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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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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor test, Sept. 10, 2013

NATOSource

Jun 13, 2016

Poland and Baltic States Explore Anti-Aircraft Shield

By Financial Times and Reuters

From Sam Jones, Financial Times:  The Baltic states and Poland are in discussions with defence contractors to create a regional anti-aircraft missile shield to protect against Russian aircraft

Missile Defense NATO

UkraineAlert

Jun 13, 2016

Ukraine’s Oligarchs May Own the Media, but Public Broadcasting Is Shaking Things Up

By Roman Shutov

Last year, after years of debate and lobbying on the issue, public broadcasting was established in Ukraine. In a country suffering from a serious crisis of trust in the media, it looked like a chance to regain people’s faith. The dramatic decline in citizens’ trust in media started in 2014, when central Ukrainian TV channels […]

Ukraine

SyriaSource

Jun 13, 2016

Is the Assad Regime Switching Gears?

By Hossam Abouzahr and Tarek Radwan

Several recent events in Syria suggest that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies are changing their strategy to focus on retaking more land from the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) in concert with harassment bombing of opposition-held territories in western Syria. By focusing on retaking territory from ISIS, the Assad regime hopes to regain […]

Syria

SyriaSource

Jun 10, 2016

Is Assad Delusional?

By Faysal Itani

In a matter of months, Bashar Assad’s reading of the Syrian war was transformed. In a June 7 speech to Syria’s Parliament, he vowed to retake “every inch” of Syria, dismissing negotiations with the opposition as a trap. In contrast, less than a year ago in July 2015, Assad gave a very different speech. Then, […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 10, 2016

Challenging Putin at the Ballot Box

By Mitch Hulse

Russian opposition leader cites importance of participation in parliamentary elections In a climate of repression and authoritarianism institutionalized by Russian President Vladimir Putin, opposition parties “must use every opportunity to challenge” the Kremlin even if it means participating in a “flawed and truncated election process,” according to a Russian opposition leader.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

SyriaSource

Jun 10, 2016

Challenges Facing a Developing Kurdish Media

By Jiwan Soz

It is difficult to find a single professional Kurdish media outlet operating in Iraqi Kurdistan and Kurdish-controlled parts of Syria, or what in Kurdish is called Rojava. The situations in Iraq under Saddam Hussein and Syria under the Baathist regime led to a lack of independent media and institutions to nurture Kurdish media and language. […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2016

Energy Security is No Monkey Business

By Brenda Shaffer

A monkey prancing on an electricity transformer caused  a nationwide power outage in Kenya on June 7.  The incident is a reminder of the vulnerability of our energy infrastructure. Policies to protect such infrastructure tend to focus on preventing terrorist attacks on pipelines and power stations. But, as the incident in Kenya has shown, even […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Bremain vs Brexit

Jun 9, 2016

Britannia, Rule the Trade!

By Nathaniel Rome & TK Spandhla

The decades following World War II experienced an explosion of global trade. The annual growth rate of global exports averaged 8 percent in the 1950s, 9 percent in the 1960s, and 20 percent in the 1970s (World Trade Organization). During this boom of global trade, the volume of UK exports grew in absolute terms. However, up until the mid-1970s, the UK trade growth lagged behind the global average.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2016

Great Expectations: Aspirant Nations See NATO Enlargement as Vital to Europe’s Stability

By Mitch Hulse

NATO membership for countries in the Balkans and for Georgia is crucial for the stability of Europe and will send a clear signal that Russia does not have a veto over the alliance’s enlargement plans, panelists, including officials from Macedonia and Georgia, said at the Atlantic Council on June 8.

European Union Greece

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2016

Keep Door Open to Russia: Breedlove

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe advocates establishing a line of communications with Moscow It is important not to close the door to Russia, which is led by a man whose number one goal is to create rifts within NATO and the European Union, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, Gen. Philip M. […]

NATO Poland