New Atlanticist

Nigeria’s Finance Minister on How Falling Oil Prices Impact on Africa’s Biggest Economy

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Nigeria is surprised by a US decision to slash oil imports from Africa’s top petroleum producer, but is eager to deepen its economic relationship with the US in other areas, according to Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s finance and economy minister.

United States should discourage “patriotic hackers” from attacking North Korea

By New Atlanticist

Atlantic Council Analysts Say No Easy Response for US to Sony Cyber Attack North Korea’s Internet outage this week could be the work of “good ol’ American patriotic hackers,” according to Jason Healey, director of the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative. North Korea’s Internet service appeared to be working again on December 23 following a […]

Europe-Turkey Tensions Rise as Russia Seeks Partnership with Ankara

By Pınar Dost-Niyego

Three recent events in and around Turkey raise concerns about this country’s direction for the United States and its European allies.

US Faces Tough Challenge in Responding to North Korean Cyber Attack

By New Atlanticist

‘Proportionate’ Response Will Be Hard to Shape, Atlantic Council’s Jason Healey Says The US government faces a tough challenge in determining how to fulfil President Obama’s promise to “respond proportionately” to North Korea’s cyber attack on Sony Pictures, according to Atlantic Council analyst Jason Healey. “What this really means for now is that the administration […]

South Sudan Peace Talks ‘Going Nowhere,’ Says Atlantic Council Expert

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Peace talks aimed at ending South Sudan’s civil war are ‘going nowhere’ because the process is mostly led by countries that are party to the conflict, according to Dr. J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. 

US Cuba Shift Was Presaged by Poll Showing Americans Were Ready for Change

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Relations with Cuba No Longer ‘The Poisoned Chalice,’ Atlantic Council Analysis Showed President Barack Obama’s sweeping changes to US-Cuba policy were at least in part influenced by an understanding that this was widely favored among the American people. The Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center released a poll in February that found support on […]

In Libya, Push for War Is Stronger Than Push for Peace

By New Atlanticist

Atlantic Council Analyst Karim Mezran on Libya’s Escalated Warfare Meddling by international actors in Libya has undermined a United Nations effort to broker peace in the North African nation, according to Karim Mezran, resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, and […]

President Obama Announces New Cuba Policy

Quick Takes from Atlantic Council Experts President Barack Obama today announced a historic policy change that opens up diplomatic relations, facilitates trade, and expands travel to Cuba.     Immediately after the White House announcement, Atlantic Council experts provided the following analysis.

Taliban School Assault Seen Likely to Build Consensus on Fighting Terrorism in Pakistan

By New Atlanticist

Counter-Terror Drive in Waziristan Has Dislodged, Not Destroyed, Militants, Says Shuja Nawaz The killing by Pakistan’s Taliban of more than 140 people, mostly children, at a school is likely to “provide some glue for a consensus [in Pakistan] that you cannot negotiate with terrorist groups,” according to Atlantic Council South Asia specialist Shuja Nawaz. The […]

Education Policy Opportunity Missed at the Ibero-American Summit

By Gabriel Sánchez Zinny

The 24th Ibero-American Summit, which sought to put the focus on education in the context of slow economic growth, did not produce a specific proposal to address the challenges of developing human capital.