New Atlanticist

Along for the Ride?

By Frederick Kempe

Beyond power machinations and political maneuvering, events in Saudi Arabia signal a more important, historic shift is underway Riyadh – King Salman’s unprecedented purge of the Saudi royal family this week was an earthquake whose ongoing aftershocks will go far beyond the country’s borders—rippling out across the Islamic world from the custodian of Mecca. The […]

Did Saudi Crown Prince Just Endanger His Reform Agenda?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Anti-corruption crackdown targets princes, wealthy businessmen Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on corruption that has, so far, resulted in the detention of more than two hundred people, including almost a dozen princes. The most significant targets are former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, whose assets have been frozen; Prince […]

Here’s Why NATO’s Cyber Operations Center is a Big Deal

NATO’s newly announced cyber operations center will allow the Alliance to “respond more effectively” to cyber attacks by integrating cyber measures with conventional military capabilities, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. The Alliance has “always had significant conventional capabilities—land, air, and sea—now cyber can be included,” said Franklin D. Kramer, a distinguished fellow in the […]

Addressing Africa’s Rampant Unemployment

By Rachel Ansley

Africa’s rising levels of unemployment, which threaten further instability on a continent already susceptible to unrest and violent extremism, must be addressed by building capacity within the sectors of government able to instigate positive change, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “The jobs issue has really concerned most companies, policy makers, stakeholders across the board […]

New Sanctions on Cuba: Bad for Cubans, Worse for the United States

By Nicole Wadley

Actions by US President Donald J. Trump’s administration, namely his November 8 announcement of further sanctions and travel restrictions on Cuba, have created a geopolitical vacuum, leaving the door open for US adversaries to reassert influence over one of the United States’ closest neighbors. Further measures which have ratcheted up tensions between Washington and Havana […]

Bonn and Berlin: COP23 and Coalition Negotiations Face Climate Challenges

By Ellen Scholl

Both the international climate talks this week in the former West German capital of Bonn, and the negotiations over the future composition of the German government continuing this week in Berlin, will focus on the country’s approach to climate policy. While all eyes may be on Bonn, the discussions in Berlin provide a preview, and […]

Trump Administration’s ‘Solid’ Guidance on Russia Sanctions

By Brian O'Toole and Daniel Fried

A potentially significant Russia sanctions action flew under the radar and escaped broad notice in the wake of the fallout from special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation last week.   The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US State Department released guidance on implementation of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act […]

US Strikes on ISIS in Somalia Underscore Threat, Vulnerabilities

By J. Peter Pham

On November 3, the United States carried out two separate airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Somalia, the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced in a statement. The operations marked the first time that US forces have targeted ISIS militants in the conflict-ridden Horn of Africa country, where al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab has […]

ASEAN and the Qatar Crisis

By Giorgio Cafiero

The months-old diplomatic crisis involving Qatar and the quartet—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Bahrain—has given Doha more reason to push for deeper energy, trade, and investment ties with dynamic economies of the Far East. To pursue these opportunities, last month Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani travelled to Malaysia, Singapore, […]

Trump Goes to Asia: An Opportunity to Assert US Leadership

By Ashish Kumar Sen

On his first full business day as president, Donald J. Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multilateral trade agreement with eleven other Asia-Pacific nations that was viewed as a pillar of US commitment to Asia. At the height of a nuclear crisis with North Korea, he instructed his advisers to […]