Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

State of the Order: Assessing January 2021

The State of the Order breaks down the month's most important events impacting the democratic world order.

Time for transatlantic trade to take off

By Ole Moehr

Trade tariffs continue to pose a threat to a transatlantic economy weakened by COVID-19, but there may now be some light at the end of the tunnel. Keen to rebuild transatlantic ties, Washington and Brussels must walk the talk to reach an agreement on aircraft subsidies and move the US-EU trade agenda forward.

Global Sanctions Dashboard: January

By Michael Albanese and Castellum.AI

Growing use of sanctions in foreign policy, Chinese sanctions against US senators, multilateral coordination on the sanctions policy.

As the United States develops advanced reactors, a new fuel supply chain is critical to national security

By Ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr. and Admiral Richard Mies

Over the past five years, the United States has made meaningful progress in the development of advanced nuclear reactor designs critical to keeping the country on the cutting edge of nuclear technology. These positive trends signal a growing need for the Department of Energy to address a key challenge that many reactor developers face as they move toward deployment: the lack of a reliable source of high-assay low-enriched uranium fuel.

European leadership: Transatlantic relations and the future of Belarus

The Atlantic Council Northern Europe Office organized a webinar on the topic of ”European Leadership: Transatlantic relations and the Future of Belarus”.

Foreseeing the future of warfare: Indo-Pacific nations lead in emerging defense innovations

By Julia Siegel

Indo-Pacific experts joined the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center and its Forward Defense practice for a discussion on Nonresident Senior Fellow Tate Nurkin’s latest report on "The Five Revolutions: Examining Defense Innovation in the Indo-Pacific Region."

Spotlight: 10 Questions for Latin America and the Caribbean

By Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

As February begins, we can now look ahead to the rest of the year with our annual predictions of what may or may not transpire in this unpredictable world.

A paradigm shift under President Joe Biden: From “energy dominance” towards climate cooperation

By Friedbert Pflüger

The US return to the Paris Agreement and the appointment of John Kerry as the new US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate indicate a new paradigm: international energy and climate cooperation is back on the agenda. While there may be challenges to achieving broader goals, hopes are up for a transatlantic New Energy Deal between the United States and the EU in light of new policy substance with ambitious climate targets, and a new tone.