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May 23, 2012 | Mali, a Dismal Echo of Afghanistan

Although Afghanistan remains a hotbed of terrorist activity, NATO will quit the country by 2014. ++ This marks an end to a tragic chapter in the Alliance’s history. ++ But little attention has been focused on Mali which suffered a coup just two …More

May 23, 2012 | Missile Defense Moving South is a Well-deserved Setback for Warsaw's Dreams

Marek Swierczynski: NATO’s Chicago Summit announced the first phase of Ballistic Missile Defense as operational. The news was welcomed in Warsaw, but nobody rejoiced, as one of the country’s strategic priorities in transatlantic relations had moved far away from its borders. No one knows if it will ever come back. …More

May 19, 2012 | Accepting Our Limits Makes for a Stronger Alliance

Joerg Wolf: Atlantic-community.org’s editor-in-chief was part of a group of 59 politicians, scholars, and other observers invited to take part in the Atlantic Council and Foreign Policy Magazine’s survey on the future of NATO. Here he explains why he answered the way he did and offers some thoughts about why NATO needs to focus on building capabilities, not proving its relevance. …More

Climate Change

March 16, 2012 | From Energy Security Towards Climate Protection

Stephan Vormann: Due to the finiteness of fossil fuels, the development of a low-carbon industry has become an economic necessity. A new approach to energy security that goes beyond NATO’s current “safeguard foreign energy supply” is in dire need. A focus on secure energy after “the age of oil” is therefore in. …More

January 10, 2012 | Brazil: A Key Ally on Global Governance

Markus Fraundorfer: Brazil has turned into a crucial actor in several policy areas of global governance, surpassing fellow emerging powers like China and India to take important roles in health, hunger, and climate change policy. The EU can no longer afford to neglect Brazil as a decisive partner for the future. …More

January 5, 2012 | Durban Debacle: What Next?

Vijeta Rattani: A climate deal can be formalized only if the issues of equity and technology transfer acquire centre stage in climate talks. Further, the global community, specially the West has to well absorb the fact that climate disaster will affect everyone and not just the poor developing countries. …More

Energy Security

May 11, 2012 | Return to the Empire

Gökhan Tekir: The paper analyzes how the Russian Federation uses energy as a foreign policy instrument. Russia’s main aim is to prevent Western interference in its sphere of influence. This is done by maintaining its hegemon position in supplying Caspian energy sources to Europe. …More

March 16, 2012 | From Energy Security Towards Climate Protection

Stephan Vormann: Due to the finiteness of fossil fuels, the development of a low-carbon industry has become an economic necessity. A new approach to energy security that goes beyond NATO’s current “safeguard foreign energy supply” is in dire need. A focus on secure energy after “the age of oil” is therefore in. …More

February 13, 2012 | Iranian Oil: Out of Ideas and Out of Cash

Amrit Deecke Naresh: Western sanctions are just one reason Iran’s oil industry is facing a crisis of output and sustainability. Eventually, Iran’s leaders will have to come to grips with the fact that foreign investment will be needed to prevent its imminent decline. …More

Terrorism

May 23, 2012 | Mali, a Dismal Echo of Afghanistan

Although Afghanistan remains a hotbed of terrorist activity, NATO will quit the country by 2014. ++ This marks an end to a tragic chapter in the Alliance’s history. ++ But little attention has been focused on Mali which suffered a coup just two …More

May 9, 2012 | Drone Attacks in Libya are Legal and Necessary

The CIA has recovered a more sophisticated version of the underwear bomb that was meant to be used to destroy a US-bound airline. ++ Officials say that the bomb originated with al-Qaeda’s organization in Yemen, the AQAP. ++ The Obama …More

April 24, 2012 | The Creator Falls Victim

There has been a diffusion of power away from governments over the years. ++ Cyberspace is a good case in point. ++ The recent sabotage of Iranian centrifuges is just one example of cyber warfare. ++ Large countries, such as the US, which built the …More

Proliferation

May 15, 2012 | Self-Defense More Important Than What Russia Thinks

Only hours after reassuming the presidency this month, Vladimir Putin called on the United States to provide “firm guarantees” that its missile-defense system in Europe will not be targeted against Russia. ++ President Obama was …More

April 17, 2012 | Forgiveness, Not Easy but Necessary

Iran and the P5+1 are moving to draft proposals to address their differences over Iran’s nuclear program. ++ In exchange for the full disclosure of all programs, Iran should be permitted to continue the enrichment of uranium for civilian …More

