The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.

Experts react Oct 26, 2024

Experts react: Israel has hit back at Iran with airstrikes. Is this the road to war or an off-ramp?

By Atlantic Council experts

Our experts share their insights on what Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran could mean for the prospect of further Israeli-Iranian escalation.
Conflict Crisis Management
The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.

New Atlanticist Oct 1, 2024

Four questions (and expert answers) about Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon

By Shalom Lipner

Shalom Lipner, a former advisor to seven consecutive Israeli prime ministers, answers the burning questions about Israel’s strategy and what the US should do.
Conflict Crisis Management
The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.

New Atlanticist Sep 19, 2024

The Sudan crisis has become a magnet for foreign malign influence and strategic corruption

By Andrea Currie-Edwards

To help bring about an end to the war in Sudan, the United States should stem the illicit activities of foreign actors fueling the conflict.
Conflict Corruption

Content

Dispatches

Dec 24, 2025

The Middle East is on the brink of a new crisis. Here’s where it could start.

By Alex Plitsas

No one should confuse the patchwork of temporary cease-fire agreements in place throughout the Middle East for sustainable deterrence and peace.

Conflict
Crisis Management

In the News

Dec 12, 2025

Kroenig quoted in NPR on President Trump’s peace deals

On December 12, Atlantic Council vice president and Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in an article in NPR titled “Trump touts his peace deals – but many are already unraveling.” He argues the President’s unconventional negotiation style has yielded some notable successes.

Crisis Management
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2025

How Syria’s grassroots civil peace committees can help prevent intercommunal conflict

By Gregory Waters and Kayla Koontz

Syria’s local civil peace committees offer an important model for dealing with the country’s deeply rooted social divisions.

Civil Society
Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2025

What prolonged Russian aggression against Europe could mean for the Balkans

By Agon Maliqi

The prospect of a prolonged, wider European war in the coming years is reshaping strategic calculations throughout the Balkans.

Conflict
Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Nov 25, 2025

Whether it puts boots on the ground or not, Turkey matters for Gaza’s stabilization

By Daniel C. Kurtzer and Kayra Sener

Turkey and Israel should work with the United States to develop a role for Ankara that helps advance the International Stabilization Force mission in Gaza.

Crisis Management
Defense Policy
A destroyed military vehicle and bombed buildings in Khartoum.

AfricaSource

Nov 25, 2025

El Fasher is only the latest wake-up call to the genocide unfolding in Sudan

By Rama Yade

Sudan’s civil war has become one of the world’s deadliest crises—and the massacre in El Fasher exposes a genocide unfolding in plain sight. As regional powers fuel the war, millions face famine, displacement, and systematic violence.

Conflict
Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2025

Dispatch from Warsaw: How to respond as Putin ratchets up the pressure

By Daniel Fried

A suspected act of sabotage on a Polish railway line has highlighted the need for NATO countries to respond to Russian aggression.

Central Europe
Crisis Management

AfricaSource

Oct 31, 2025

Mali has not just plunged into crisis. It has been unraveling for years.

By Rama Yade and Hussein Ba

Mali’s crisis runs deeper than recent coups. Military fragmentation, jihadist expansion, and severed international ties have left the landlocked nation isolated, economically strained, and socially fractured.

Africa
Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2025

Dispatch from Uzbekistan: Regional peace progress and economic growth reveal opportunities for US engagement

By Andrew D’Anieri

The advances toward peace in the Fergana Valley and Uzbekistan’s economic growth should encourage deeper US engagement in the region.

Central Asia
Crisis Management

AfricaSource

Oct 21, 2025

The Lake Chad Basin could power growth instead of conflict

By Jude Mutah

Despite vast oil, gas, and mineral wealth, the Lake Chad Basin remains trapped in insecurity. Transforming resources into peace requires transparent governance, community trust, and accountable partnerships that deliver real benefits for citizens across the basin.

Africa
Crisis Management
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Experts

Fellow

Stanislava Mladenova

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Afghanistan Conflict

Expert

Jon Wilks

Distinguished Fellow, Transatlantic Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Crisis Management

Fellow

Caleb Eames

Senior US Marine Corps Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Africa Crisis Management

Fellow

Rebecca Katz

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Africa Center

Africa Coronavirus

Fellow

Mike Minihan

Distinguished Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Artificial Intelligence China

Fellow

Diana Rayes 

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society
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