Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says his country needs ‘fiscal space’ amid the COVID-19 crisis

By Larry Luxner

“Coronavirus is mainly a health issue, and our key focus is ensuring that we keep our people safe,” Kenyatta said. “But this is also an economic crisis because it has resulted in some key sectors hugely affected by lockdowns. We were forced to close our airspace, which affected tourism, a very critical part of our economy.”

Innovation can break the gridlock on nuclear waste

By Michelle Brechtelsbauer

Innovation has always been a key tenet of the nuclear power industry. With scientific consensus building that nuclear power must play a significant role in mitigating climate change, there has been renewed focus on fuel design and fuel cycle research to support the next generation of nuclear technology. This attention also creates an opportunity to reinvigorate innovation on back-end technologies that may prove to be the key to circumventing the longtime political impasse on nuclear waste.

Event recap | Data salon episode 2: Could better technology protect privacy when a crisis requires enhanced knowledge?

By Stewart Scott

On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and Accenture hosted Dr. Jennifer King, Director of Consumer Privacy at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, and Ms. Jana Gooth, legal policy advisor to MEP Alexandra Geese, for the inaugural episode of the jointly presented Data Salon Series. The event was co-hosted by Mr. Steven Tiel, Senior Principle, Responsible Innovation at Accenture and Dr. David Bray, Inaugural Director, GeoTech Center at the Atlantic Council.

Trump, Xi, and the economy: The future of US-China economic competition

By Asia Security Initiative

Amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, US President Donald J. Trump’s administration has taken new actions to confront China economically and geopolitically while encouraging its allies and partners in Europe and Asia to join its efforts.

AI, an accelerator of change?

By Julian Mueller-Kaler

Two digital roundtables with India brought together high-level experts to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and geopolitics of emerging technologies in the South Asian country. While the first focused on AI and health, the second centered on Sino-Indian relations.

Event recap | New approaches to trust in manufacturing

By Stewart Scott, Henry Westerman

On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and Nanotronics hosted Dr. Joseph Bonivel Jr., Subject Matter Expert at the US Department of Defense, Mr. Donald Codling, President of Codling Group International, Dr. Andrea Little Limbago, Vice President of Research and Analysis at Interos Inc., and Ms. Roberta Stempfley, Director of the CERT Division at Carnegie Mellon University, for a virtual private round table about the future of trust in manufacturing. The event was co-hosted by Mr. Matthew Putman, Cofounder and CEO of Nanotronics, and Dr. David Bray, Director of the GeoTech Center at the Atlantic Council.

European Leadership and the Corona Crisis: Geopolitical Effects on Northern Europe

On June 15, 2020, the Atlantic Council Northern Europe Office in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Nordic Office, organized a seminar on the topic of ”European Leadership and the Corona Crisis: Geopolitical Effects on Northern Europe”. The public seminar was attended by experts from all around Europe, representing parliaments, governmental institutions, political parties, think-tanks and […]

US foreign policy and Euro-Caspian energy security: The time is now to build the Trans-Caspian Pipeline

By Matthew Bryza, Robert M. Cutler, and Giorgi Vashakmadze

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) represents a historic success for Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) in regard to their common quest for new energy supply sources and routes. Over the last decade, the EU has intensified its efforts to expand the SGC, seeking to attract gas from Turkmenistan. The time is now ripe to connect Turkmen gas with SGC infrastructure and the European market through a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.

Ukraine’s gas market reform: A success story that needs to be acknowledged

By Dr. Aura Sabadus

Ukraine's experience over the past five years with natural gas market reform and regulatory alignment proves that European Union rule transfer is possible in Ukraine, provided it remains committed to positive policy change.