Category: Blogs

Chinese infrastructure project drives Pakistan further into debt

By Aafreen Afzal

While the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has the potential to bring much-needed economic development to Pakistan, its price tag threatens to plunge the country further toward fiscal instability.

Turkish policy in Syria: Divining intent and options for the United States

By Aaron Stein

Turkey was once the main sponsor of the Syrian opposition’s effort to topple Bashar al Assad. However, beginning in late 2016, Turkish policy has shifted following the Russian defeat of Turkish backed proxies in Aleppo. This change in policy sparked a reassessment of Turkish strategy away from the overthrow of the regime and towards close cooperation with Russia and competition with the United States.

Escalation between Turkish and Kurdish leadership alters Kurdish relations with Assad

By Dan Wilkofsky

Over the summer the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration (AA) focused on strengthening its hand in talks with the Syrian government, in an attempt to win concessions on self-rule before a potential withdrawal of US support. Among other escalatory actions, the AA inserted itself into service provision initiatives previously left to the state, and arrested dozens of candidates for local elections organized by Damascus. 

Emmanuel Macron can make France great again

By Nicholas Dungan

Macron’s approval ratings stand at an all-time low with over seventy percent of French people polled not expressing confidence in his leadership.Yet great hopes have been pinned on Macron and he has worked hard to fulfill them.

TRADE IN ACTION November 16, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

How Iran Will Cope With US Sanctions

By Aafreen Afzal

The Trump Administration’s second wave of sanctions against Iran went into effect earlier this month, directed against Iran’s vital oil and petrochemical sector, its Central Bank, and other financial institutions. However, Washington’s diplomatic isolation as a result of its unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and its desire to mitigate oil […]

Treasury right to sanction Saudis in response to Khashoggi killing

By Samantha Sultoon

Treasury’s use of the GloMag sanctions authority exemplifies precisely what that authority was created for—it is a targeted action intended to punish specific targets without broader negative implications. 

United States sanctions seventeen Saudi officials over Khashoggi murder

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“While sanctions are an important way of sending a message, they are also a blunt instrument that authoritarian leaders find ways to work around," said Richard LeBaron, a non-resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

Frederic C. Hof’s remarks on Syria at the World Affairs Council

By Frederic C. Hof

Syria is a country that’s been an important part of my life since I was 16-years-old, when I went off to Damascus during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school as an American Field Service exchange student. I lived with a Syrian family, won lifelong Syrian friends, and learned a lot about a country that had, for a century, sent many of its best and brightest to America.

Quiz: Summits and Brexit

By Atlantic Council

Theresa May faces more obstacles as she heads for the Brexit finish line. Summits were held from Singapore to Paris to Sicily. Were you keeping track of the week’s top world news stories? Take these seven questions and prove you were paying attention.