Category: Blogs

Content

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2016

More Proof Ukraine is Changing: Opaque Defense Sector Embraces Reform

By Oksana Bedratenko

In December 2015, the anticorruption watchdog Transparency International warned that Ukraine’s defense sector faces “a high risk of corruption.” TI named the country’s opaque procurement process as the highest-risk area for corruption. Assessing the defense spheres of NATO members and partner states, TI gave Ukraine a D on an A to F scale, primarily for […]

NATO Russia

SyriaSource

Oct 26, 2016

Lessons from Russia’s Intervention in Syria

By Faysal Itani and Hossam Abouzahr

The US presidential election fast approaches, bringing the possibility of a change in US policy in Syria, meaning a review of Russia’s goals and achievements there is due. To that end the Atlantic Council’s SyriaSource has compiled a dataset of some 400 Russian actions relating to Syria since 2011, including official statements, military action, and […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

Oct 26, 2016

Don’t Expect Quick Resolution to Europe’s Only Active War

By Vera Zimmerman

The most disputed point about the Minsk agreements has been whether to hold local elections in the Donbas before Ukraine regains control of its border with Russia, or after. Ukraine has insisted that security and the return of the border should precede elections, while pro-Russian separatists and Moscow have been pushing for the opposite, as […]

France Germany

SyriaSource

Oct 25, 2016

Putin Outmaneuvers the Europeans

By Daniel R. DePetris

Despite the occasional bear wrestling and topless horseback riding—habits that might seem odd for a president—it is unwise for US and EU policy makers to underestimate Russian President Vladimir Putin. A former KGB operative, mayor, prime minister, and now three-term president, Putin is shrewd and strategic, the exact opposite qualities than what President Obama used […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Oct 25, 2016

Internet Under Siege: The Cost of Connectivity

By Rachel Ansley

In the rush to produce cost-effective connected devices, not enough focus has been placed on security measures. The cost of such inattention became evident on October 21 when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in hundreds of thousands of everyday devices, including baby monitors and cameras, to cripple the Internet. This attack was merely a sign of things […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

UkraineAlert

Oct 25, 2016

The Doctor Is In: Ukraine’s New Health Minister Already Shaking Up Sclerotic System

By Michael Getto

Health care in Ukraine has not worked in the past—not for hospitals, clinics, doctors or nurses, and most important, not for the Ukrainian people, regardless of where they live or work, unless they are fortunate enough to pay under the table to receive the most basic care. Entrenched, bureaucratic, and corrupt interests, wielding a combination […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Oct 25, 2016

Trouble with the Philippines

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Tensions between the United States and the Philippines—a former US colony with which Washington has had a mutual defense treaty since 1951—have put a question mark over the future of the relationship and are being watched warily by countries in the Asia-Pacific. Noting that the US-Philippines treaty alliance has been a “foundation for stability and […]

China Russia

AfricaSource

Oct 25, 2016

Senegal: A Strategic Plan to Change the Face of a Nation

By Mayécor Sar

In a region that has too often been plagued by coups, civil wars, and general political strife, Senegal, one of Africa’s oldest democracies, is somewhat of an outlier. This reputation for political stability is further enhanced by the considerable number of multinationals, international organizations, and NGOs that have selected Senegal as the regional centre for […]

North & West Africa
Russia's ZAPAD military exercise, Sept. 26, 2013

NATOSource

Oct 25, 2016

The NATO-Russia Exercise Gap… Then, Now, & 2017

By Ian Brzezinski and Nicholas Varangis

Military exercises are a critical means of testing, refining and demonstrating readiness for combat operations. In February 2015, we published a chart comparing the magnitudes of military exercises conducted by NATO and Russia.

NATO Russia

MENASource

Oct 25, 2016

Understanding Recent Egypt-Saudi Tensions

By Elissa Miller

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently gave a series of interviews to state-owned newspapers, his second such series of interviews with official press in the past three months. The interviews came on the heels of two votes in the United Nations Security Council on resolutions on Syria submitted by France and Russia, respectively. While Egypt […]

North Africa Saudi Arabia
Load More