Soft power not enough in the Balkans
The 21st century in the Balkans is starting to look dangerously like the 19th — with one important difference. In the 19th century, Russia and Turkey were big rivals in… Read more »
Category: Analysis
Legislating authoritarianism in Egypt
Egypt’s new authoritarian regime is rapidly closing the public space—cracking down on autonomous civil society and independent political parties, asphyxiating the practice of pluralist politics, and thwarting citizens’ peaceful and… Read more »
A Difficult Balance: Putin’s Regime and the Ideological Market
Like the Soviet nomenklatura, the Putin elite is dangerously isolating itself from the Russian people, setting the stage for a populist challenge against its privileges, says Yevgeny Gontmakher, the Moscow… Read more »
Ukraine: Europe’s East Faces Unsettled West
The Kremlin’s attempts to destroy Ukraine’s European aspirations is simply one of Russia’s many challenges to the post-World War II international liberal order, notes analyst Natalie A. Jaresko. The actions… Read more »
Defeating ideologically inspired violent extremism
The lack of an effective, comprehensive system for finding, redirecting and rehabilitating individuals who may be on a path to violent extremism is a serious flaw in counter-extremism strategy, says… Read more »
How to ensure Kremlin remembers Boris Nemtsov
Last month, thousands of people held rallies and vigils in cities across Russia to mark the second anniversary of the murder of former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov, a leader of the… Read more »
Rebuilding Syria (and Iraq): Reconstruction and Legitimacy
On the sixth anniversary of the Syrian uprising, moderate rebels have never been weaker, analyst Charles Lister writes for Foreign Policy. Within two years of its resurgence, the Islamic State… Read more »
Lithuania’s struggle for freedom continues
NATO’s European members have increased defense spending for the first time in seven years, Euronews reports: The hike was driven by Latvia, Lithuania and to a lesser extent Estonia, three… Read more »
Venezuelan democracy needs hemisphere’s help
The current hemispheric situation is more fertile than ever for the United States government to pursue multilateral diplomacy on Venezuela, says David Smilde, a professor of sociology at Tulane University… Read more »
How to keep the human rights high ground
The U.S. is threatening to withdraw from the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council if it does not undertake “considerable reform,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned a group of nine… Read more »