Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

Cross-Strait Series: Surfing the Strait—China, Taiwan, and Twitter

By Asia Security Initiative

In today’s new media environment, the opportunities for instant rhetoric add a novel element to national and international discourse that can complicate relationships between countries and leaders, as with China’s recent condemnation of President Trump’s December 2017 tweet on North Korea.

#TrollTracker: Stale Narratives In Response to Expelled Diplomats

By Donara Barojan

After expulsion of diplomats, pro-Kremlin trolls intensified their social media campaign to vilify the Skripal investigation and deny Russian involvement.

2018 US Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

On Saturday, March 17, the Atlantic Council’s sixth annual Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge in Washington, DC, concluded with the Air Force Cyber College’s “Team Fightin’ Electrons” winning first place.

Toward bipartisan climate solutions

By Kayla Soren

Climate change is increasingly on the agenda for millennial conservatives. In late February, a bipartisan coalition of thirty-four student groups from around the country—twenty-three of which are College Republican chapters—launched Students for Carbon Dividends (S4CD). S4CD advocates for the Baker-Shultz carbon dividend, a policy proposal that would impose a carbon tax of $40 per ton, […]

Turkey’s growing presence in Africa, and opportunities and challenges to watch in 2018

By Pınar Dost

A high-level Turkish government and business delegation headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently returned from Africa after visiting Algeria, Mauritania, Senegal and Mali. This trip is the continuation of a series of visits and initiatives undertaken by Turkey as part of its official policy of “Opening to Africa” which began in 2005. As Turkey’s […]

Mexico’s presidential election: Energy reforms at risk

By David L. Goldwyn

Mexico’s historic and successful energy reforms are at risk in its upcoming Presidential elections. The leading candidate for the Presidency, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, referred to as AMLO, of the Morena party, has recently doubled down on his critiques of the reforms. He has pledged to review existing oil contracts, indicated he would require national […]

Japan’s energy crossroads

By David Livingston

Few countries have navigated as challenging an energy landscape as Japan in recent years. Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, Japan’s dependency on energy imports has climbed to 93 percent and its energy costs have risen sharply, straining consumers and industry alike. With Japan’s forty-eight nuclear reactors offline, the country began using more coal, gas, […]

The Future of Solar Energy and the Role of American Leadership

By Global Energy Center

On March 20, 2018, the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center hosted Jigar Shah, Co-founder and President of Generate Capital, Inc, and Varun Sivaram, Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss the the role of American leadership and the future of solar energy. David Livingston made opening […]