New Atlanticist

A Democracy Test in The Gambia

By Kelsey Lilley

Even as Donald Trump was preparing for his inauguration as the next president of the United States, a more contentious transition of power was being attempted in the Gambia, where the incumbent president, Yahya Jammeh, has stubbornly refused to make way for President-elect Adama Barrow. Senegalese forces under the umbrella of Economic Community of West […]

Ukraine Confident US Support Will Not Waver

By Teri Schultz

‘Channeling Brussels’ with Yehor Bozhok, Ukraine’s acting head of mission at NATO While the United States’ allies in Europe have been shaken by US President-elect Donald Trump’s description of NATO as “obsolete” and his suggestion that he may consider relaxing US sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine, Ukraine’s top diplomat at NATO […]

Look for These Foreign Policy Themes in Trump’s Inaugural Address

By Alex Ward

Though inauguration speeches are not known for their foreign policy pronouncements, the world’s complexity demands that US President-elect Donald J. Trump mention foreign policy in his address to the nation during his inauguration on January 20. In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt used his speech to describe how the United States could continue on the path to […]

Trump Said What?

A closer look at some of Donald Trump’s foreign policy positions US President-elect Donald Trump’s comments about NATO, the European Union (EU), and Russia have rattled US allies as they look for indicators as to how the United States will engage with the international community and establish its role in the world. On January 16, […]

Trump’s War in Syria

Incoming US administration must draw a red line between al Qaeda and US-backed rebels, say analysts US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration must consider the far-reaching consequences of allowing US-backed opposition forces to work with al Qaeda in Syria, Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said at the Atlantic Council on […]

Samantha Power Outlines Russian Threat to the United States, Rules-Based Order

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, on January 17 described Russia as a “major threat” facing the United States and the rules-based liberal world order, and cautioned Americans against allowing Moscow to divide them in the face of this threat. “Our values, our security, our prosperity, and our very way of […]

Transatlantic Relationship Forecast: Stormy Weather Ahead

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The transatlantic relationship is in for a rough ride over the course of Donald Trump’s presidency simply because there is no “correcting mechanism” among the incoming cabinet to counter the next US president’s rhetoric on the European Union, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. In an interview with the Times of London and Germany’s Bild […]

Monsieur Hollande Goes to Africa

By J. Peter Pham

French President François Hollande went to Bamako, Mali, last week for the twenty-seventh Africa-France Summit, his last scheduled visit to Africa before he leaves office in May, having been forced to give up any hope of a second term by the most abysmal approval ratings of any head of state in this history of the […]

With Migration Policy Change, Obama Leaves Cuba Relationship to Trump

By Ashish Kumar Sen

White House ends policy that allowed Cubans reaching US soil to automatically apply for asylum US President Barack Obama’s decision to end the “wet foot, dry foot” policy that allowed any Cuban migrant who reached US soil to stay in the country will slow the number of Cuban immigrants rushing to the United States, but […]

OPEC Oil Deal Will Stick, say Energy Ministers

The oil production cuts set forth in a deal recently enacted by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be upheld by the nations involved, effectively stabilizing the global energy market, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC’s secretary general, said in Abu Dhabi on January 12. “I remain very confident with what I have seen […]