GeoStrategy Initiative Analysis and Events

Strategic Questions for President-Elect Trump

Donald John Trump will be the 45th president of the United States. He rode a wave of populist anger straight to the Oval Office on November 8 and now has a mandate to reverse years of neoliberal global and domestic politics. He will spend his time focusing on fixing those issues, many of which have […]

The Challenges and Opportunities that Await President-Elect Trump

Donald J. Trump was elected the forty-fifth president of the United States on November 8. Atlantic Council analysts and board members describe the challenges and opportunities the new president will face as he takes office in January of 2017, and provide policy recommendations.

Burrows Quoted by Politico on How the World Will Change After the Election

Read the full article here.

Tackling Root Causes of Conflict in the Middle East

By Tyler M. Nocita

On Thursday, October 27, 2016, the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted Sweden’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Annika Söder for a conference on US-European cooperation in the Middle East. Söder delivered keynote remarks, in which she emphasized that the Middle East is undergoing a period of rapid transition and instability, threatened by a […]

A new strategy for US-Iran relations in transition

By Ellen Laipson

Framing a sustainable and achievable strategy toward Iran will be a high priority for the next administration. In the sixth Atlantic Council Strategy Paper, A New Strategy for US-Iran Relations in Transition, Ellen Laipson presents a new strategy to reduce prospects for a military confrontation with Iran; improve the regional security environment by working with trusted partners and with Iran; and, eventually, enable Iran and the United States to build cooperation in diverse areas of shared concern.

History’s lessons for resolving today’s Middle East conflicts

By Mathew J. Burrows

In the spirit of the adage that “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it,” History’s Lessons for Resolving Today’s Middle East Conflicts, by Mathew J. Burrows, examines past precedents for resolving highly complex conflicts, by delving into seven historic examples of peacemaking.

Gene Editing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

In the 2016 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US National Intelligence Community, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper noted: “given the broad distribution, low cost, and accelerated pace of development of this dual-use technology [genome editing], its deliberate or unintentional misuse might lead to far-reaching economic and national security implications.” The CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly […]

Wanted: Leadership

Strategic planning will play a crucial role in the next US president’s ability to mitigate an amalgamation of political, social, security, and economic threats at home and abroad, according to Mathew Burrows, director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative at the Atlantic Council. “We need leadership on a lot of different levels to get us out […]

Global Risks 2035: The Search for a New Normal

By Strategy Initiative

In the four years since the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 was published, the biggest change in the world is the increased risk of major conflict. In 2012, a large-scale US/NATO conflict with Russia or China was close to unthinkable. Now, the post-Cold War security order has broken down, and the consequences are immense, […]