Recent Posts

The Danger of Regional War in the Middle East

Israel’s campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attacks still overshadows Middle East politics, with the spectre of wider war or other regional instability ever present even as ceasefire talks appear to be making progress. Crisis Group experts offer a 360-degree view. The war in Gaza between …

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How Austria became Putin’s Alpine Fortress

For Vienna, neutrality is simply good business. It didn’t occur to the Austrian chamber of commerce that hosting a cozy networking event on the outskirts of Moscow might raise eyebrows in some quarters. As record cold gripped the Russian capital in January, the local chapter saw an opportunity to pierce …

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The Cold War roots of Scholz’s tank trauma

Olaf Scholz’s long dithering before sending tanks is symptomatic of a deep-seated mindset that détente won the Cold War, not Reagan’s belligerence. In early January of 1984, an aspiring young West German socialist with a shoulder-length curly mane traveled by train to East Berlin with his comrades for an important …

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