With the US out of Afghanistan, Iran jumps on the opportunity of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

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
With the US out of Afghanistan, Iran jumps on the opportunity of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

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 Economic Sanctions
With the US out of Afghanistan, Iran jumps on the opportunity of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

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

IranSource

Sep 23, 2021

With the US out of Afghanistan, Iran jumps on the opportunity of joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

By Jonathan Fulton

Even if Iran’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is stalled, the US exit from Afghanistan changes the regional landscape.

Afghanistan China

SouthAsiaSource

Sep 22, 2021

Experts react: 2021 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tajikistan

By South Asia Center

On September 17, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) held a heads-of-state summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in a hybrid virtual and in-person setting. Consisting of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and most recently Iran, the SCO meeting primarily discussed the evolving situation in Afghanistan and its ramifications for member states as well as the international community more broadly.

Afghanistan Central Asia

Markup

Sep 22, 2021

MARKUP: Our experts annotate Biden’s UN General Assembly speech

By Atlantic Council

Our experts explain what his words really mean, how they’ll be received, and what the president didn’t say.

Crisis Management European Union

Event Recap

Sep 22, 2021

EVENT RECAP: The future of counterterrorism: Twenty years after 9/11

By Yaseen Rashed

On September 8, the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Forward Defense practice area and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative hosted an event with US national security experts to discuss counterterrorism twenty years after 9/11 and reimagine the future of the terrorist threat.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

IranSource

Sep 22, 2021

Iran ‘won’ the war with Iraq but at a heavy price

By Barbara Slavin, Abbas Kadhim

More than four decades after the beginning of a dreadful war that shaped the lives and worldview of a generation, Iraq and Iran seem to have put the past behind them and moved to a new relationship. But the road ahead is not without landmines. The balance of power is too lopsided in Iran’s favor to allow for a healthy alliance and Iran’s continued estrangement from the US makes Baghdad’s balancing act even trickier. The Iranians may be enjoying their triumphant short-term position, but the long-term consequences could be calamitous.

Iran Iraq

MENASource

Sep 22, 2021

Mourned by some, cursed by others, former President Bouteflika left Algeria ill-prepared for the future

By Andrew G. Farrand

Abdelaziz Bouteflika's death is unlikely to substantially shift the country's trajectory, in large part because of just how rigid a system he and his generation of independence heroes already imposed upon Algeria during their lifetimes.

Middle East North Africa

Fast Thinking

Sep 21, 2021

FAST THINKING: Biden’s UN reality check

By Atlantic Council

President Biden spoke of "relentless diplomacy” at the UN on Tuesday. But can that relentlessness overcome transatlantic strains, not to mention a still-raging pandemic and climate crisis?

Africa Crisis Management

In the News

Sep 21, 2021

Kroenig at the Foreign Policy Research Institute on Western alliances

By Atlantic Council

Scowcroft Center deputy director Matthew Kroenig speaks at the Foreign Policy Research Institute on Western alliances.

Europe & Eurasia European Union

In the News

Sep 21, 2021

Sakhi joined Tufts University Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies to discuss Afghanistan: The End of a Forever War.

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Conflict

SouthAsiaSource

Sep 21, 2021

A reinvigorated Quad is becoming a key element of the new US administration’s Asia policy—just not in the way you expected.

By Atman Trivedi

A reinvigorated Quad is becoming a key element of the new US administration’s Asia policy. Its members—Australia, India, Japan, and the US—convened virtually in March at the leader level. Amid multiple global crises, they wisely opted to focus on concrete ways to deliver for their people and the region. The grouping sought to prove that democracy still works, as President Biden likes to say. The Quad Leaders’ communique set the bar high: cooperation on “the defining challenges of our time.”

Indo-Pacific Japan
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Experts

Staff

Ellie Sennett 

Editor

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Middle East

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Inês Bravo Figueiredo

Co-President, Volt Portugal

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Economy & Business

Fellow

Jonathan Corrado

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Indo-Pacific Korea

Staff

Isabella Palacios

Project Assistant

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

Americas Colombia

Staff

Torrey Taussig

Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Eastern Europe Europe & Eurasia

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Ivo Walinga

China Programme Officer, International Energy Agency

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Energy & Environment
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Decolonizing Ukraine and securing freedom for the indigenous people of Crimea
Human Rights Nationalism Politics & Diplomacy Resilience & Society
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Central Asia Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia Geopolitics & Energy Security
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The societal value of religious freedom: An integral human development approach
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