Category: Blogs

Here’s Why Mexico Matters

If the current tension in the US-Mexico relationship gets out of hand it could disrupt crucial cooperation between the two countries on checking the flow of unauthorized migrants into the United States, said an Atlantic Council analyst. “The great danger here is that, in all of this tension, something is going to boil over,” said […]

Report Summary: More Than the Authority of Repression – The Status of Free Speech in Egypt 2016

By MENASource

On Sunday, February 12, 2017, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression released their fourth annual report on the state of freedom of expression in Egypt in 2016 under the title “More Than the Authority of Repression.” This report presents thorough evidence and accurate observations on freedom of speech in Egypt. 

Don’t Expect a New NATO Strategic Concept Any Time Soon

By Stanley Sloan

The uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s questioning of whether the Alliance remains in the US’ interest has stalled the production of a new NATO strategic concept. The last NATO strategic concept—the Alliance’s consensus statement on the threats and intended responses—was agreed in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2010. In 2016, some astute observers suggested that […]

Russia’s Information Warfare Targets German Soldiers in Lithuania

By Deutsche Welle

Earlier this month, outside influences, again widely believed to be Russian, tried to replicate the success of the “Lisa” faux-scandal in Lithuania.

Amid Growing Threats, Germany Plans to Expand Troop Numbers to Nearly 200,000

By Robbie Gramer, Foreign Policy

Germany is slowly shedding its reluctance to wield military power, announcing Wednesday it would boost the size of its armed forces to nearly 200,000 over the next seven years.

TRADE in ACTION – February 23, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

This week in the newsletter: After negotiations ended in 2013, the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement entered into force. On the European side, global leaders met at the Munich Security Conference, and the EU and Japan agreed to work towards an early conclusion of their FTA negotiations, while Chancellor Merkel met with IMF’s Christine Lagarde and President […]

The West Needs to Call Russia’s Bluff in the Balkans

By Dimitar Bechev

For all the uncertainties about the Balkans, one thing stays the same. Every few years, the headline “We Are Heading for War Again” crops up in the Western media. The last time this happened, the 2014 centennial of the First World War inspired pundits to ask whether the world is on the cusp of another […]

Will New National Security Adviser McMaster Clash with Donald Trump on Russia?

By Damien Sharkov, Newsweek

Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, appointed by Trump on Monday, is known for being strongly driven by integrity—a quality that critics felt Mike Flynn lacked

Unintended Consequences of Safe Zones in Fighting the Islamic State

By Ghaith al-Ahmad

“The sound of gunfire outside makes me forget the hunger pangs,” says Um Mohamed, trembling with fright. This was after the battle intensified between Syrian regime forces and fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) in the city of Deir Ezzor. Military experts predicted that ISIS would fall back towards Deir Ezzor city […]

NAFTA in Need of an Update

Former US, Canadian, and Mexican officials make pitch to keep strategic trade deal US President Donald Trump has called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) “the worst trade deal,” but former US, Canadian, and Mexican officials, speaking at the Atlantic Council on February 22, warned against abandoning the strategic deal that binds their three […]