Atlantic Council

In the latest in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Ansari Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton and Intern Sam Fishman argue that the political climate is slowly changing in Eritrea.

Atlantic Council Board Director Odeh Aburdene says in this issue brief that thanks to hydraulic fracturing and deep water technology, oil and gas extracted from rock shale formations will increase dramatically in the next ten years in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, and South Africa.

As the United States and European Union begin negotiations in earnest to establish a robust Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, C. Boyden Gray argues in a new Atlantic Council issue brief that the two sides should seek the most comprehensive agreement possible. Given the relative weakness of the recovery in the aftermath of the financial crisis, opening trade and establishing common regulatory standards provides both Europe and the United States with a viable path towards strong, sustainable economic growth. 

The Obama administration is sending mixed messages about the role that Congress should play in creating policies that would prevent the possibility of a catastrophic cyber attack, according to a new issue brief released by the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. 

In the latest in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Ansari Center Director J. Peter Pham highlights the rise of India as a key player on the African continent.

The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security are pleased to release a new issue brief, "The United States and the Gulf States: Uncertain Partners in a Changing Region." Senior Fellow Richard LeBaron evaluates the relationship between the United States and the Gulf states as they face democratic transitions in the Arab world as well as security challenges in the Gulf.

In the latest in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Ansari Center Director J. Peter Pham and Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton argue that Mali’s plunge into failed state status has its roots in politics—specifically the persistent political and economic marginalization of the Tuareg and other northerners by successive central governments—and, thus, the French intervention risked exacerbating and prolonging the crisis.

The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East is pleased to release a new issue brief, "Jordan's Electoral Environment and Prospects for Change." Deputy director Danya Greenfield evaluates the current political climate in Jordan ahead of parliamentary elections on January 23rd, and offers insight as to why elections will not ameliorate the growing political and economic frustration among its citizens.

In the latest in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Ansari Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton argues that while decentralization is increasingly the norm across Africa, with “almost every country on the continent engaging in local elections and resource sharing, or at least paying lip service to such notions,” the United States and its European allies have been slow to engage with sub-state governance structures, even on security-related concerns where the growing threat from transnational and al-Qaeda-linked terrorist networks add urgency to the need to bolster local authorities.

In this issue brief Martin Murphy and Lee Willett make the case for deepening naval cooperation among the so-called “Five Eyes” countries of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.