New Atlanticist

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.

Moldova at a Tipping Point: Four Ways the US Should Help

By Damon Wilson

Small Steps for a Small Country Could Strengthen Europe Against Russia’s Assaults In the shadow of Ukraine’s war for true independence from Russia, the small country of Moldova is entering a critical chapter of its parallel struggle. Frustrated Moldovan voters last month reelected their pro-democratic government, but also delivered a warning that concrete economic and […]

If Ukraine’s Violence Is Not Addressed, Transformation Will Be Slow, Says Top IMF Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Violence in southeastern Ukraine could adversely impact the country’s economic transformation, Aasim M. Husain, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund’s European Department, told the Atlantic Council.

Isolated from the West, President Putin Visits India

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Bharath Gopalaswamy: ‘Russia is keen to demonstrate that it has friends in other parts of the world’ The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on December 11 sought to re-energize a relationship between two nations which had its peak during the Cold War.

Amid Hong Kong Protests, China Escalates Mainland Crackdown, Too

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘Off-the-Charts Harsh Sentences’ Against Anti-Corruption Protesters in Chinese Cities The government of President Xi Jinping is conducting “one of the harshest” Chinese campaigns against civil society and peaceful dissent in the past decade, according to a prominent human rights activist. The campaign has come amid the pro-democracy protests that have roiled Hong Kong since September. […]

Coalition Troops Officially End Combat Mission in Afghanistan Amid Growing Security Concerns

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As US and NATO troops depart Afghanistan, they are taking with them their expertise, hardware, dollars, and jobs – and also leaving behind many questions about the fate of that country’s security and economy.