Category: Blogs

Event Recap: “The Nine Lives of Pakistan” with Declan Walsh and Shuja Nawaz

By Atlantic Council

On December 15, 2020, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center in partnership with the American Pakistan Foundation hosted a book talk with author and journalist Declan Walsh on his new book, The Nine Lives of Pakistan: Dispatches from a Divided Nation. The event was moderated by South Asia Center distinguished fellow Shuja Nawaz.

FAST THINKING: The Fed caps its most important year ever

By Atlantic Council

The Fed increased QE to unprecedented levels to keep financial fallout from the pandemic at bay. That, combined with the Fed’s move to lower its benchmark interest rate to zero, made this the most important year in the history of US monetary policy.

The top ten risks and opportunities for 2021

By Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning

COVID-19, the kind of “grey swan” event that is predicted but never pinpointed in time, finally came calling in 2020. Drawing on years of foresight experience at the US National Intelligence Council, we are assessing the top 10 risks and opportunities in the new year, for the US in particular, but with global implications.

To succeed, intra-Afghan talks must defer to the non-ideal

By Muska Dastageer

The negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban should just as much center on the question of whether we should ground political morality in a vision of a distinct Islamic polity (that of the Taliban or the Afghan government), or a non-ideal mode of Islamic governance reflecting the second-order and third-order preferences of the parties.

Lessons from a Privacy Shield post-mortem on Capitol Hill

By Kenneth Propp

A hearing on the consequences of the European Court of Justice's invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield illuminated the deepening transatlantic divide over data transfers, and it highlighted the early challenge the subject looks to pose for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, which is eager to repair US-EU relations.

Which hacker group is most like your astrological sign?

By Safa Shahwan Edwards and June Lee

Which cyber Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is most like your astrological sign? After all, behind every cyber operation is a human, led by his or her values and decisions, which can be shaped by one’s astrological sign. These APT-sign pairings provide a guide to some of the most dangerous cyber threat actors and perhaps even a forecast of their prospects for success.

FAST THINKING: Why the new Russian hacks are a game-changer

By Atlantic Council

The bad news keeps coming about the scope of a suspected Russian hack: The US Department of Homeland Security was compromised, in addition to the State, Treasury, and Commerce Departments and parts of the Pentagon. What's going on?

Under sanctions, Iran’s black market for medicine grows

By Saumaun Heiat

For the traffickers, each day is a new opportunity to make more money off Iranians trying to weather the storm of COVID-19 and sanctions.

Vaccine hesitancy part 1: Using connections to drive human-centered approaches for health

By Tiffany Vora

Dr. Tiffany Vora shares insights from a recent peer-reviewed investigation of online interactions about vaccination and integrates these insights with an orthogonal approach to understanding vaccine hesitancy.

What Sudan’s terror delisting really means

The announcement today that the forty-five day notification period to Congress had elapsed and Sudan was finally off the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list is historic. It validates the new direction of the country, which it was set upon nearly two years ago by nationwide, peaceful street protests. More importantly, it represents a definitive break with Sudan’s troubled past—the true end of the Bashir era, which began more than thirty years ago—and holds out the hope for a more prosperous future for all Sudanese. The weight of the moment cannot be understated.