Issue Brief

May 30, 2019

When the friend of my friends is not my friend

By Mark N. Katz

Russia is once again a major player in the Middle East. Moscow has notably backed the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while it has a growing footprint in Iran, Turkey, and the Gulf. Russia’s return to the region has posed significant challenges for transatlantic policymaking in this era of renewed great-power competition. This new […]

Middle East Russia

Report

May 20, 2019

US nuclear energy leadership: Innovation and the strategic global challenge

By Atlantic Council Task Force on US Nuclear Energy Leadership

A flourishing domestic nuclear energy sector is critical to US national security, both in the interconnections between military and civilian uses of nuclear energy, as well as in foreign policy.

Nuclear Energy United States and Canada

Report

May 15, 2019

Foreign interference in Ukraine’s election

By Ukraine Election Task Force

Ukraine conducted its presidential election in accordance with democratic standards, despite clear evidence of Russian interference. The interference, however, was not extensive enough to affect the election’s outcome or the actual voting process.

Report

Apr 24, 2019

Cybersecurity: Changing the model

By Franklin D. Kramer and Robert J. Butler

The need to update the cybersecurity model is clear. An enhanced public-private model – based on coordinated, advanced protection and resilience – is necessary to protect key critical infrastructure sectors

Cybersecurity English
Forward Defense

Report

Apr 23, 2019

Leveraging the National Technology Industrial Base to address great-power competition

By William Greenwalt

The purpose of this report by William Greenwalt is to promote urgent deliberations over what a modern National Technology and Industrial Base should look like, and to encourage Congress and the administration to adopt measures that will enable access to defense-industrial resources that are more responsive to the needs of the National Defense Strategy.

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Report

Apr 22, 2019

US international broadcasting: recommendations from the Eurasian experience

By Thomas Kent

Perhaps the most important US tool for contesting these narratives, directly to the populations Moscow targets, is US international broadcasting.

Corruption Democratic Transitions

Report

Apr 11, 2019

Spotlight: Five key economic avenues for strengthening US-Brazil trade and FDI

By Daniel Marteleto Godinho, Abrão Neto

In what five key ways can the United States and Brazil work more effectively together to strengthen bilateral trade and foreign direct investment?

Brazil Economy & Business

NATOat70

Apr 4, 2019

NATO at seventy: Filling NATO’s critical defense-capability gaps

By Wayne Schroeder

The need to outfit and equip NATO for great power competition, as well as increased pressure to invest more in defense, provides an opportunity to strengthen NATO for the future. Yet the path forward is still unclear. What investments should be prioritized to ensure that NATO retains its fighting mindset well past its seventieth anniversary in 2019?

Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia

Report

Apr 3, 2019

Ecology Meets Geopolitics

By Peter Engelke and David Michel

As the rivers produced by the Himalayas and other mountain ranges on the Plateau are under increasingly serious pressure, water insecurity threatens much of the continent’s peace and security.

Climate Change & Climate Action East Asia

Issue Brief

Apr 2, 2019

Transatlantic air power and what to do now

By General Frank Gorenc, USAF (Ret.)

While the United States and its NATO Allies and partners have enjoyed three decades of air supremacy, the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. As a great power competition with Russia plays out in Europe, the United States and its Allies in NATO must reassess the role and importance of the air domain to transatlantic security.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Issue Brief

Apr 2, 2019

Transatlantic air power and what to do now

By General Frank Gorenc, USAF (Ret.)

While the United States and its NATO Allies and partners have enjoyed three decades of air supremacy, the pendulum is now swinging in the other direction. As a great power competition with Russia plays out in Europe, the United States and its Allies in NATO must reassess the role and importance of the air domain to transatlantic security.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Report

Apr 2, 2019

Dealing with the offshore economy

By Alan Riley

The West, with its rule of law and creation of the Western-governed offshore economy, has given corrupt elites in developing countries the tools and capacity to avoid ever establishing the rule of law in their own countries.

Corruption European Union

Report

Mar 28, 2019

Disinformation in democracies: Strengthening digital resilience in Latin America

By Luiza Bandeira, Donara Barojan, Roberta Braga, Jose Luis Peñarredonda, Maria Fernanda Pérez Argüello

2018 saw political tides turn in three of Latin America’s largest democracies. These elections also saw deep polarization and distrust in institutions among Brazilians, Mexicans, and Colombians in an information environment ripe with disinformation. And while disinformation and misinformation are nothing new, the spread of false information at alarming rates – facilitated by politicians, non-state […]

Disinformation Latin America

Issue Brief

Mar 1, 2019

The illicit tobacco trade in Zimbabwe and South Africa

By Simone Haysom

This groundbreaking study of the illicit tobacco trade in southern Africa explores how this trade supports organized crime, helps enable official corruption, and erodes state structures.

Non-Traditional Threats South Africa

Report

Feb 21, 2019

The Putin exodus: The new Russian brain drain

By John E. Herbst, Sergei Erofeev

Human capital is fleeing Russia. Since President Vladimir Putin’s ascent to the presidency, between 1.6 and 2 million Russians – out of a total population of 145 million – have left for Western democracies.

Corruption Germany

Issue Brief

Feb 12, 2019

The US-Danish defense and security relationship

By Magnus Nordenman

The US-Danish relationship has proven itself remarkably flexible and effective throughout the post-Cold War era, and it is once again on the cusp of evolution with new challenges and opportunities. In the midst of the ongoing debate among NATO allies about burden-sharing, Denmark has consistently punched above its weight, contributing substantially to collective defense for […]

Issue Brief

Feb 12, 2019

The US-Danish defense and security relationship

By Magnus Nordenman

The US-Danish relationship has proven itself remarkably flexible and effective throughout the post-Cold War era, and it is once again on the cusp of evolution with new challenges and opportunities.

Report

Feb 7, 2019

Permanent deterrence: Enhancements to the US military presence in North Central Europe

By Ambassador Alexander R. Vershbow (Ret.) and General Philip M. Breedlove, USAF (Ret.)

To provide an independent perspective, the Atlantic Council established a task force to assess the broader political and military implications of an enhanced US posture in North Central Europe. The report’s recommendations, guided by several key principles, are a result of the task force members’ agreement that enhancements to the US presence in the region could, and should, be undertaken to bolster deterrence and reinforce Alliance cohesion.

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

Report

Jan 24, 2019

Does money grow on trees? Restoration financing in Southeast Asia

By Prajwal Baral, Mikkel Larsen, Matthew Archer, PhD

Given its unique role as both a potential source of emissions—as well as storage—for carbon, the land use sector may play a crucial role in the world’s success or failure in avoiding dangerous levels of climate change over this century. Nowhere is the pivotal role of land use more apparent than in tropical forests.

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

Report

Jan 15, 2019

Reforming US’ high-skilled guestworker program

By Ron Hira and Bharath Gopalaswamy

The H-1B visa program is one of more than twenty US guest worker programs, but it has arguably been in the spotlight more than any other. While the H1-B was originally intended to attract foreign workers to satisfy unmet demand for skilled labor, the current system undercuts opportunities for US workers and enables the exploitation […]

Economy & Business India