March 14, 2012 | Moscow Keeps a Wary Eye on Obama's New Defense Strategy

Valery Konyshev and Alexander Sergunin: Russia welcomes some aspects of the new US defense strategy, such as departing from the doctrine of being able to fight two major wars simultaneously and spending less on nuclear weapons. However, Moscow still has concerns about the new strategy when it comes to such diverse areas as the Arctic region, Iran, missile defense, and cyberwarfare. …More

Development & Aid

May 24, 2012 | The Changing Rules of Multilateral Development Assistance

Balazs Ujvari: The established foreign aid paradigm is being challenged by the power shift occurring across the global economy. Emerging economies are beginning to change the rules of the game. This paper examines the differences in approaches between China and DAC countries in providing aid to Africa. …More

May 3, 2012 | Human Security, Peacebuilding, and the Hazara Minority of Afghanistan

Annika Frantzell: This thesis seeks to examine the lack of investment in the human security of the Hazara in the context of their astonishing gains following the fall of the Taliban from power and their increasing exodus from Afghanistan in the face of continued ethnic discrimination and severe economic hardships. …More

March 19, 2012 | Shining Light on Libyan Oil

Despite other problems, the world should not forget about Libya’s transition. ++ The economy is a disaster, and militias remain armed. ++ Eastern Libya’s recent bid for autonomy calls national unity into question. ++ The eastern region contains most of …More

Trade, Economics & Finance

May 22, 2012 | Will East Asia Surpass the World's Largest Economy?

The leaders of China, South Korea and Japan agreed to launch talks to lay down the foundations for a trilateral free-trade agreement (FTA). ++ Together the economies currently constitute 20% of global economic output and are …More

May 16, 2012 | Berlin's Competitiveness Gains Perpetuate the Crisis

European leaders must pay close attention to the “austerity vs. growth” debate. ++ Although there is much condemnation of Europe’s austerity cure, critics are unsuccessful in finding solutions to fund growth. …More

Technology

May 15, 2012 | Self-Defense More Important Than What Russia Thinks

Only hours after reassuming the presidency this month, Vladimir Putin called on the United States to provide “firm guarantees” that its missile-defense system in Europe will not be targeted against Russia. ++ President Obama was …More

April 24, 2012 | The Creator Falls Victim

There has been a diffusion of power away from governments over the years. ++ Cyberspace is a good case in point. ++ The recent sabotage of Iranian centrifuges is just one example of cyber warfare. ++ Large countries, such as the US, which built the …More

April 13, 2012 | Your Ideas, Your NATO: Smart Defense

Editorial Team: In the third theme week from our policy workshop, we focus on NATO and Smart Defense. How might NATO encourage nations, concerned about diminished sovereignty, to invest in Smart Defense? What mechanisms would make this kind of cooperation efficient and effective? Read our young writers’ top ideas! …More

- Global Zero

October 11, 2011 | Great Recession is a Chance at Nuclear Disarmament

The Great Recession represents an opportunity to reactivate stalled nuclear arms reduction efforts, including ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. ++ Nuclear arsenals are still too large; they are a budgetary albatross that …More

September 17, 2010 | Eliminating the Nuclear Threat Is Not a Pipe Dream

Klaus Naumann: To achieve a nuclear free world a “No-First-Use” declaration should be collectively agreed. The US-Russia treaty on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons should be followed by further measures to reduce the global nuclear stockpile to 2,000, or less than 10% of today’s number, by 2025. …More

July 26, 2010 | Hybrid Arms Control Treaty Could be the Ticket

Greg Randolph Lawson: The fundamental shortcoming of the arms control agreement now before the US Senate is the lack of an effective verification scheme. A hybrid treaty embracing the START I verification regime with the limits on nuclear weapons established by the 2002 SORT Treaty is to be preferred to the current one. …More

Ideas with Impact

June 16, 2011 | Students Advise Decision Makers This Article contains Flash-Video

Editorial Team: At the culmination of atlantic-community.org’s policy workshop competition, German students Julia Grauvogel, Philipp Große and Sascha Lohmann discussed their team’s policy recommendations with US Ambassador Philip D. Murphy and CDU/CSU Foreign Policy Spokesman Philipp Mißfelder. …More

May 17, 2011 | Ideas with Impact: Students Advise Decision Makers

Editorial Team: You are cordially invited to a dialogue hosted by the Atlantic Initiative in Berlin between the US Ambassador Philip D. Murphy, CDU/CSU Foreign Policy Spokesperson Philipp Mißfelder and the winners of our student competition. The dialogue will focus on Iran’s nuclear program, Russia and the West, and climate change. …More

December 10, 2010 | Transatlantic Leadership by Example: Toward Inclusive Climate Change Policy

Memo 29: The United States and the EU countries need to lead by example on climate change in order to reestablish moral authority. Environmental sustainability should be made part of the criteria for diplomatic relations. An online and democratic global patent pool will enhance technology transfers. …More

NATO Strategic Concept

April 6, 2012 | Is the Age of the Underdogs Here?

