Atlantic Council blogs

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk Resigns. Why Now? What’s Next?

By Anders Åslund

On April 10, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk submitted his resignation, and on April 12 parliament is expected to approve Speaker of Parliament Volodymyr Groisman as prime minister. It is, of course, good that Ukraine’s two-month long government crisis is being resolved, but it is not evident that the new government will be able to […]

Banking on the Generosity of Others

By Frederic C. Hof

In an April 7 interview with Hassan Moawad of Al Arabiya, Secretary of State John Kerry’s imprecision on the political future of Bashar al-Assad and the nature of Syrian political transition illustrated with fine granularity some critical shortfalls in the administration’s approach to Syria. By downgrading the importance of recent Russian-Assad regime military gains and […]

IMF, World Bank Spring Meetings: Five Issues to Watch (and Five Questions to Ask)

By Andrea Montanino

Finance Ministers and central bankers will gather in Washington from April 15-17 for the spring meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It will be an important opportunity to check in on the global economy. Here are five key topics to pay attention to during the meetings.

The GNA Goes to Tripoli

By Mohamed Eljarh

The Presidential Council of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) arrived to the capital Tripoli on March 30 aboard a navy vessel after failing to fly into Tripoli twice. Since its arrival in the capital Tripoli, the Council has managed to consolidate its position as the internationally backed executive branch of government, but the […]

Egyptian Social Democratic Party Elections Highlight a Deep Rift

By Khaled Dawoud

Amid serious political divisions, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party (ESDP) elected a new president in early April. The party still faces many challenges, with personal rivalries running deep among ESDP leaders.

Impressions from a Trip to Japan

For one week in February, an Atlantic Council team and peers from Washington-based academic institutions and think tanks visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, Saijo, and Miyajima to learn about the culture, traditions, and international policies of Japan. We attended meetings with representatives of government agencies, private companies, and local think tanks. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored […]

NATO Chief Proposes Rapid-Deployment Training Force

By Paul Sonne, Wall Street Journal

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization outlined plans to create an at-the-ready crew of trainers prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice to help local forces aligned with the military alliance.

Moldova’s Presidential Election Pits Pro-Europe Candidates Against Pro-Russia Ones

By Brian Mefford

Moldova’s presidential elections are shaping up to divide the electorate between pro-Europe and pro-Russia candidates even before campaigning officially gets underway. On April 1, Moldova’s Parliament voted to hold direct presidential elections on October 30. It put off the official start of the election campaign until July 30 to allow Parliament time to pass electoral […]