Issue Brief

May 26, 2016

Cyber, extended deterrence, and NATO

By Franklin D. Kramer, Robert J. Butler, and Catherine Lotrionte

Cyber is relevant in conflict as well as in lesser circumstances such as espionage and crime. This paper focuses on a conflict, both conventional and hybrid, with an adversary, such as Russia, that has advanced cyber capabilities (Tier V/VI as designated by the Defense Science Board) and includes a conflict with an improving, but less capable nation-state such as Iran.

Cybersecurity Europe & Eurasia

Report

May 25, 2016

Pacific Alliance 2.0: Next Steps in Integration

By Jason Marczak and Samuel George, with María Fernanda Pérez Argüello, Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez

The Pacific Alliance–an innovative pact among Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru–has unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on political changes in Brazil and Argentina and move the region into a new era of regional integration. A new publication by the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and the Bertelsmann Foundation, released just weeks ahead of the […]

Mexico

Issue Brief

May 11, 2016

Will Iran’s Human Rights Record Improve?

By Barbara Slavin

Read the Publication (PDF) In the aftermath of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a major question has been whether the landmark nuclear deal would have any impact on Iran’s other policies, including its record on human rights. While US President Barack Obama’s administration stressed that in negotiating the JCPOA its focus was on […]

Issue Brief

May 11, 2016

Congo blues: Scoring Kabila’s rule

By Pierre Englebert

Across Africa, leaders are tinkering with term limits and prolonging their tenures. In an increasingly unstable Central African region, Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), appears poised to be the next African leader to sidestep the relinquishing of power and the election of his successor, constitutionally mandated for November 2016. […]

Africa Civil Society

Report

May 10, 2016

Last Call for TTIP: The Views of European Diplomats in Washington, DC

By Marie Kasperek and Andrea Montanino

After more than three years of negotiations to forge a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), many elements of the agreement are still far from settled. However, it is possible to reach agreement in 2016. The negotiators are determined, and there is mounting awareness that an agreement that underscores the importance of the transatlantic economic […]

Economy & Business European Union

Issue Brief

May 10, 2016

NATO’s hollowing values agenda

By Stanley Sloan

When NATO leaders convene for the Warsaw summit this July, their agenda will be dominated by external threats—from an aggressive Russia, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), to the refugee crisis that has spread from the Middle East and North Africa throughout Europe. Yet an equally important issue, though not explicitly on […]

Issue Brief

May 6, 2016

NATO’s next consortium: Maritime patrol aircraft

By Magnus Nordenman

Airborne systems to provide MDA, and maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) in particular, stand out among the most important and urgent maritime requirements. Maritime patrol aircraft fulfill a number of roles, from high-end Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) to maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), and search and rescue at sea. NATO members must now recapture these capabilities and invest in a robust maritime patrol aircraft fleet.

Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security

Issue Brief

May 6, 2016

Stolen Future

By Diane Francis

Diane Francis’ new issue brief, “Stolen Future,” exposes the depth and breadth of the economic devastation a corruption fueled oligarchy has wrought in Ukraine. In the wake of the Euromaidan Revolution, Ukraine has the opportunity to break the cycle of wealth appropriation which has plagued both Russia and Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet […]

Corruption Democratic Transitions

Report

May 6, 2016

Effective Defense of the Baltics

By Franklin D. Kramer and Bantz J. Craddock

Read the Publication (PDF) NATO has the capacity to win a conventional war in the Baltics, if appropriate steps are taken. Effective defense of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—and deterrence built upon such defensive capabilities—is one of the key challenges facing NATO and its member nations. Russia’s actions, geopolitical rhetoric, and geographic […]

Issue Brief

May 5, 2016

Islam and sharia law

By Yussef Auf

With the meteoric rise of Islamic political movements in 2011, the issue of Sharia law has come to the forefront of a debate around the role of religion in governance. In his issue brief “Islam and Sharia Law,” Atlantic Council’s Nonresident Fellow Yussef Auf identifies and explains the challenges of incorporating Sharia law into the […]

Report

May 3, 2016

The waning of Petrocaribe? Central America and Caribbean energy in transition

By David L. Goldwyn, Cory R. Gill

Petrocaribe, Caracas’ eleven-year-old energy and diplomatic alliance, is weakening. As Venezuela spirals closer to economic demise, the United States and the international community have an unprecedented opportunity to support Central America and the Caribbean’s transition away from Petrocaribe. How can the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean to advance together toward a more sustainable energy future?

