Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Trump Kim-Summit: The Best-Case Scenario

US President Donald J. Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12. Atlantic Council analysts present their views on what they believe to be an achievable, best-case outcome, one that would test North Korea’s readiness for genuine, rapid denuclearization by demanding front-loaded “down payments” during the first twelve months.  

US-China Cooperation Vital for the Success of Trump-Kim Summit

By Wang Junsheng

When US President Donald J. Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 it will be due in large part to the close cooperation between the United States and China over the past year. Sino-US cooperation is critical to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. Since Trump took office in 2017, […]

Why Internet Freedom in Iran is More Important Than Ever

By Holly Dagres

A female truck driver in a burgundy headscarf stood on the side of a highway to Mashhad, explaining in a video sent to Voice of America Persian that she was joining a truck driver strike. It wasn’t long before the video and others like it caught the attention of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). […]

Trump Wants Russia Back in the G7

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s suggestion that Russia be invited back to a grouping of the world’s largest economies is likely to deepen divisions with allies already irked by the president’s policies. Trump on June 8 called for Russia to be reinstated into the G7 from which it was expelled following its annexation of Crimea […]

Navigating a multipolar-values world

By Christian Trotti

Authoritarianism, corruption, and violent nonstate actors challenge democracy, while the human rights regime is pressured by the War on Terror. Additionally, the values of feminism and free trade are under siege by isolationism, protectionism, and nationalism. These forces do not only threaten Sweden, but also Europe, the US, and the entire liberal world order as established by the West.

Trump-Kim Summit is Back On

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump said on June 1 that his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will proceed as initially planned in Singapore on June 12. Trump’s announcement followed his meeting at the White House with Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the vice-chairman of North Korea’s Workers’ Party’s Central Committee. Kim is the first North […]

Great Power Competition in Iran as the US Exits the Arena

By Ali Scotten

US President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, and thus re-impose broad sanctions against the Islamic Republic, sends a clear signal that Washington has reverted to a full containment policy against Tehran. But, lacking a clear overarching Middle East strategy, US policymakers do not appear to be weighing the merits of this […]