Atlantic Council blogs

9 Facts you should know about the United Nations

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The UN Charter states that the main purpose of the world body is to—“maintain international peace and security,” “develop friendly relations among nations,” “achieve international co-operation in solving international problems,” and “be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”

Iran More Assertive Regionally After Trump Withdrawal From JCPOA

By Maysam Behravesh

Iran’s regional strategy is rapidly evolving as the Islamic Republic is trying to adapt itself to a new, and increasingly challenging, international environment. A key determinant has been President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the multilateral nuclear deal, clinched between Iran and world powers in July 2015, known as the […]

ANGRY TRIDENT

By August Cole

Editor’s note: This short story describes a hypothetical future war in northern Europe between Russian and NATO forces using advanced technology. RUSSIA-NORWAY BORDER Small mountains of bicycles marked the Norwegian-Russian border at the Storskog crossing, piled high like shimmering haystacks in the November moonlight. Alongside them on the Russian side were cars and buses dusted […]

How Pro-Russian Forces Will Take Revenge on Ukraine

By Mykola Vorobiov

On September 12, the leaders of two key pro-Russian parties made important public statements that should not be overlooked. Sergei Lyovochkin, deputy head of the Opposition Bloc and a former leader in President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, and Vadym Rabinovich of the For Life political party, both spoke about the “active consolidation” of the two political […]

Contaminated fuel is poisoning global shipping

By Dr. David Soud, Dr. Ian Ralby, and Rohini Ralby

At least 200 merchant ships around the world have suffered serious, sometimes complete engine failure in recent months. Some of these vessels have been left helplessly adrift in the open sea. Others have run aground. Many have been carrying cargoes—crude oil, fuel, chemicals, containers—that could cause human or environmental catastrophes if the vulnerable ships were […]

The New Atlanticist Quiz: September 21, 2018

By Atlantic Council

Think you know what was going on in the world this week? Take the New Atlanticist Quiz to find out! Check back at the New Atlanticist homepage for future quizzes and the latest analysis and opinion on international news from our experts. Need to improve your score? Make sure you are signed up for our […]

Fifth anniversary of Westgate Mall attack: Fighting Al-Shabaab in Africa

By Ashish Kumar Sen

By the end of a four-day siege—the worst attack on Kenyan soil since the 1998 US Embassy bombing by al Qaeda—sixty-seven people were dead and more than two hundred wounded.

TRADE IN ACTION September 21, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

The Books the Trump Administration Should Read to Understand Iran

By Holly Dagres

When US President Donald Trump delivered his Iran strategy speech in October 2017, rather than focus on the important points that were being made, most Iranians zeroed in on him referring to the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf.” It was seen as a major insult by many Iranians who proudly view the body of […]

Ukrainian patriarch warns Russia will exploit split in Orthodox Church

By David A. Wemer

In remarks at the Atlantic Council in Washington on September 19, he warned that to stop further aggression by Moscow, “we need to stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin at Ukraine.”