Issue Brief

Nov 9, 2018

A road map of the re-imposed sanctions for Iran

By David Mortlock, Nikki M. Cronin

President Trump announced on May 8, 2018 that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and the other P5+1 governments and re-impose nu- clear-related sanctions on Iran.

Economic Sanctions Iran

Issue Brief

Nov 9, 2018

A road map of the re-imposed sanctions for Iran

By David Mortlock, Nikki Cronin

President Trump announced on May 8, 2018 that the United States would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and the other P5+1 governments and re-impose nu- clear-related sanctions on Iran.

Economic Sanctions Iran

Issue Brief

Nov 8, 2018

US sanctions: Using a coercive and economic tool effectively

By David Mortlock, Brian O’Toole

In recent years, US economic and financial sanctions have become favored tools of US power, having been deployed to address threats as disparate as human-rights abuses, Iranian nuclear proliferation, Russian aggression, transnational criminal activity, and the deteriorating situation in Venezuela. The Barack Obama administration, and the George W. Bush administration before it, used sanctions to […]

Economic Sanctions

Issue Brief

Nov 8, 2018

US sanctions: Using a coercive and economic tool effectively

In recent years, US economic and financial sanctions have become favored tools of US power, having been deployed to address threats as disparate as human-rights abuses, Iranian nuclear proliferation, Russian aggression, transnational criminal activity, and the deteriorating situation in Venezuela.

Economic Sanctions

Issue Brief

Nov 5, 2018

The future of development finance

By Aubrey Hruby

Growing anxiety about China’s dominance of emerging markets spurred a rare bipartisan effort to pass the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018. The BUILD Act delivers a needed overhaul of US development finance capabilities and commercial diplomacy by subsuming the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and other development finance agencies […]

Africa Economy & Business

Issue Brief

Nov 5, 2018

The future of development finance

By Aubrey Hruby

Growing anxiety about China’s dominance of emerging markets spurred a rare bipartisan effort to pass the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018.

Africa Economy & Business

Issue Brief

Nov 5, 2018

How Iran will cope with US sanctions

By Holly Dagres, Barbara Slavin

As a second and more punishing wave of US sanctions hits Iran, the Islamic Republic is dusting off an old playbook for circumventing such penalties and maintaining a crucial level of oil exports and other trade. A new issue brief by Holly Dagres and Barbara Slavin—How Iran Will Cope with US Sanctions—discusses the myriad techniques […]

Economic Sanctions Iran

Issue Brief

Nov 5, 2018

How Iran will cope with US sanctions

By Holly Dagres, Barbara Slavin

As a second and more punishing wave of US sanctions hits Iran, the Islamic Republic is dusting off an old playbook for circumventing such penalties and maintaining a crucial level of oil exports and other trade.

Economic Sanctions Iran
TAP pipeline

Issue Brief

Oct 10, 2018

Europe’s southern gas corridor: The Italian (dis)connection

By John M. Roberts

An update on where things stand in completing a crucial component of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The pipeline—which will bring Shah Deniz gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, Albania, Italy and other Western European markets—is officially scheduled to open in 2020.

Issue Brief

Oct 10, 2018

Europe’s southern gas corridor: The Italian (dis)connection

By John M. Roberts

An update on where things stand in completing a crucial component of the Southern Gas Corridor, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). The pipeline—which will bring Shah Deniz gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, Albania, Italy and other Western European markets—is officially scheduled to open in 2020.

Report

Oct 5, 2018

The arc of crisis in the MENA region: Fragmentation, decentralization, and Islamist opposition

By Karim Mezran and Arturo Varvelli

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a time of great transformation and as well as tumult. Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Dr. Karim Mezran and Dr. Arturo Varvelli of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies gathered experts to explore decentralization and political Islam in six MENA countries in “The Arc of […]

Energy & Environment Middle East

Report

Oct 2, 2018

Democracy in the crosshairs: How political money laundering threatens the democratic process

By Neil Barnett and Alastair Sloan

International political dark money is a crucial, but little-understood, part of a toolkit of techniques that have been used, with accelerating intensity, to influence major liberal democracies and transition states over the last decade.

The 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigade during a drill held in the Golan Heights in northern Israel. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Issue Brief

Sep 27, 2018

The evolving Iranian strategy in Syria: A looming conflict with Israel

By Nader Uskowi

Iran began its military involvement in Syria in 2011, at the outbreak of the civil war. Tehran’s immediate objective was to defeat the Syrian opposition militarily to save Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The maintenance of the Shia-Alawi-dominated regime in Damascus was key to the Islamic Republic’s long-term regional strategy, the creation of a contiguous Shia […]

Iran Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Sep 24, 2018

Getting creative about development

By Aubrey Hruby

African film, music, and fashion are exploding in popularity on the global stage. From Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry to the visual arts in South Africa, creative and cultural industries (CCI) represent a new realm of economic op­portunity.

Africa Economy & Business

Issue Brief

Sep 24, 2018

Getting creative about development

By Aubrey Hruby

African film, music, and fashion are exploding in popularity on the global stage. From Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry to the visual arts in South Africa, creative and cultural industries (CCI) represent a new realm of economic op­portunity. From artists to distrib­utors, Africa’s creative economy is currently estimated to employ about half a million people, generates […]

Africa Economy & Business

Report

Sep 20, 2018

Toward long-term solidarity with Syrian refugees? Turkey’s policy response and challenges

By Laura Batalla & Juliette Tolay

Open door, camps and temporary protection have been at the core of Turkey’s approach. But an uninterrupted inflow of refugees, as well as a complicated foreign and domestic political environment, has put some limitations on Turkey’s welcome.

Europe & Eurasia Migration

Report

Sep 19, 2018

Whose truth? Sovereignty, disinformation, and winning the battle of trust

By John Watts

In an era of increasing technological, cultural and geo-political change, the rise of disinformation undermines the institutions that nations rely on to function and creates risks across society. At the heart of the challenge is the battle of truth and trust. In this report, “Whose Truth: Sovereignty, Disinformation and Winning the Battle of Trust, John […]

Disinformation Media

Report

Sep 17, 2018

It takes a village: How hacktivity can save your company

By Shaun Ee

With our modern-day reliance on digital technology, software and system vulnerabilities have become increasingly hard to avoid. Thoroughly eliminating all these vulnerabilities can be a challenge, but through a coordinated vulnerability disclosure (CVD) program, governments and private companies can mitigate them with the help of independent security researchers.

Cybersecurity English

Report

Sep 17, 2018

Three pipelines and three seas: BRUA, TAP, the IAP and gasification in Southeast Europe

By John M. Roberts

These projects, the BRUA pipeline, the Trans Adriatic pipeline, the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline, the Krk Island FSRU project, and gasification efforts in Southeast Europe, and broader support and financing for such projects is crucial, but there are also challenges in terms of which projects receive priority and how they might complement or compete with one another.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Report

Sep 14, 2018

A strategy for Moldova

By Anders Åslund and Timothy Fairbank

The Republic of Moldova, a sliver of land bordering the European Union (EU) and NATO’s eastern edge, finds itself at a critical crossroads twenty-seven years after gaining independence from the Soviet Union.

Corruption Defense Policy