Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

Causes and Consequences of Political Islam in Pakistan

Political Islamists, as they currently operate in Pakistan, are “likely to divide our society, break it apart, and cause more violence,” warned Former Pakistan Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Husain Haqqani. He contended that political Islamists have replaced anthropological and sociological explanations of Islam with “a puritanical formation of Islam, which is essentially […]

Ambassador John Herbst on Ukraine Crisis

By John E. Herbst

Atlantic Council’s New Eurasia Center Director is Former Envoy to Kyiv John Herbst, the newly appointed director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, served as the US ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006. Here, he offers an overview of the crisis in Ukraine.

Waiting for the Great Gas Cutoff

By John Roberts

Russia-Ukraine Crisis Is Now Unlikely to Let Russian Gas Keep Flowing Smoothly to Europe  European countries from Germany and Poland to Italy and Turkey now need to ensure they have emergency plans in place to deal with a possible cut-off of Russian gas supplies. At risk are the roughly one-fifth of their supplies delivered via […]

Bitcoin and the Future of Currency

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Pinning down exactly what Bitcoin is like identifying Superman in old comics. Legal, financial, and political experts approach the issue from different angles—labeling Bitcoin into categories which established governments and institutions can understand and control. Meanwhile, technologists and innovators view virtual currencies as nothing less than a […]

Corporate Strategy Forum Discusses Next Military-Industrial Revolution

Three years into an “age of austerity” in Western military spending, expectations are building for a wave of restructuring in the defense industry, similar to what followed the end of the Cold War. Just as before, fundamental change to the context for international security is resetting customers’ expectations, investors’ outlooks, and, in turn, corporate strategies.

Discussion with Dr. Beate Merk

On April 10, the Atlantic Council’s Global Business and Economics Program hosted an off-the-record conversation with Dr. Beate Merk, Bavaria’s minister for European and International Affairs. Dr. Fran Burwell moderated the discussion between Dr. Merk and an esteemed group of government officials and business leaders, which touched upon key areas of divergence on ongoing Transatlantic […]

Turkey’s Future after Local Elections: A Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Babacan

The Atlantic Council was delighted to host Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey for a small-circle, off-the-record lunch discussion.

Discussion with African Development Bank Presidential Candidate Birama B. Sidibé

American and European businesses are looking for avenues of investment in Africa, but are often stymied by the complexity and diversity of the continent’s national markets. As investor interest in the continent peeks, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has taken the lead in facilitating new investments on the continent. The Bank’s 2015 election of a […]