Category: Blogs

Trump’s Debut at the United Nations

By Ashish Kumar Sen

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 19, US President Donald J. Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea, called Iran a “rogue nation” and the nuclear deal with that country “an embarrassment,” said the United States was “prepared to take further action” on Venezuela, and lashed […]

Warrior’s Heart Program Helps Ukrainian Veterans Heal

By Iuliia Mendel

Late on the night of September 6, Oleksiy Tomilko posted a short line on social media: “Perhaps someone wants to visit me.” He was a fifty-year old soldier who had been brought to a military hospital in his native city of Lviv after he had been wounded in the Donbas, where Ukraine has been fighting […]

Trudeau, Moon, Lang Lang to Receive Atlantic Council Award

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Chinese pianist, educator, and philanthropist Lang Lang will be honored at the Atlantic Council’s eighth annual Global Citizen Awards reception in New York on September 19. The Global Citizen Award celebrates contributions by individuals toward improving the state of the world.

Why Arming Ukraine Would End the Deadlock in the Donbas

By Adam Reichardt and Maksym Khylko

Signals from the Trump administration are beginning to indicate a new direction in the United States’ support of Ukraine. At the end of August, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that the Pentagon is “actively reviewing” the issue of defensive weapons, rightly noting that “defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor, and […]

Ukraine Is Back

By Anders Åslund

For the first time in five years, Ukraine sold its bonds on the international market. On September 18, the Ukrainian government sold $3 billion of fifteen-year Eurobonds with a 7.375 percent annual yield. The bond issue was oversubscribed by more than three times. Initial statements mentioned a planned sale of $2.5 billion, so the Ukrainian […]

Al-Azhar and the battle of ideas against extremist Islamism

By Dr H. A. Hellyer

The subject of extremist Islamism, and refuting it, remains a live one—and it is unlikely that it will change anytime soon. If there is ever a comprehensive and thorough response to extremist Islamism, it will have to take on board the need to deconstruct religious arguments from within religion. Pre-eminent among institutions that are called […]

Factbox: Egypt and North Korea

By Margaret Suter

On September 12, during a visit to Seoul, South Korea, Egypt’s Defense Minister reportedly announced that Egypt would be severing military ties with the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. The alleged announcement and subsequent speculation, which was not immediately confirmed by the Egyptian government, comes as the United States and other members of the […]

Not the United States of Europe

By Reginald Dale

Britain’s conservative Daily Telegraph splashed its front page September 14 with the banner headline “A United States of Europe.” The page was embellished with a half-photo of the face of Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, framed by the blue, gold-starred flag of the European Union. The eurosceptic Telegraph was not, of course, hailing […]

TRADE IN ACTION September 17, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

THIS WEEK IN TRADEWe are back after the summer break! And so is trade: The second round of NAFTA re-negotiations took place in Mexico City earlier this month with very little new proposals introduced across the board. A major point of contention is a controversial provision for resolving investment disputes- the US is reluctant to keep the […]

Trump’s Reaction to London Bombing Bolsters ISIS Narrative

By Jasmine El-Gamal and Kathryn Elliott

In a reaction that is sure to bolster the narrative of those claiming responsibility for the attack, US President Donald J. Trump released a series of tweets labeling the incident at London’s Parsons Green subway station on  September 15 an act of terrorism before British authorities had done so. Trump claimed, among other things, that […]