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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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BelarusAlert

May 25, 2021

Ukraine bans Belarus flights over Lukashenka’s air piracy

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine will ban air traffic with Belarus starting May 26 as the fallout continues from Sunday’s dramatic forced landing of an EU airliner and passenger abduction in Minsk.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy

AfricaSource

May 25, 2021

Africa is America’s greatest geopolitical opportunity. Does the US know it?

By Rama Yade

Biden can further build ties with Africa: He should do so not only because these countries have long been underrepresented within leading multilateral organizations, but also because they offer innovative solutions to global challenges including terrorism, climate change, migration, debt, and COVID-19.

Africa Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

May 25, 2021

US diplomatic signals go unheard in Ukraine

By Oleksiy Honcharuk

President Zelenskyy’s recent press conference marking his second year in office reinforced the impression that Kyiv is still struggling to interpret the diplomatic signals it is receiving from Washington.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

BelarusAlert

May 24, 2021

State-sponsored air piracy: Belarus dictator tests the international community

By Peter Dickinson

European leaders agreed to new sanctions against Belarus on May 24, the day after dictator Lukashenka sparked uproar by forcing an EU passenger jet to land in Minsk and abducting a high-profile dissident passenger.

Belarus European Union

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2021

Belarus air piracy: How the world should respond

By Daniel Fried

Outrage at aggression should lead to action. The West has options for a civil-aviation response as well as new targeted sanctions.

Belarus European Union

GeoTech Cues

May 24, 2021

SCOTCH: A framework for rapidly assessing influence operations

By Sam Blazek, PhD

The increased involvement of digital technology and media in war requires innovative frameworks for understanding information warfare and influence operations. In this piece, GeoTech Action Council member Sam Blazek outlines SCOTCH, a new framework for characterizing influence operations.

Digital Policy Disinformation

MENASource

May 24, 2021

The US sanctions regimen against the Assad regime is working. Here’s how.

By Peter Metzger

The US' targeted and tailored sanctions regimen not only give the US and its allies leverage toward a political resolution to the conflict, but so too do said designations hold together a de facto nationwide ceasefire throughout Syria.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Middle East

Fast Thinking

May 22, 2021

FAST THINKING: How do you solve a problem like North Korea?

By Atlantic Council

Our experts break down the White House meeting between US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on North Korea, space, trade, and more.

Arms Control China

The future is here

May 21, 2021

The post-COVID world this week: A return to life, a ‘turnover tsunami,’ and today’s massive digital transformation

By Andrew R. Marshall

What can we expect from a post-COVID world after a pandemic that has reshaped international affairs? A world in which the digital transition is moving faster than previously predicted and more people move online.

Coronavirus Education

GeoTech Cues

May 21, 2021

Games with serious impacts: The next generation of serious games

By Richard J. Cordes

Nonresident Fellow RJ Cordes discusses the growth of and potential applications for the study of serious games.

Technology & Innovation