For months, Ukraine has been a central focus for Western foreign policy as Russia has continued its military buildup on the border, reaching 100,000 troops. Moscow has threatened to carry out a military attack and has now issued an ultimatum for the United States to bless a Russian sphere of …
Read More »Strong Turkey-Ukraine ties are key to Black Sea security
On Jan. 6, 2019, the eve of Orthodox Christmas, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul awarded a decree of independence, known as a tomos, to the then-newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine — a milestone in the country’s history. The move reversed a 1686 decision that had transferred jurisdiction over Kyivan …
Read More »Tunisia’s Kais Saied becomes an ordinary politician
Many analyses of Tunisia post July 25 have concentrated on assessing President Kais Saied’s reshaping of the political system in terms of where they place Tunisia in a binary classification system of “democracy” or “authoritarianism/dictatorship.” Some of these transitology studies are slightly more nuanced, inserting a linearity or hybridity to …
Read More »Putin’s Big Plans for Russia’s Far East Aren’t Panning Out
In early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, a port city on the Pacific coast, to issue a call to action. Russia, he said, needed a new generation of pioneers to revive the country’s eastern frontier. “The development of the Far Eastern region …
Read More »Russian Gas Policies Hurting Europe – IEA
Russia faced fresh criticism Wednesday as the International Energy Agency (IEA) accused it of squeezing gas supplies to Europe and accentuating an energy crisis across the continent. Prices for gas have soared this winter in Europe, with wholesale prices standing five times higher than last year in a number of …
Read More »U.S. Senators Ready Sanctions if Russia Invades Ukraine
U.S. senators from President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party on Wednesday threatened major consequences if Russia invades Ukraine, including sanctions on President Vladimir Putin, Russian banks, and $500 million in fresh security aid to Kyiv. The introduction of legislation comes as the United States and its NATO allies hold talks with …
Read More »Sanctions on Putin Would be Step Too Far, Kremlin Warns U.S.
The United States’ plans to levy sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin would be an “extreme” step that would signify a complete breakdown in ties between the two countries, the Kremlin said Thursday. U.S. senators, with support from the White House, unveiled a package of hard-hitting sanctions Wednesday evening intended …
Read More »China: Buying Up Europe
A staggering 40% out of 650 Chinese investments in Europe in the years 2010-2020, according to Datenna [a Dutch company that monitors Chinese investments in Europe], had “high or moderate involvement by state-owned or state-controlled companies.” When the Chairman of the UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, wrote that …
Read More »How Bosnia Became an Easy Target for the Far Right
Far-right European politicians such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán have been making common cause with Serb nationalists who seek to tear Bosnia and Herzegovina apart. In February 2018, Giorgia Meloni, a seasoned Italian right-wing politician, tweeted a photo of Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orbán attending a roundtable meeting in his …
Read More »A Provocative Challenge to Analytical Doctrine
The unintended consequences of analytical doctrine may make us more vulnerable to surprises. Two recent events, the surprise Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the massing of Russian troops on Ukrainian borders, have brought to the surface the debate about the role of assessment and analysis in informing policy decisions. In …
Read More »