Content

Issue Brief

Dec 4, 2017

Iran in Iraq

By Kenneth M. Pollack

Geographic proximity and shared religion, specifically Shia Islam, give Iran deep influence in Iraq, as shown in a new Atlantic Council issue brief entitled  Iran in Iraq, by American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Kenneth M. Pollack. Despite advantages in geography and demography, Pollack argues that Iranian influence in Iraq is not insurmountable. The United States should […]

Iran Iraq

Rebuilding Syria

Dec 4, 2017

Rebuilding Syria

By Faysal Itani and Tobias Schneider

Read the Publication (PDF) Rebuilding Syria by Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Faysal Itani and independent international security analyst Tobias Schneider, focuses on large, strategic policy questions: Why should the international community help rebuild Syria? Should it work with the Syrian government? If so, can the promise of rebuilding be used as leverage? Who are the […]

Issue Brief

Nov 29, 2017

Northeast Asian futures

By Robert A. Manning

The great Asian paradox is that a region steadily becoming more economically integrated is filled with distrust, competing nationalisms, and territorial disputes in the security realm. This is epitomized by Northeast Asia and the North Pacific: the region features the world’s three largest economies; three of the largest militaries; three of the five declared nuclear […]

China Defense Policy

Report

Nov 28, 2017

Forging a New Era in US-South African Relations

By Anthony Carroll

As one of the African continent’s largest and most sophisticated economies, South Africa offers a myriad of opportunities for engagement with the United States on diplomatic, commercial, security, and social fronts. It is a self-sufficient, complex, and dynamic country in a struggling, complex, and dynamic region. Yet, the centrality of South Africa to the United […]

Africa Corruption

Issue Brief

Nov 27, 2017

Western options in a multipolar world

By Mathew J. Burrows

This paper examines both the possible scenarios for how the emerging multipolar world order could evolve and transatlantic options. It makes the case that, depending on how the West plays its cards, traditional Western values could end up enduring even if an exclusively Western-led order does not.

China Politics & Diplomacy

Report

Nov 21, 2017

Equipping Africa’s primary school learners for the future

By Constance Berry Newman

Education remains a crucial component of economic development and poverty reduction. Primary education is especially important, as it provides students with the foundational skills necessary to continue with advanced education and participate in local and global economies. Collectively, educational benefits extend beyond individuals to benefit broader communities.   Despite its importance, primary education in Africa […]

Africa East Africa

Issue Brief

Nov 20, 2017

Partners or competitors? The future of the Iran-Russia power tandem in the Middle East

By John Herbst

Ambassador John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, writes in a new issue brief entitled Partners or Competitors? The Future of the Iran-Russia Power Tandem in the Middle East that Russia and Iran are currently drawn into partnership over common regional interests and anti-American policies and sentiments despite centuries of historical […]

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

Report

Nov 15, 2017

Asia in the “Second Nuclear Age”

By Gaurav Kampani and Bharath Gopalaswamy

It is now a truism among foreign and defense policy practitioners that the post Cold War nuclear buildup in the India Pacific region constitutes the drawn of the “second nuclear age.” From the 1990s onward, China’s decision to stir out of its strategic languor and modernize its nuclear arsenal, along with the resolve of India […]

Nuclear Deterrence Nuclear Nonproliferation

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Nov 15, 2017

The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses 2.0

By Atlantic Council

Russian influences in Greece, Italy, and Spain “Russia’s interference in the US presidential election in 2016 sent a signal to the West: democratic societies are deeply vulnerable to foreign influence,” writes Dr. Alina Polyakova in The Kremlin’s Trojan Horses 2.0: Russian Influence in Greece, Italy, and Spain, a new report from the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia […]

Issue Brief

Nov 9, 2017

Iran’s bottom line in Afghanistan

By Alex Vatanka

Due to proximity and historical ties, no other country is as well placed as Iran to play a dominant role in Afghan society, as Middle East Institute senior fellow Alex Vatanka shows in his new paper, Iran’s Bottom Line in Afghanistan. However, Tehran is focused on short-term tactical gains at the expense of a sustainable, […]

Afghanistan Iran