Franco Pedroni: Civil society has long been or co-opted and appeased through the use of economic means. However, those means mean less today and global interconnectedness is higher than ever before. Are we seeing the emergence of the Underdogs as new global players? And where will the State-centric system end? …More

February 7, 2012 | Europe Without Defense

NATO’s operation in Libya has revealed significant deficiencies in European defense. It is not only that Europe’s defense capability is chronically underdeveloped and the USA’s support is dwindling. The resources that would allow European states to deal with …More

January 18, 2012 | A NATO Checklist for 2012

Tomas Teleky: As the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago approaches, NATO has a full current agenda that includes both tackling new threats and learning from its recent major operations. Ten years after its mission in Afghanistan began, NATO must apply the experience to its newest initiatives and use its lessons to inform the Alliance’s current priorities. …More

NATO's Agenda

May 23, 2012 | The Balkans on the Transatlantic Radar: Where Are They?

Ilija Djugumanov: Only a year and a half since the New Strategic Concept was adopted, NATO has many challenges to deal with. As the global situation changes, so do the priorities of the Alliance. In light of the situation, where exactly are the Balkans on NATO’s agenda? …More

May 20, 2012 | NATO and the R-Words: 10 Takes on the Chicago Summit

Joerg Wolf: A plethora of op-eds in the US and German media argue that the Alliance needs to be rescued, revitalized, resurrected, and reinvented. The think tankers want to reaffirm or renegotiate the transatlantic bargain and look for a revolution to overcome geostrategic irrelevance. …More

May 19, 2012 | Accepting Our Limits Makes for a Stronger Alliance

Joerg Wolf: Atlantic-community.org’s editor-in-chief was part of a group of 59 politicians, scholars, and other observers invited to take part in the Atlantic Council and Foreign Policy Magazine’s survey on the future of NATO. Here he explains why he answered the way he did and offers some thoughts about why NATO needs to focus on building capabilities, not proving its relevance. …More

Your Ideas Your NATO

May 25, 2012 | Keynote: A New Generation at "Your Ideas, Your NATO"

Philip Murphy: The US Ambassador to Germany spoke at atlantic-community.org’s event in Berlin about transparency for NATO in the 21st century, how the Atlantic Memo provides a “good solid policy report” on this important issue, and the value of youth engagement in transatlantic relations. …More

May 25, 2012 | Insights from the Next Generation: The Presentations

Editorial Team: At the culmination of atlantic-community.org’s policy workshop competition, the winners Stephanie Baulig, Geoffrey Levin, and Samuel Erickson discussed their team’s policy recommendations with Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defense Christian Schmidt and US Ambassador Philip D. Murphy. …More

May 22, 2012 | Moving Forward with Smart Defense

Editorial Team: The many good ideas from non-shortlisted authors in the third category of our “Your Ideas, Your NATO” competition have been brought together in this article. A recurring theme was the need for NATO to more precisely define its and the Members’ roles in order for Smart Defense to be implemented successfully. …More

Features

April 23, 2012 | Get "Smart": Paving the Way to a More Efficient Alliance

Memo 40: NATO’s Smart Defense initiative aims to provide more security for less money. The Alliance can reach this goal by facilitating more cooperation, providing efficiency mechanisms, encouraging cooperation amongst like-minded states, and including non-NATO actors. …More

April 3, 2012 | Partners in Democracy, Partners in Security: NATO and the Arab Spring

Memo 39: New challenges require new partnerships. NATO must reach out to countries in North Africa by restructuring the Mediterranean Dialogue and partnering with other institutional actors to offer comprehensive assistance aimed at building democratic institutions. …More

March 13, 2012 | One NATO: Strengthening Unity through Transparency and Engagement

Memo 38: To encourage ownership and identification among its Member states and their publics, NATO should become more transparent and support stronger engagement between citizens. It can accomplish this by better defining Member contributions, making its internal processes more open, and initiating participatory programs like military exchanges and a cyber awareness campaign. …More


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