Category: Blogs

Colleges Must Find Ways to Serve Students Shut Out by the Ban

By Jessica Ashooh and Richard LeBaron

Regardless of whether it stands up in court, President Trump’s executive order banning the entry of refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries into the United States has done enormous harm to Muslim students who are studying or aspire to study here. American colleges and universities must react quickly and effectively to limit the damage, which reverberates […]

A Call to Europe’s Leaders to Fight the Rising Tide of Populism

By Rachel Ansley

European leaders must address the economic factors that have contributed to the rise of populism in the West and cater to their constituents who have been on the losing end of globalization, said George Alogoskoufis, a former finance minister of Greece. Alogoskoufis contended that globalization is good for societies as a whole, but there are […]

Here’s Why the US-Mexico Energy Relationship is Important

By Robert F. Ichord, Jr.

While the US-Mexico relationship has been making headlines because of the political fallout from US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall, it is important to consider Mexico’s role in global and regional energy markets as well as its energy relationship with the United States.  

The Euphrates Dam Is at Risk in the SDF Operation to Capture It from ISIS

By Abdel Jawad Sakran

The condition of the Euphrates Dam has deteriorated throughout the Syrian conflict, putting the region at risk of environmental disaster. The greatest threats are international coalition airstrikes against Islamic State positions, and neglect for dam maintenance.

In Astana, a Deal That Leaves Assad’s Power Intact

The ceasefire agreement recently negotiated by Russia, Turkey, and Iran preserves Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power, but the deal itself is significant because for the first time the key players, with the exception of the United States, have come to the table with an understanding that a political solution to the conflict is […]

Stability in Europe’s Southern Neighborhood: A Priority for Malta’s EU Presidency

By Matthew Lowell and Frank Talbot

The recent ripples of insecurity across the southern Mediterranean have presented profound challenges for the European Union (EU).  While Libya and Syria continue to experience protracted violence and lawlessness, many other countries in the region face acute economic and social difficulties.

NATO Chief Confident Trump is Committed to the Alliance

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

One key element in that is to make sure that we have a strong transatlantic bond also in this new security environment

Trump’s Wall Drives a Wedge Between the United States and Mexico

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall has plunged the US-Mexico relationship into an unseemly crisis, according to two Latin America analysts at the Atlantic Council. “It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world,” said Peter Schechter, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne […]

Can Trump’s Anti-EU Rhetoric Unite Europe?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, sees a silver lining While US President Donald Trump’s predictions that other member states, besides the United Kingdom, will desert the European Union (EU) are unhelpful, they serve as a wake-up call for the EU to set its house in order, according to a senior European official. […]

Astana Peace Talks: To the Victor Go the Spoils

By Nabeel Khoury

The Syrian peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, consecrate Russia’s primacy in Syria, launched with its entrance into the conflict in 2015, and extended with its ability now to convene peace talks and dictate terms. The outcome of the talks on January 23 also put on display the ascendant axis of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Lebanese […]