NATO

By Washington Post, Politico, and Reuters

From Karen De Young, Washington Post:  In Riga on Tuesday, [Vice President Joe] Biden reiterated U.S. and NATO determination to stand against Russian aggression in the Baltic region,

NATO Northern Europe