New Atlanticist

Russia Allows – or Organizes – Chechen Fighters to Reinforce the Secessionist War in Ukraine

By James Rupert

Chechen Militiamen Talk to Western Journalists About Their Mission It’s clear this week that Russian government is allowing or actively organizing an unknown number of battle-hardened Russian fighters from Chechnya and nearby regions to reinforce the Russian-led militias battling to seize control of two provinces in southeastern Ukraine. The entry of fighters from Russia’s North […]

Storify: #ACGhani with Afghanistan Presidential Candidate Dr. Ashraf Ghani

The stakes could not be higher. Afghanistan faces an historic presidential election on June 14 with a runoff between frontrunners Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. 

Kremlin Awards Medals for Courage (and Pension Bonuses) to Russian Journalists Who Cover Ukraine ‘Objectively’

By Irena Chalupa

An essential asset in the Kremlin’s not-quite-covert sponsorship of the secessionist warfare in southeast Ukraine has been its ability to use Russia’s mass media to shape the story for populations at home in Russia and in much of the former Soviet Union. President Vladimir Putin signaled the importance of this propaganda war this week in […]

As Ukraine Builds a Stronger Government, Parliamentary Elections Will Be Necessary – and Difficult

By Irena Chalupa

Ukraine’s election of a new president on May 25 was an essential first step in building a Ukrainian government with enough democratic legitimacy to lead the country through the crises it faces.  But establishing a government with a strong enough mandate to make painful economic reforms and resist Russia’s assault on Ukraine’s independence also will […]

Sissi Wins But How Will He Rule?

By Barbara Slavin

There was never any doubt about the outcome of Egypt’s presidential elections: with the full power of the state behind him and no real competition, Field Marshal Abdel Fatah el-Sissi has won more than 90 percent of the vote. But desperate efforts by the government to boost the turnout by extending voting to three days have […]

Obama Updates Security Strategy for a Changing World

By Barry Pavel

President, at West Point, Signals a Shift Toward Partnerships in Fighting Terrorism While there was much continuity in President Barack Obama’s West Point speech today, at least three new emphases represent an administration that is both learning the foreign and defense policy lessons of its tenure as well as reappraising where the world is headed […]

EU’s Strengthened Political Parties May Soon Be the ‘Leading Instrument’ of Putin’s Europe Policy

By New Atlanticist

Now that Europeans have given more seats in their continental parliament to the far-right and far-left parties that want to significantly weaken the European Union, there will be some changes in Brussels, writes Damon Wilson in a posting today. “Will the EU Vote Bury Foreign Policy?” asks Judy Dempsey, European affairs analyst at Carnegie Europe, […]

Poroshenko’s Task: Halt Rebellion and Bankruptcy, Then Fix the System

By Irena Chalupa

In declaring victory yesterday as Ukraine’s president-elect, Petro Poroshenko is preparing to take the helm of a country whose economy is broken, its political system dysfunctional, three of its provinces either occupied or terrorized by Russian soldiers or proxy forces. The leaders of its huge, aggressive neighbor bluntly say that Ukraine shouldn’t really exist as […]