Category: Timely Commentary & Analysis

Empty Tough Talk from US Hawks

By Rajan Menon

You would think it’s self-evident that Ukraine’s current crisis and the controversies sparked before its eruption by Iran’s nuclear program, China’s muscle-flexing against Japan and the Philippines over disputed tiny islands, and Syria’s continuing carnage are distinct—that they have little, if anything, in common. Well, you’d be wrong, at least in the eyes of the […]

Venezuela’s Protests: Passing Phase or Profound Reform?

Since the beginning of late Hugo Chávez’s administration in 1998, the once stable democratic government in Venezuela has been consistently damaged by political repression, lack of strong freedom of expression, institutional ineffectiveness, and constant human right abuses that have left many calls for justice unanswered. Recently, internal turmoil in the country has elevated political divisions […]

A Time of Transition in Afghanistan

As the United States and its coalition partners plan for new roles in Afghanistan after 2014, many people in Washington and elsewhere are attempting to gauge the progress made. One of the untold stories of Afghanistan is how the coalition transformed Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) into a fighting unit that could defeat the Taliban […]

Analyzing the New Defense Agenda

On March 4, the US Department of Defense released its Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the blueprint for defense spending and defense strategy over the course of the next four years. All eyes in Washington DC and beyond were on the 2014 QDR, as it comes at the end of the war in Afghanistan, the rise […]

NATO’s Strategic Ace: Vladimir Putin

By Harlan Ullman

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was on the road to irrelevance. The most successful military alliance in history has lacked a real enemy since the Soviet Union disintegrated a quarter of a century ago.  After a dozen years of war in Afghanistan,  NATO’s role is coming to an ignominious end. Because of Afghan President […]

Crisis in Ukraine: What Does This Mean for the Global Economy?

As the crisis in the Crimea continues, the Atlantic Council hosted a members conference call discussion of how the crisis will affect both the Ukrainian and Russian financial systems, featuring Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and Michael Marrese, head of Central-Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa […]

Adapting US Policy to Local Realities in Syria

As the conflict in Syria enters its fourth year, US policy has consistently failed to achieve its stated object: a negotiated political transition based on the mutual consent of the regime and opposition. The United States and its Western allies have focused on summits and high-level diplomacy as the most effective means to that laudable […]