New Atlanticist

Here’s what foreign interference in the 2020 election actually looked like

On this episode of Fast Thinking, Graham Brookie and Alyssa Kann of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab dive into what we know about how disinformation and interference played out in the 2020 US election. While some have been quick to call out Iran and Russia for meddling in the race, Graham and Alyssa […]

From debt relief to restructuring: The G20 wakes up to reality

By Vasuki Shastry and Jeremy Mark

As the pandemic-induced global recession continues to batter African economies, the Group of Twenty (G20) governments have sidestepped the pressing need for assistance to countries hardest hit by the downturn. Instead, they have focused on aligning their interests in preparation for the next stage of the region’s deepening crisis: the restructuring of unsustainable debt burdens.

Huawei’s push in Russia exploits Kremlin fears of Western technology

By Justin Sherman

With Moscow yearning for an alternative to Western technology and the United States on a campaign to throw Huawei out of Europe and East Asia, the Chinese telecom giant sensed opportunity in Russia.

FAST THINKING: Trump fires top DHS cybersecurity official over election protection

By Atlantic Council

Donald Trump escalated his attacks on the integrity of the US election process Tuesday night, firing a top Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity official who spent the last weeks debunking many of the president’s false claims about election fraud.

FAST THINKING: Trump’s plan to bring US troops home by Inauguration Day

By Atlantic Council

First he shook up the leadership at the Pentagon. Now, as his new acting defense secretary announced on Tuesday, Donald Trump is planning to withdraw significant numbers of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. How should we weigh the noble cause of ending wars against the president’s rush to do so as his term comes to an end? And how will these moves affect the Biden administration’s options when it takes office in January?

We must face up to what is happening in the United States of America

By Mathew Burrows

Despite Joe Biden’s victory, the fallout from the 2020 election is posing a mortal threat to American democracy from within. We must not sugarcoat what is happening in our country. Instead, we should face up to it and the responsibility we all bear—whether we are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents—for our present predicament.

New Asian free trade agreement secures economic space for China

By Hung Tran

The RCEP’s main winner will be China, who has secured a dominant position in one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions, giving Beijing the opportunity to establish its preferred rules and standards, and providing a major advantage for its companies to exploit these valuable markets.

Rushing for the exits in Afghanistan would leave a lasting stain on America

By James Cunningham, John Negroponte, Ronald Neumann, Hugo Llorens, Richard Olson, and Earl Anthony Wayne

Withdrawing quickly would end any hope for a decent and responsible peace agreement in Afghanistan, and would also put to rest any prospect that Trump’s legacy might include taking credit for the Afghan peace process that he and his Afghanistan team took the lead in creating.

How a Biden presidency could change US relations with the rest of the world

By Atlantic Council

We asked experts from around the Atlantic Council to preview what the election of Joe Biden as US president will mean for countries, big and small, all across the world. Here’s a quick spin around the globe as we preview what lies ahead for US foreign policy under Joe Biden:

Peace at last? Assessing the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

By Andrew D’Anieri

After six weeks of warfare, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia agreed to a peace deal on November 10 that seems to be more durable than prior agreements. The war leaves Armenia and Azerbaijan with dramatically different domestic situations and a new regional security order, with Russia and Turkey as major players and the United States and Europe on the periphery.