New Atlanticist

Another Independence Referendum in Catalonia?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on October 21 announced his government’s intention to remove the leaders of Catalonia’s regional government and called for elections to be held as soon as possible. “By deciding to hold elections in Catalonia, the Spanish government is essentially calling a repeat referendum on independence in an extremely polarized situation,” said […]

Financial Pressure Needed to Prevent Financial Crimes in the DRC

By Rachel Ansley

The United States should apply sanctions on illicit financial networks and crack down on money laundering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a “violent kleptocracy” has fueled an ongoing and deadly conflict, John Prendergast, co-founder of The Sentry and founding director of the Enough Project, said at the Atlantic Council. Increased consequences […]

A Blueprint for a US Strategy in Asia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States should update, revitalize, and defend the rules-based international order while considering “hard-headed” engagement with China, according to the latest in a series of Atlantic Council strategy papers. This “is not a strategy designed in Washington to be imposed on the region,” said Matthew Kroenig, a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s […]

Xi Seeks to Solidify Grip on China

The National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened in Beijing on October 18, will solidify Chinese President Xi Jinping’s grip on Chinese politics and society, part of a plan to guide the Asian nation toward dominance on the world stage, potentially at the expense of the United States, according to Atlantic Council […]

Austrian Elections Demonstrate Success of Aestheticized Populism

By Adham Sahloul

The victory of Sebastian Kurz’s conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) in parliamentary elections on October 15 is the latest manifestation of the rightward shift in European politics and the consequence of adjustments conservative politicians are making to attract a wider base.  The ÖVP came in at first place with more than 30 percent of the […]

Raqqa Falls. Now Comes the Hard Part

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is driven from its strongholds in Syria, US-backed forces face the challenge of stabilizing these conflict-ravaged territories. This task is made more urgent by the fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Iran-backed militias are swooping in on eastern Syria in an attempt to capitalize […]

Iraqi Operation Will Deepen Rift Among Kurds

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iraqi government forces on October 16 seized vital oil fields and the city of Kirkuk from Kurdish forces. The military action, which pits two US allies against each other, followed a September 25 referendum in which the Kurds voted for an independent state. The Iraqi government had declared the vote unconstitutional. Kirkuk, which is not […]

In Somalia, Bombings Highlight Limits of US Military Assistance

The deadly bombings in Mogadishu, attributed to, yet not claimed by al-Shabaab, highlight the need for a new strategy from both US forces and the Somali government to counter violent extremism as militant groups adapt to increased US military action, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “The weekend’s attacks highlight the limits of the military […]

Somalis are the Victims of US State-Building Efforts

By Bronwyn Bruton

This weekend’s truck bombing in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, was the worst assault on civilians in that country’s long, sad history. But such attacks are a weekly event in Somalia and have been for the past decade. This attack was dramatically worse than most, but surely it won’t be the last. And it highlights a […]

Trump and the Art of the [Iran Nuclear] Deal

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As expected, US President Donald J. Trump on October 13 announced that he will not certify Iran’s compliance with the terms of a multilateral nuclear deal, accusing the Islamic Republic of “not living up to the spirit” of the agreement. While Trump did not take the United States out of the deal, he asserted the […]