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Issue Brief

May 3, 2016

Turkey’s Syria predicament

By Faysal Itani and Aaron Stein

Turkey has been the most engaged regional player in northern Syria and is the external actor most responsible for the emergence of the opposition to the Syrian regime. In “Turkey’s Syria Predicament,” authors Faysal Itani and Aaron Stein of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East examine Turkey’s involvement, its implications for […]

Syria Turkey
The 18th SAARC Summit

Issue Brief

Apr 26, 2016

Cooperation in South Asia: The case for redefining alliances

By MANJARI CHATTERJEE MILLER AND BHARATH GOPALASWAMY

Political mistrust in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is high and this, in turn, has historically led to shortsighted economic policies and disjointed coordination. As India asserts itself as a global economic player, its leadership, specifically in SAARC, may lead to the political successes necessary to ensure broader connectivity and cooperation in […]

Politics & Diplomacy South Asia

Report

Apr 21, 2016

Ten Arguments for TTIP and the Concerns to Address

By Andrea Montanino, Earl Anthony Wayne

The United States and the European Union (EU) share the largest trade and investment relationship in the world, with more than $5.5 trillion in commerce every year and up to fifteen million jobs generated on both sides of the Atlantic. Currently under negotiations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will bolster this key partnership, […]

Economy & Business European Union

Regional Security Initiative

Apr 18, 2016

After hub-and-spoke: US hegemony in a new Gulf security order

By Bilal Y. Saab

The era of Pax Americana in the Gulf, and perhaps in the broader Middle East, is changing. Regional transformation and chaos resulting from the Arab uprisings, the rise of ISIS and its global terrorist reach, shifting US priorities around the world, and the rise of other outside powers in the Gulf have contributed to an […]

Middle East Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Apr 14, 2016

Embracing Impact: How Africa Can Overcome the Emerging Market Downturn

By J. Peter Pham and Aubrey Hruby

In January 2016, oil prices fell to their lowest levels in more than a decade. Meanwhile, China, the world’s second-largest economy, is experiencing its most sluggish growth in a quarter-century—dragging down commodity prices and dampening the global economic outlook. The effects of this broad slowdown will hurt African economies more than most, because China and […]

Africa Angola

Report

Apr 13, 2016

Rebuilding societies: Strategies for resilience and recovery in times of conflict

By Manal Omar, Elie Abouaoun, Beatrice Pouligny

The forced displacement of unprecedented numbers of people within and beyond national borders has become an enduring yet fluid phenomenon across the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade.

Civil Society Conflict

Report

Apr 11, 2016

Innovation, leadership, and national security

By Franklin D. Kramer and James A. Wrightson, Jr.

This report proposes that both the US government and the American private sector take significant steps to encourage innovation beyond what the United States, already an innovative society, has successfully accomplished.

Defense Technologies Entrepreneurship

Issue Brief

Apr 6, 2016

A maritime framework for the Baltic Sea region

By Franklin D. Kramer and Magnus Nordenman

An effective maritime framework would be a critical element in an integrated NATO deterrent and reassurance strategy for the Baltic Sea region, in light of hostile Russian actions and the emerging Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) challenge in northern Europe. Such a framework would provide the Alliance the capability for sea and air control over the Baltic Sea region and, as necessary, support the requirements of reinforcement and combined capabilities including intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance, electronic warfare, and precision engagement.

Maritime Security NATO

Report

Apr 6, 2016

Building a Transatlantic Digital Marketplace: Twenty Steps Toward 2020

By Atlantic Council’s Task Force on Advancing a Transatlantic Digital Agenda

The United States and the European Union (EU) have a historic opportunity—perhaps their last—to be leaders in building the digital market of the future. To do so, they must seize the opportunity to create a transatlantic digital single market stretching from Silicon Valley to Tallinn, Estonia. Together, they can give a new burst of energy […]

Digital Policy European Union
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