Politics & Diplomacy

Politics & Diplomacy

Healthy democratic societies are governed through the holding of elections, passage of policies through government institutions, and equal application of the law to all citizens. These activities influence not only the internal decisions of these societies, but also inform the ways countries interact with their regional and global neighbors, whether through direct bilateral ties or encompassed in larger international organizations.

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Silent Partner

New Atlanticist
Mar 18, 2025

The Gaza cease-fire is over. What’s next from Israel, Hamas, and the US?

By
Atlantic Council experts

In the early hours of March 18, Israel launched air strikes on Gaza, ending the two-month cease-fire. Atlantic Council experts answer pressing questions about the resumed conflict.

Conflict
Israel

Silent Partner

New Atlanticist
Mar 17, 2025

Enough carrots for Putin. For better negotiations, serve ‘maximum pressure’ instead.

By
Benjamin L. Schmitt, Richard L. Morningstar, and Daniel Fried

Since Russia appears content for negotiations to move slowly, the Trump administration should turn up the pressure with new sanctions.

Conflict
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

Silent Partner

Issue Brief
Mar 13, 2025

Present without impact? How the Middle East perceives China’s diplomatic engagement

By
Jonathan Fulton

Despite economic advancements and high-profile diplomatic engagements, China’s influence remains largely economic rather than political, Jonathan Fulton argues.

China
Economy & Business

Content

New Atlanticist

Nov 7, 2014

Silent Partner

By Bilal Y. Saab

How Oman Became the Middle East’s Indispensable Nation To many Omanis, it is offensive to openly contemplate life after Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, the widely admired albeit absolute monarch who has been receiving medical treatment in Germany since July. But policymakers elsewhere in the world have no choice but to do just that. The 73-year-old Qaboos is […]

International Organizations Iran
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, October 14, 2014

NATOSource

Nov 4, 2014

Stoltenberg and Mogherini Discuss Improving NATO/EU Cooperation

By Jens Stoltenberg, NATO

NATO and the European Union we have a lot in common.

European Union International Organizations

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2014

Ukraine’s New Government: Here’s What to Expect

By New Atlanticist

Amid Horse-Trading by Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk, a New Parliament Speaker Is Likely The Atlantic Council’s Kyiv-based senior fellow, Brian Mefford, writes on the likely makeup of Ukraine’s post-election government. His key observations are below, and you can read his detailed analysis on his own blog.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Nov 3, 2014

Russian-Ukraine Gas Deal Gives Moscow the Leverage and Europe the Energy

By John E. Herbst

Ukrainians Will Get Gas, Too, But Their Cost and Risk of Cutoffs Remain High European Union leaders in Brussels may be celebrating the gas deal signed Thursday between Ukraine and Russia as an assurance of Russian gas supplies to Europe this winter, but Ukrainians can at best take cold comfort from the agreement. EU Energy […]

Eastern Europe Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Nov 2, 2014

Ukraine, ISIS Wars Increase Europe’s Risks in the Western Balkans

By James Rupert

Albania’s Defense Minister: NATO, EU Should Focus on Dangers in Five Ex-Yugoslav States Europe’s peace is at risk from the wars in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq—and nowhere more than in the Balkans, where several states of the former Yugoslavia form the weakest spot in Europe’s security structures.

Europe & Eurasia European Union

AfricaSource

Oct 31, 2014

Burkina Faso update: Missed opportunity?

By J. Peter Pham

The “soft landing” that so many, both in Burkina Faso and abroad, had worked so hard to achieve is not to be. Following violent protests against an effort to lift the constitutional bar on his seeking another term in office, mob actions which brought the landlocked West African country to the edge of the abyss, […]

North & West Africa Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Oct 31, 2014

Ukraine Gas Deal May Show That the West’s Sanctions on Russia Are Working

By James Rupert

The gas supply deal signed in Brussels yesterday among Russia, Ukraine and the European Union “is perhaps the clearest indication yet that sanctions imposed on Russia are working in terms of changing Russia’s behavior,” writes Timothy Ash, an economist who directs emerging markets strategy at Standard Bank in London.

Eastern Europe Energy & Environment

AfricaSource

Oct 31, 2014

Burkina Faso: The consequences of burning down the house

By J. Peter Pham

The events that have followed each other in rapid succession this week in the West African country of Burkina Faso are, at one level, relatively straightforward. What is not so readily apparent—certainly not to the tens of thousands of protesters-turned-rioters, much less to those far-off outsiders who, wittingly or unwittingly, egged them on—are the consequences […]

North & West Africa Politics & Diplomacy

Event Recap

Oct 30, 2014

Deconstructing Democracy: Elections in India

By Atlantic Council

With the world’s largest democracy and a population of 1.3 billion, elections in India are among the most complex democratic exercises in the world. Navin Chawla, former election commissioner of India, spoke to the Atlantic Council about how a country of 814 million registered voters maintains an efficient and universally respected election process and peaceful […]

Elections India

Event Recap

Oct 29, 2014

Conference Call: Ukraine Votes

By Atlantic Council

On October 28, the Atlantic Council hosted an on-the-record conference call on Ukraine’s recent parliamentary elections. The call featured John Herbst, director of the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, and Adrian Karatnycky, senior fellow in the Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program and former CEO of Freedom House. It was moderated by Damon Wilson, executive vice president […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy
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Experts

Fellow

Scott Cooper

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Civil Society

Millennium fellow

Kim Córdova

Culture Journalist and Independent Curator

Civil Society Media

Fellow

Jonathan Corrado

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Indo-Pacific Korea

Fellow

Jennifer A. Counter

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Technologies Intelligence

Fellow

Dario Cristiani

Nonresident Senior Fellow, North Africa Program

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Fellow

Kelley E. Currie

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Human Rights Indo-Pacific
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Events

Public Event Wed, May 13, 2026 • 9:00 am ET

The 2026 Iraq Dialogue
Geopolitics & Energy Security Iraq Middle East Politics & Diplomacy
Public Event Thu, May 14, 2026 • 4:00 pm ET

Trade over aid: Prosperity for the US and the developing world
Politics & Diplomacy Resilience & Society United States and Canada
Online Event Mon, May 18, 2026 • 9:00 am ET

Warsaw Week 2026
Defense Industry Defense Policy Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense