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Kazakhstan and the United States: Twenty Years of Ambiguous Partnership
The Five Futures of Cyber Conflict and Cooperation
US Lessons for the Eurozone Restoring Confidence through Transparency
Prospects and Challenges for Increasing India-Pakistan Trade
A US-EU Action Plan for Supporting Democratization: Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia
Council News
Jonathan Paris Discusses Syrian Crisis with France 24
Jonathan Paris, nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, appeared on France 24 to discuss Russia's support for the Assad regime and what it means for a possible UN resolution against Syria.
Damon Wilson US Senate Testimony: Ukraine at a Crossroads
On February 1, Atlantic Council executive vice president Damon Wilson testified at a hearing of the US Senate Committe on Foreign Relations on the topic: "Ukraine at a Crossroads: What's at Stake for the US and Europe?"
Michele Dunne on US-Egypt Relations for NPR's Morning Edition
Relations between the US and Egypt have taken a downturn since Egyptian authorities raided the offices of seventeen nongovernmental organizations in December - three of them US-funded. Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, spoke on NPR's Morning Edition about the situation and what it means for US aid to Egypt.
FEATURED ISSUE
The South Asia Center receives guidance and support from many experts throughout the world. Our senior fellows, guest-speakers, Center patrons, and visitors contribute heavily to the Center’s mission to “wage peace,” and engage the international community in the region. The Center asked our contributors the simple, but key question, “What you do expect in 2012?”
REGISTER
Economic Pressure on Merkel Continues
Peter Cassata | December 10, 2008The recent pressure on Angela Merkel to enact further stimulus measures for Germany's economy continues, the WSJ reports:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing mounting pressure to boost her stimulus plans for Europe's largest economy and reverse a thrifty strategy that has her out of step with other nations.
She will likely be challenged on the point when European Union leaders gather for a summit Thursday. On Monday, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met to discuss policies to revive the European economy – without inviting the German chancellor. Both men have announced ambitious fiscal, regulatory and other initiatives in response to the financial crisis, while Ms. Merkel's fiscal boost for Germany's €2.5 ($3.2) trillion economy includes only €4 ($5.2) billion of fresh money next year.
All sides played down talk of a rift with Berlin, but in Germany Ms. Merkel's absence was seen as a symptom of her foot-dragging role in Europe's economic deliberations. Meanwhile on Tuesday, Germany's constitutional court reinstated tax breaks for commuters that Ms. Merkel's government cut in 2007 – forcing her to put a brave face on the legal defeat, calling it a boost to the economy although she has rejected major tax cuts as a stimulus.
The recession in Germany has turned into a major threat to Merkel's political future. Analysts suggest Merkel's insistence on fiscal discipline will cost her popularity as the effects of the economic downturn set in.
