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AfricaSource

May 16, 2018

Burundi’s flawed constitutional referendum

By Kelsey Lilley

Burundians will go to the polls on Thursday, May 17 to vote in a constitutional referendum set to allow Pierre Nkurunziza, president since the end of the country’s civil war in 2005, an opportunity to stay in power until 2034.  The vote takes place amid a fragile domestic situation, and it is likely to deepen […]

Africa Corruption

UkraineAlert

May 16, 2018

Do Ukraine’s Reformers Have a Real Shot at the Presidency?

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s opposition is a mess—but this is hardly news. Through Ukraine’s nearly three decades of independence, its opposition has never gotten its act together. Consequently, the same corrupt elite continues to govern the country of 45 million to its detriment. Ukraine managed to squander the gains of its street revolution in 2004, and as the […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 16, 2018

Can Muqtada Al-Sadr And The United States Be Friends?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Amid the uncertainty that has followed the Iraqi parliamentary elections on May 12 one thing is clear: formerly anti-US Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s list is the top vote-getter. Sadr is trailed by Iran-backed Shia militia leader Hadi al-Amiri in second place and current Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in third according to the unofficial results […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

May 16, 2018

Basque Terrorist Group ETA Disbands, Ending Decades of Violence

By Alvaro Morales Salto-Weis

One of Europe’s longest terrorist campaigns is finally over. The dissolution of Basque separatist group ETA puts an end to the use of deadly violence for political goals in Spain, namely, establishing an independent nationalist state in the country’s Basque region. Like the Good Friday Agreement that sealed the peace process in Northern Ireland in […]

Southern & Southeastern Europe

EnergySource

May 16, 2018

The future of oil: An innovator’s perspective

By Randolph Bell

Technology, policy, consumer preference, and price are driving dramatic changes in the energy mix, and the United Arab Emirates is at the forefront of efforts to innovate and diversify. In an interview with Randolph Bell, director of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, chief executive officer for petroleum and petrochemicals at the […]

Energy Markets & Governance Oil and Gas
German Leopard 2, December 2011, (US Army).

NATOSource

May 16, 2018

Is Germany’s Military Readiness Problem a Critical Vulnerability for NATO?

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

Germany’s military is virtually undeployable and security experts say it is too weak to meet its obligations to its allies, as it prepares to assume command of NATO’s crisis response force next year.

Germany NATO

MENASource

May 16, 2018

Iraq: The reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr

By Dr. Nabeel Khoury

Muqtada al-Sadr—often dubbed a firebrand cleric—has come a long way from the days in 2003 when he was an outcast and a hunted man, to the victor in the 2018 Iraqi elections. Early results suggesting a surprising lead for Sadr are a personal vindication for him, certainly, but a challenge for Iraq’s political elite which […]

Democratic Transitions Elections
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Paris, May 15, 2018.

NATOSource

May 16, 2018

Stoltenberg Provides Details of NATO’s Cyber Policy

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

In recent years, we have seen many large scale cyber-attacks.

Cybersecurity France

New Atlanticist

May 15, 2018

North Korea Threatens to Pull the Plug on Trump-Kim Summit

By Ashish Kumar Sen

North Korea has threatened to cancel the highly anticipated summit between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in light of what it called “provocative military disturbances with South Korea,” North Korea’s state news agency reported early on May 16 local time. The Trump-Kim summit is set to be held in […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

May 15, 2018

On Presidential Leadership

By Frederick Kempe

Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe reflects on President Trump’s Iran decision and the 2018 Distinguished Leadership Awards It was a piquant coincidence that we scheduled the Atlantic Council’s annual Distinguished Leadership Awards dinner, saluting former President George W. Bush for his life-saving work against HIV-AIDS, opposite President Trump’s most consequential leadership decision to […]

Iran
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