Richard Atwood Interim President Brussels Please submit all media inquiries to PresidentsOffice@crisisgroup.org or call +1 212 813 0820 Crisis Group Role Richard Atwood is Crisis Group’s Interim President, based in Brussels. Professional Background For several years, Richard was Crisis Group’s chief of policy, working with regional programs and other colleagues to develop and promote the organisation’s analysis and prescriptions. Prior to that, he was New York director, representing Crisis Group at the United Nations. He helped pioneer the organisation’s cross-regional work, notably on Islamist militancy. Before moving to New York, he spent five years as Crisis Group’s research director in Brussels. Before Crisis Group, Richard worked for some fifteen years across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Latin America for the UN and other organisations, with extended periods in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Nigeria, Kenya, Guatemala, Colombia and Peru. He has a Master’s Degree in public policy from Princeton University. In The News 20 Jun 2017 The U.S. is worried that a [French] Security Council resolution [on an African counter-terror force in the Sahel] might open the door to funding at a time when cutting back their UN funding is a priority. Bloomberg Richard Atwood Interim President 8 Mar 2017 The us-and-them mentality [of the new UN counter-terrorism proposal means] the U.N. has been positioned even more forcefully on the government's side when it [is sometimes] already perceived as too close to the government. Foreign Policy Richard Atwood Interim President 2 Feb 2017 The longer the war continues in Yemen, the stronger al-Qaeda is likely to get. PBS Newshour Richard Atwood Interim President Latest Updates Podcast / Asia 22 October 2021 U.S.-China Tensions and Beijing’s Show of Strength in the Taiwan Strait In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood is joined by Crisis Group’s China expert, Amanda Hsiao, to discuss China’s recent show of strength in the Taiwan Strait and increasingly fraught U.S.-China relations. Podcast / Africa 14 October 2021 Cameroon's Forgotten Anglophone Conflict In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Arrey Elvis Ntui, Crisis Group’s Cameroon expert, about a deadly separatist insurgency pitting Anglophone militants against the Cameroonian government that is almost five years old but garners little international attention. Podcast / Middle East & North Africa 7 October 2021 Lebanon is Falling Apart In this episode of Hold Your Fire! Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Crisis Group expert Heiko Wimmen about Lebanon’s unprecedented economic meltdown and the threat it poses to the country’s politics, society and stability. Podcast / Africa 30 September 2021 Could Talking to Mali's Jihadists Bring Peace? In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, Crisis Group’s Sahel expert, about whether it is time for a new strategy in Mali as the government and its allies struggle against jihadist insurgents. Podcast / Africa 24 September 2021 Avoiding Another Afghanistan: Could Al-Shabaab Seize Power in Somalia? In this episode of Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk with Omar Mahmood, Crisis Group’s Somalia expert, about whether the pullout from Somalia of foreign troops – in this case African Union forces – could open the door for the Islamist militants Al-Shabaab to seize power like the Taliban have in Afghanistan. Load more