New Atlanticist

A Call to Europe’s Leaders to Fight the Rising Tide of Populism

By Rachel Ansley

European leaders must address the economic factors that have contributed to the rise of populism in the West and cater to their constituents who have been on the losing end of globalization, said George Alogoskoufis, a former finance minister of Greece. Alogoskoufis contended that globalization is good for societies as a whole, but there are […]

Here’s Why the US-Mexico Energy Relationship is Important

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

While the US-Mexico relationship has been making headlines because of the political fallout from US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall, it is important to consider Mexico’s role in global and regional energy markets as well as its energy relationship with the United States.  

In Astana, a Deal That Leaves Assad’s Power Intact

The ceasefire agreement recently negotiated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran preserves Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power, but the deal itself is significant because for the first time the key players, with the exception of the United States, have come to the table with an understanding that a political solution to the conflict is […]

Trump’s Wall Drives a Wedge Between the United States and Mexico

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall has plunged the US-Mexico relationship into an unseemly crisis, according to two Latin America analysts at the Atlantic Council. “It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world,” said Peter Schechter, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne […]

Can Trump’s Anti-EU Rhetoric Unite Europe?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, sees a silver lining While US President Donald Trump’s predictions that other member states, besides the United Kingdom, will desert the European Union (EU) are unhelpful, they serve as a wake-up call for the EU to set its house in order, according to a senior European official. […]

Astana Peace Talks: To the Victor Go the Spoils

By Nabeel Khoury

The Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, consecrate Russia’s primacy in Syria, launched with its entrance into the conflict in 2015, and extended with its ability now to convene peace talks and dictate terms. The outcome of the talks on January 23 also put on display the ascendant axis of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lebanese […]

Trump to Meet British Prime Minister May. Here’s What You Should Know.

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Interview with Sir Peter Westmacott, distinguished ambassadorial fellow at the Atlantic Council US President Donald Trump will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May—his first meeting with a head of state or government since his inauguration on January 20—at the White House on January 27. Sir Peter Westmacott, distinguished ambassadorial fellow at the Atlantic Council who […]

Germany’s ‘Marshall Plan’ for Africa

By J. Peter Pham

Explicitly invoking the US aid initiative that rebuilt Western Europe’s devastated infrastructure and weakened economies after World War II as a bulwark against Communist expansionism, the German government unveiled its ambitious framework for a “Marshall Plan with Africa” (Eckpunkte für einen Marshallplan mit Afrika) on January 18 with the twin objectives of increasing trade and […]

The United States Quits TPP: A Gift for China

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s decision to take the United States out of a free-trade agreement with eleven other Pacific Rim nations is a “gift” for China because it undermines a deal through which the United States had sought to write the rules of the road for global trade, according to two Atlantic Council analysts. “Donald […]

The Time is Right for a ‘More Assertive’ US Role on World Stage

By Rachel Ansley

The United States must take on a “more assertive” role on the global stage as President-elect Donald Trump and his newly appointed team devise a cohesive national security strategy to deter and counter both immediate and looming challenges, according to the Atlantic Council’s Barry Pavel, who is a former member of the National Security Council […]