Category: Blogs

Why the Russian Fuss over “Fascist” Salute at World Cup Backfired

By Adrian Karatnycky

“Glory to Ukraine!” saluted Domagoj Vida in a video message last week to his Ukrainian fans following Croatia’s victory over host Russia in the quarter finals of the World Cup. Vida, a Croatian defender who had played for five years with Ukraine’s Dynamo Kyiv, was pumped up from a heady goal in a dramatic victory […]

Poroshenko Expects Ukraine to be a Priority When Trump Meets Putin

By David Wemer

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expects Russia’s role in the conflict in his country to be a priority when US President Donald J. Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16. Poroshenko said that meeting, the first summit between Trump and Putin, could go either way, but trusted that “Ukraine would be among […]

TRADE IN ACTION July 12, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

Trump’s NATO Strategy: Shake, Rattle, and Commit

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump on July 12 reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to NATO after declaring that allies had agreed to his demands to spend more on defense. This affirmation came hours after the US president chastised allies for not spending enough on defense and even threated to pull the United States out of […]

Here’s What NATO Achieved at Its Brussels Summit

By David Wemer

The NATO Summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12 was dominated by dramatic debates over burden sharing and uncertainty about the United States’ continued commitment to the Alliance. Lost in this shuffle, however, are the tangible actions NATO leaders endorsed after their meetings. Here are the highlights based on the NATO communiqué signed on […]

US Senators Back NATO as Trump Leaves Allies On Edge

By Ashish Kumar Sen

In Brussels, where US President Donald J. Trump has castigated allies and cast doubt about the US commitment to NATO, two US senators—one a Republican and the other a Democrat—speaking at the NATO Engages event co-hosted by the Atlantic Council on July 12 expressed their full-throated support for the Alliance. “Congress has your backs,” said […]

Iceland’s NATO-Skeptic Leader Says Security is About More Than Just the Military

By David Wemer

NATO and the international community must focus on more than just military strength when discussing security, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said in Brussels on July 12 at the NATO Engages event co-hosted by the Atlantic Council. “I personally think this is the view of the future,” she said. “I think we need to look […]

Trump Believes US ‘Paying a Lot of Money to Protect’ NATO Allies

By Donald Trump and Jens Stoltenberg, White House

[Excerpts from remarks by President Donald Trump and Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, June 11, 2018.]

The Trump-Merkel Showdown

By Mark Fischer and Mark Simakovsky

Managing a growing rift within NATO US President Donald J. Trump traveled to Europe this week with his rhetorical guns loaded, taking aim at NATO allies for failing to adequately pay for their own defense. The primary target of Trump’s ire is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Despite positive trajectories in both German and NATO allies’ […]

Here’s Why Syrian Women Need to be Included More in Peacebuilding

By Renee Coulouris

Since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, Syrian women have been involved in all aspects of the conflict: from fighting, demonstrating and documenting war crimes to providing humanitarian relief and local politics. Syrian women, who make up more than 50 percent of the Syrian population, are also taking on a more active role […]