Alexander Brotman

Alexander Brotman is the Joseph S. Nye Jr. External Relations Intern with the Center for a New American Security in Washington, D.C. He has a B.A. in film studies and media and communications from Muhlenberg College. He has worked for State Representative Alice Peisch of Massachusetts, Africa Center in Dublin, Harvard School of Public Health and Amnesty International.

A New, Free Program for Students to Learn US Foreign Policymaking

Alexander Brotman

• May 19, 2016

With the goal of helping young people better understand the challenges of shaping American foreign policy, the Council on Foreign Relations has begun a new program, called Model Diplomacy, geared to high school and college students who are interested in international relations and public policy. Through a series of case studies, including on climate …

US Foreign Relations

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The Nuances Behind Russia’s Use of the Veto on the UN Security Council

Alexander Brotman

• September 6, 2015

When Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution in July that called for an international tribunal to prosecute who is responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine a year ago, it was the latest in a long string of vetoes exercised by the country as a permanent council member. …

Security Council, US-UN Relations

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Among Security Council’s P5, China and Russia Spending More on Defense

Alexander Brotman

• June 29, 2015

Among the five veto-holding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, some of the most militarized nations in the world — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — only China and Russia have increased their defense spending in the last year. Britain, France and the US have experienced stagnant military spending, …

Peace and Security, Security Council

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El Salvador Is Sending Peacekeepers and Helicopters to UN’s Mali Mission

Alexander Brotman

• April 6, 2015

The small Central American nation of El Salvador has been playing an increasingly active role in United Nations peacekeeping operations around the world. From the UN mission in Haiti to the one in South Sudan, troops from El Salvador are assisting with surveillance and rapid response, including engineering, refueling and aircraft support operations on …

Peace and Security, UN Peacekeeping

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The UN Dips Into the Fight Against Boko Haram

Alexander Brotman

• February 16, 2015

As Boko Haram’s raging insurgency in northeast Nigeria shows no signs of letup, Nigeria’s neighbors are taking the lead in fighting back against the Islamic terrorist group, which has killed nearly 10,000 people from 2013 to 2014 alone and displaced a million people in the region. The United Nations is now directly involved, too, …

Africa, Peace and Security, Security Council

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Malnutrition, a Problem the World Over

Alexander Brotman

• December 11, 2014

A new report on global nutrition levels has found that malnutrition affects every country in the world except two, and that countries are facing more complex, overlapping forms of malnutrition that require more attention. The two exceptional countries, China and South Korea, made the data cutoff rates for levels of anemia, obesity and stunting …

Africa, Health and Population, Poverty, Sustainable Development Goals

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Will All of Syria’s Arsenal of Chemical Weapons Be Destroyed?

Alexander Brotman

• October 24, 2014

After an extraordinary effort from the United Nations, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and about a half dozen countries, including the United States and Russia, 96 percent of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal has been destroyed, acting on a UN Security Council mandate. The remaining 4 percent of the arsenal consists of …

Disarmament, Libya, Middle East, Security Council

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Asylum Seekers Knocking at Sweden’s Door Test Its History of Warm Welcome

Alexander Brotman

• October 10, 2014

Far from the first point of entry into Europe for asylum seekers, Sweden has emerged as one of the most generous nations in the European Union, offering to take in high numbers of migrants when other nations have been reluctant to do so. Sweden, with a population of just under 10 million, received 54,300 …

Migration, Refugees

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UN Aviation Agency Plays a Limited Role in Malaysia Crash Inquiry

Alexander Brotman

• August 11, 2014

An international mission of forensic experts and unarmed police led by the Netherlands, with Australian and Malaysian participation, has temporarily suspended its investigation and recovery work at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine. The mission, which lasted just five days until it stopped on Aug. 6 because of the …

Security Council, UN Agencies

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The Syrian Refugee Crisis Poses Ethical Questions for the UN and Others

Alexander Brotman

• July 28, 2014

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, 2.9 million people have fled the country to refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and beyond. This has not only destabilized many Middle Eastern countries, but it has also caused continuous public debates inside nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations over what the …

Middle East, Refugees

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How the Chemical Weapons Removed From Syria Will Be Destroyed

Alexander Brotman

• July 1, 2014

Although Syria has turned over all of its declared chemical weapons stockpile to international authorities, defying expectations that it would not meet a June 30 deadline, the next hurdle is securely destroying the material outside the country. Danish and Norwegian vessels have been tasked with removing the majority of the chemicals from the Syrian …