New Atlanticist

Changing Nicolás Maduro’s Calculus in Venezuela

The United States, working with its allies, must gradually ramp up economic sanctions on Venezuela as part of a strategy to change Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian behavior, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “The goal of the sanctions is to change the calculus of President Maduro and his supporters… so they realize there are […]

Erik Prince’s ‘Reckless’ Proposal for Afghanistan

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Sean McFate warns against plan that would rely more on military contractors A proposal that would have the United States rely more heavily on private military contractors instead of US troops, and install what would essentially be a US viceroy in Afghanistan, is an example of “reckless foreign policy,” according to Sean McFate, […]

IRGC’s Gulf Antics: A Strategy to Undermine the Nuclear Deal?

By Owen Daniels

Iran’s recent aggression toward US forces in the Persian Gulf may be part of a strategy among the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other hardline elements to goad Trump into a rash decision on the nuclear deal that earns them a political payday.   On August 8, Iran flew a drone within one hundred […]

NATO Needs an Offensive Cybersecurity Policy

By Barbara Roggeveen

Modern-day warfare is as much about cyberattacks and the protection of communication and information systems as it is about kinetic military action. In 2016, NATO’s institutional networks experienced on average 500 cyberattacks a month—an increase of roughly 60 percent from the year before. Other recent, high-profile, transnational cyberattacks, such as the WannaCry ransomware attack and […]

Democracy in Doubt

By Elizabeth Ball

Beijing’s disregard for twenty-year-old agreement raises questions about Hong Kong’s future Beijing’s disregard for an agreement that ensures Hong Kong’s basic freedoms raises doubts about the future of democracy in this Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. On July 1, 1997, the United Kingdom (UK) handed Hong Kong back to China, ending […]

Pakistan’s Reform Moment

By Nadeem Ul Haque

Pakistan is once again in the news with the dismissal of its prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, by the supreme court over a corruption case. This development is not unusual in a country with a history of democratically-elected governments being hobbled by incompetence and corruption. Pakistan has also seen three military coups and has been under […]

International Effort Needed to Address Crisis in Venezuela

By Kelly Russo

 While US sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro present a smart, targeted response, a coordinated international approach is necessary to address the political and humanitarian crises in Venezuela, according to two Atlantic Council analysts. “The United States can’t go it alone,” said Jason Marczak, director of the Latin America Economic Growth Initiative in the Atlantic […]

Will the Trump Administration Address the GCC-North Korea Nexus?

By Giorgio Cafiero and Theodore Karasik

Several recent articles on North Korea’s relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have drawn this Northeast Asian country into an ongoing crisis within the bloc. From Washington’s perspective, GCC-North Korea relations threaten to undermine US efforts to isolate Pyongyang and squeeze it economically in response to its belligerent behavior marked by the recent […]

Putin Lashes Out

Will Russia’s reaction to US sanctions be short-lived? [Editor’s note: US President Donald J. Trump signed the new sanctions bill on August 2.]  The Kremlin’s reaction to the new US sanctions indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in a “lashing-out mood,” that, while unsettling, will be short-lived, according to Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow […]

Targeting Russia’s Oil: Why Sanctions Will Ultimately Work

By Lukas Trakimavičius

It has been three years since the European Union (EU) and the United States enacted a series of sanctions against Russia for the unlawful annexation of Crimea and the subsequent war in eastern Ukraine. Some of these sanctions deliberately target Russia’s oil industry because it is the backbone of the country’s economy. However, as Russia’s […]