Category: Blogs

Impressions from a Trip to Japan

For one week in February, an Atlantic Council team and peers from Washington-based academic institutions and think tanks visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, Saijo, and Miyajima to learn about the culture, traditions, and international policies of Japan. We attended meetings with representatives of government agencies, private companies, and local think tanks. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored […]

NATO Chief Proposes Rapid-Deployment Training Force

By Paul Sonne, Wall Street Journal

The head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization outlined plans to create an at-the-ready crew of trainers prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice to help local forces aligned with the military alliance.

Moldova’s Presidential Election Pits Pro-Europe Candidates Against Pro-Russia Ones

By Brian Mefford

Moldova’s presidential elections are shaping up to divide the electorate between pro-Europe and pro-Russia candidates even before campaigning officially gets underway. On April 1, Moldova’s Parliament voted to hold direct presidential elections on October 30. It put off the official start of the election campaign until July 30 to allow Parliament time to pass electoral […]

TTIP & Trade in Action – April 6, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

From April 15 – 17 the IMF and World Bank will host their annual Spring Meetings. Look at this years agenda here. The Atlantic Council’s Global Business & Economics Program hosts several events in the context of the Spring Meetings- Check out the “Upcoming Event” section below or stay tuned on twitter @TTIPAction.

Secretary General Stoltenberg: NATO is Important for American Security

By Justin Vogt and Jens Stoltenberg, Foreign Affairs

Jens Stoltenberg became secretary general of NATO in 2014. Earlier, he served as prime minister of Norway, from 2005 until 2013. Earlier this week, Stoltenberg met at the White House with U.S. President Barack Obama

The Economics of Ukraine’s Political Crisis

By Anders Åslund

Ukraine’s current political crisis is easy to understand. It was unleashed by an offensive by the Poroshenko Bloc to get greater control over the government. It started on February 3, when Economy Minister Aivaras Abramovicius resigned in protest against Ihor Kononenko, the gray cardinal of the Poroshenko Bloc, and it was aggravated by the failed […]

You Wouldn’t Think It from the Headlines, but Ukraine Is Making Progress

By Michael Druckman and Katie LaRoque

It’s been a rough several weeks for Ukraine in the news. From the firing of prominent reformer Davit Sakvarelidze from the Prosecutor General’s Office to the recent release of the “Panama Papers,” which seemingly link President Petro Poroshenko to several offshore accounts and sparked accusations from members of the Verkhovna Rada of abuse of office […]

How Ukraine Can Contribute to NATO’s Forward Defense

By Ian J. Brzezinski and Markian Bilynskyj

NATO has decided to bolster its military operations in Central Europe to better deter and, if necessary, defend against Russian aggression. Toward that end, Alliance military authorities have been tasked to develop plans for the deployment of multinational units, possibly battalions or brigades, that will be deployed on a persistent basis along NATO’s eastern frontier. […]

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg Stands Up for the Alliance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg refused to wade into US domestic politics, but he delivered a forceful defense of the Alliance on April 6 in remarks that may be interpreted as a firm rebuttal to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s criticism of the grouping as “obsolete.” Noting that the mutual interests of the United States […]