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.
View all
of our blogs
Subscribe to our
newsletters

Latest from across our blogs

MENASource

May 14, 2019

How climate change could exacerbate conflict in the Middle East

By Sagatom Saha

Global warming will do the Middle East no favors. Evidence abounds it will be the region that climate change will hit hardest. Summer temperatures across the region are expected to increase more than twice the global average.

Climate Change & Climate Action

UkraineAlert

May 13, 2019

Will Ukraine become a giant Moldova?

By James Brooke

Without a red-tape slashing revolution, Ukraine will become a big Moldova—a bedroom country for migrant workers building the dynamic economies of eastern Europe.

Migration Moldova

New Atlanticist

May 13, 2019

US-China trade war: Escalation with no end in sight

By Hung Tran

The international community needs to be much more concerned about the current situation and more active in finding a way to engage both governments. Washington and Beijing still have time to walk back from the brink.

China Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

May 13, 2019

Sweden and European defense: Why words matter

By Elin Schiffer

Through more visible participation in the debate on European defense and strategic autonomy, Sweden could gain more influence and bring in important regional issues related to Baltic Sea security, thus shaping long-term visions and frameworks for European defense and strategic autonomy.

Defense Policy European Union

New Atlanticist

May 13, 2019

In South Africa, illicit cigarettes are a smoking gun on corruption

By Simone Haysom

The flourishing illicit tobacco market in South Africa speaks to a less sensational but equally destabilizing set of risks. At the core of this challenge is the state’s ability to provide effective regulation of an industry that is vulnerable to gray and black markets

Corruption Macroeconomics

IranSource

May 13, 2019

On Iran, Europeans caught between multilateral and transatlantic realities

By Tarja Cronberg

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on May 8 that Iran may reduce its compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if the non-US parties to the deal don’t find a way to provide Tehran with promised economic benefits.

Iran

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2019

After China, will the EU be the next target of Trump’s tariffs?

By Marie Kasperek

Trump’s focus could next shift to a different front: a May 18 deadline to decide on how to react to a US Commerce Department report — a decision that could result in tariffs on imported cars and car parts.

China Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2019

In Syria, civilians again on the bullseye

By Frederic C. Hof

Provided the regime of Bashar al-Assad refrains from using chemical weapons, it seems very unlikely that anyone will lift a finger to protect Syrian civilians and, by extension, defend the West.

Conflict Syria

MENASource

May 9, 2019

Xi Jinping’s promise of an open BRI bodes well for Chinese-Gulf relations

By Dan Katz

Promises made by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the biennial Belt and Road Forum about opening the Belt and Road Initiative to multilateral and third-party investment could bode well for Gulf-China relations and the Middle East more broadly by creating new opportunities for energy and economic cooperation.

China International Organizations

SyriaSource

May 9, 2019

Constant attacks continue to displace thousands in Syria

By Rana Riziq

The Syrian government along with its Russian allies launched a brutal assault on Idlib province, the last rebel-held areas, on Monday 30 April. The United Nations said the attacks included the worst use of barrel bombs by the Syrian army in 15 months. It said an estimated 323,000 people have been displaced in northwest Syria since last year.

Syria