New Atlanticist

Nigeria’s Optimists

By Kelsey Lilley

The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Nigeria Country Director Sentell Barnes likes to describe Nigeria as a house. “When you see it from the outside, maybe it looks like it’s falling in. But when you see it from the inside, there are things in place where the country is preventing itself…from going off the edge,” said […]

US-Russia Cooperation on Syria Seen as Catalyst for Syrian Conflict Resolution

By Julia Goldman

Reports of newfound military cooperation between Russia and the United States to resolve Syrian conflict are welcomed with caution by Syrian negotiation committees. “The hope is there may be serious cooperation at the highest level to finally address the Syrian situation in a serious way and at the level that is required,” said Bassama Kodmani, […]

In Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe Cornered by a Nonviolent Opposition

By TK Spandhla

Zimbabwe’s government has never before had to deal with a nonviolent civil resistance movement as it is currently facing, according to Chloë McGrath, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. The non-partisan nonviolent nature of the protests has “really changed the narrative of the way that protests have worked in Zimbabwe in the […]

Deploy the NATO Response Force to Deter Russia

By Ian Brzezinski

At the NATO Summit in Warsaw on July 8 and 9, the Alliance decided to deploy a multinational battalion in each of the following frontline states:  Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Lithuania. These forces, totaling some 4,000 personnel, are expected to arrive sometime in 2017. Their mission: to deter Russian aggression. Six to nine months, if […]

Human Rights is No Game

Panelists call for protections in nations hosting sporting events International sporting organizations need to step up to the plate and pressure countries hosting major sporting events to increase institutional transparency, reduce corruption, and prevent human rights abuses. “This is a moment of great concern and crisis for world sport defined by human rights [negligence], corruption, […]

Innovative Energy Technology Makes India Prime Candidate for Nuclear Suppliers Group

By Anil Kakodkar

Subsequent to the setback India suffered to its effort to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) at the group’s Seoul plenary in June, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center commissioned a series of essays on India and its integration into the nonproliferation regime. This initiative seeks to engage academics, policy makers, and analysts on some […]

Post-Ceasefire, Entrepreneurship Enables Social Inclusion in Colombia

By Meghan Rowley

With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on June 23, many have asked how the deal will help the country recover from decades of violence. However, the solution may depend on not just the agreement, but also the stable economic development of civil […]

Congolese Presidential Candidate Urges Use of Sanctions to Bring About Democratic Change in DRC

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Moise Katumbi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s leading opposition candidate for president, has urged the international community to use sanctions to press Congolese President Joseph Kabila to give up power. A political crisis in a country where war claimed around five million lives between 1994 and 2003 could create instability that spreads to the […]

A ‘Body Slam’ for China

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Tribunal rejects Beijing’s claims in South China Sea A ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that China’s claims to “historic rights” in the South China Sea are unlawful delivers a setback to Beijing’s territorial ambitions. The question remains, however, whether this verdict will in any way alter China’s behavior. “For sure, this is […]

It’s Time for Iraq’s Kurds to be Entrepreneurial

By Bina Hussein

Dreams of economic prosperity and stability came crashing down in Kurdistan when the Iraqi central government ceased supporting the region’s budget, oil and gas prices hit rock bottom, and the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) flared up in other parts of the country—causing over 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced […]