Category: Blogs

Transatlantic Relationship Forecast: Stormy Weather Ahead

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The transatlantic relationship is in for a rough ride over the course of Donald Trump’s presidency simply because there is no “correcting mechanism” among the incoming cabinet to counter the next US president’s rhetoric on the European Union, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. In an interview with the Times of London and Germany’s Bild […]

Monsieur Hollande Goes to Africa

By J. Peter Pham

French President François Hollande went to Bamako, Mali, last week for the twenty-seventh Africa-France Summit, his last scheduled visit to Africa before he leaves office in May, having been forced to give up any hope of a second term by the most abysmal approval ratings of any head of state in this history of the […]

Ukraine Versus China: The Fight for Europe’s Market

By James Brooke

In this week of pre-Trump nervousness, three expats—one American and two Brits—are doing what may seem counterintuitive: launching the Ukraine Business Journal in Kyiv. The goal is simple: provide a clear, factual, English-language window on the business opportunities and obstacles in Ukraine. We believe the time is right. Ukraine has a highly educated workforce of […]

The Opposition Struggles to Regain its Balance after Aleppo

By Abdullah Almousa

Since the regime defeated opposition forces in Aleppo, the rebels have been struggling to regain their balance. Reeling from their recent defeat and struggling with internal challenges, though, they have yet to put forth any solid plan.

Trump Renews His Criticism of NATO: ‘It’s Obsolete’ and ‘Very Unfair’ to the US

By Donald Trump, Michael Gove, and Kai Diekmann, Times (London)

Excerpt from Donald Trump interview with Michael Gove MP and Kai Diekmann, former chief editor of the German newspaper Bild.

With Migration Policy Change, Obama Leaves Cuba Relationship to Trump

By Ashish Kumar Sen

White House ends policy that allowed Cubans reaching US soil to automatically apply for asylum US President Barack Obama’s decision to end the “wet foot, dry foot” policy that allowed any Cuban migrant who reached US soil to stay in the country will slow the number of Cuban immigrants rushing to the United States, but […]

OPEC Oil Deal Will Stick, say Energy Ministers

The oil production cuts set forth in a deal recently enacted by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be upheld by the nations involved, effectively stabilizing the global energy market, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC’s secretary general, said in Abu Dhabi on January 12. “I remain very confident with what I have seen […]

Trump’s Energy, Climate Positions Causing Concern

By Ashish Kumar Sen

While there is “quite a bit of concern” about the direction of US President-elect Donald Trump’s energy policy, he is unlikely to take the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement for the simple reason that doing so would cause “huge collateral damage” to the United States, Todd Stern, a former US State […]

NATO Chief: We See ‘a More Assertive Russia’

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

We don’t see any imminent threat against any NATO ally. What we see is a more assertive Russia.