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Trade in Action

Oct 30, 2017

TRADE IN ACTION October 30

By Global Business & Economics Program

THIS WEEK IN TRADELast Friday, just shortly before President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing in early November, the Commerce Department hit imports of Chinese aluminum foil with preliminary anti-dumping duties, ranging from 97 percent to more than 162 percent. 

Economy & Business Japan

UkraineAlert

Oct 30, 2017

How to End the War in Eastern Ukraine

By Alexander Vershbow

The recent US debate about Russia has focused mainly on Moscow’s disinformation, propaganda, and interference in our elections. But Russia’s aggression against Ukraine remains the original sin and the biggest threat. It’s not just Ukraine’s survival as an independent, democratic state that is on the line, but the future of an international order based on […]

Russia Ukraine

Rebuilding Syria

Oct 30, 2017

Education in Syria Needs More Than Short-Term Solutions

By Kinana Qaddour

Syria’s situation—the massive amount of discussion, fragmented governance, and ongoing fighting—are not going to disappear anytime soon, and education models in Syria need to better adapt to it to address the growing learning gap. Although many organizations have programs to address education gaps for Syrian students, their approaches—focusing on access over quality, building traditional schools, […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 27, 2017

Abadi’s balancing act between the US and Iran

By Harith Hasan

Not many heads of governments in the Middle East can move swiftly between Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, Ankara, and Tehran, and receive a warm welcome in all those capitals. Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, followed this itinerary in the last few days, trying to create the image of a competent leader who victoriously took Iraq out […]

Iran Iraq

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2017

Spain’s Crisis Sharpens

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The crisis in Spain dramatically escalated on October 27 with Catalonia’s regional parliament declaring independence and the Spanish Senate responding with the approval of unprecedented powers for Madrid to seize control of the autonomous region. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called an emergency cabinet meeting and could fire Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his ministers—he […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2017

Africa Rising? Kenya Extends the Continent’s Losing Streak

By Bronwyn Bruton

For decades, Africa was portrayed by the international community as the hopeless continent. Then, as African countries staged a takeover of the world’s fastest-growing economies list in the early 2000s, the narrative shifted to “Africa rising.” It was eventually noticed that not all of Africa was rising. In fact, if anything, Africa was splitting in […]

Africa East Africa

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2017

Trump Administration’s Significant Action on Russia Sanctions

By Daniel Fried and Brian O'Toole

The Trump administration on October 26 issued a robust list of Russian defense and intelligence sector entities plus public guidance, which together seem to indicate its intention to robustly implement the new Russia sanctions. Although the list does not itself impose sanctions, it is a significant action, which, if implemented carefully, could impose new restrictions […]

Russia

SyriaSource

Oct 26, 2017

It’s Complicated: The Fate of Idlib with HTS and Russia

By Saleem al-Omar

In late September, Russian jets bombed the city of Haram in Idlib province for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011. Not a single village or town in western Idlib was spared by Russian bombing this time. The air strikes hit  Haram, Idlib city, Jisr al-Shughur, Khan Sheikhun and towns […]

Syria

MENASource

Oct 26, 2017

Tunisia’s democracy: Between economic reform and public engagement

By Elissa Miller and Andrea Taylor

Tunisia’s transition to democracy is in a difficult spot: the public is frustrated with the political and economic situation, but the political elite are shying away from needed public engagement. Two recent events stand out: the 2018 draft budget law put forward this month and the recent postponement of the local elections to next year. […]

Democratic Transitions Macroeconomics

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2017

The High Stakes of Ukraine’s Reform Struggle

By Stephen Blank

It is easy to despair about Ukraine ever reforming and becoming a normal European state. Nevertheless, such despair would be a mistaken response to the flood of stories depicting obstructions to reform—even if they are true. While anyone who has dealt with Ukraine in the last twenty-five years has experienced the frustrations of trying to […]

Russia Ukraine
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