New Atlanticist

Ukraine Must Fully Implement IMF Program, says Former Finance Minister

By Mitch Hulse

Ukraine’s new government must fully implement the International Monetary Fund’s financial assistance program and undertake “painful reforms,” the country’s former Finance Minister, Natalie Jaresko, said on April 14. Jaresko spoke at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council hours after learning she had lost her job in a government shakeup—the most significant since 2014—marked by […]

US Foreign Policy Needs to be ‘Balanced’ Between ‘Great Exertions’ and ‘Retreat’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Interview with Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad served as the US Ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration. A member of the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors, Khalilzad has recently authored an insightful and widely praised memoir—The Envoy. In […]

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama: Enlargement a Secondary Priority for the European Union

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Leader says Europe preoccupied with economic, security, and migration crises A combination of economic, security, and migration challenges facing Europe could “fuel instability in the Western Balkans” and “bring more uncertainty to the south and east,” Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, said on April 13. Rama contended that Balkan states such as Albania—eager to deepen […]

Iraq’s Prime Minister Abadi Stuck Between Parliament and Protesters at the Gates

By Nussaibah Younis

No matter what he tries, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi just can’t catch a break. Faced with thousands of protesters threatening to breach the Green Zone in Baghdad, Abadi relented to their demand that he assemble a group of independent technocrats to form a new cabinet. But when Iraq’s political blocs got wind of the […]

How to Solve Ukraine’s Security Dilemma

By Andreas Umland

The Case for a New Security Pact between the Baltic and Black Seas A main reason for the recent escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe is the absence of an effective security structure encompassing such militarily weak countries as Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. While Ukrainian public opinion has recently made a U-turn from a rejection […]

Navy Espionage for an A2AD Age

By Steven Horrell

US Navy Flight Officer may have jeopardized intelligence gathering capabilities News trickled out this weekend about a US Navy Officer charged with espionage who may have jeopardized significant intelligence collection capabilities and sensitive operations because of the access he had to patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. The Officer, who has been identified (although not officially confirmed […]

IMF, World Bank Spring Meetings: Five Issues to Watch (and Five Questions to Ask)

By Andrea Montanino

Finance Ministers and central bankers will gather in Washington from April 15-17 for the spring meetings of the Bretton Woods Institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It will be an important opportunity to check in on the global economy. Here are five key topics to pay attention to during the meetings.

Impressions from a Trip to Japan

For one week in February, an Atlantic Council team and peers from Washington-based academic institutions and think tanks visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, Saijo, and Miyajima to learn about the culture, traditions, and international policies of Japan. We attended meetings with representatives of government agencies, private companies, and local think tanks. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored […]

Moldova’s Presidential Election Pits Pro-Europe Candidates Against Pro-Russia Ones

By Brian Mefford

Moldova’s presidential elections are shaping up to divide the electorate between pro-Europe and pro-Russia candidates even before campaigning officially gets underway. On April 1, Moldova’s Parliament voted to hold direct presidential elections on October 30. It put off the official start of the election campaign until July 30 to allow Parliament time to pass electoral […]

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg Stands Up for the Alliance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg refused to wade into US domestic politics, but he delivered a forceful defense of the Alliance on April 6 in remarks that may be interpreted as a firm rebuttal to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s criticism of the grouping as “obsolete.” Noting that the mutual interests of the United States […]