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MENASource

Feb 14, 2018

Russia: Is Syria’s fate Libya’s future?

By Erin A. Neale

On February 17th, Libyans will celebrate the anniversary of a revolt that ultimately toppled and killed Muammar Qaddafi, ending his forty-two-year oppressive rule. This anniversary and others in the region are regrettable reminders of how the expectations in the immediate aftermath of the Arab Spring compare to the reality on the ground seven years later. […]

Libya Russia

AfricaSource

Feb 14, 2018

The post Zuma economic bump will be brief

By Aubrey Hruby

Since Jacob Zuma took office in May 2009, South Africa’s economy has been a story of low-to-no growth, flagrant corruption, and extreme inequality. Indeed, his erratic policies have twice spiraled the economy into recession (in 2009 and 2017), resulting in significant slashes to the country’s credit rating and an overall downgrade of the country’s brand. […]

Africa Corruption

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2018

Forget East-West and Language Divide. Politicians May Exploit New Wedge Issues in Ukraine’s Elections

By Ruslan Minich

Ukraine has decisively moved toward the West. Previously pulled between East and West, Ukrainians are now more united on key issues that had previously rankled the country for decades. More Ukrainians want educational instruction in Ukrainian, greater numbers prefer EU and NATO membership, and support for democracy far outstrips support for a strongman. At the […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Feb 14, 2018

How to Waste Western Military Assistance

By Olena Prokopenko

In late 2017, Ukraine failed to receive assistance that was expected from two of its largest donors, the IMF and the EU. The anticipated funding—over $2.5 billion—was strictly conditioned on specific reforms. Both donors referred to the country’s lack of compliance with its obligations in the anticorruption and economic areas. In response, the Ukrainian government […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2018

Russian Casualties and Moscow’s Intent

By Frederic C. Hof

Reporting out of Moscow suggests that some number of armed Russians—up to 200—were killed by the US-led, anti-ISIS coalition after crossing the Euphrates River deconfliction line in eastern Syria on February 7.  If the reports are true, this was by far the bloodiest incident for Russian personnel since Moscow’s military intervention in Syria at the […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2018

Tillerson’s Endgame in Turkey

By Ross Wilson

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s current trip to the Middle East reportedly seeks to attempt to restore stability in the region following the virtual destruction of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by US and coalition forces. What is his way forward with the Turks and how should Washington manage its differences […]

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2018

Total Recall: South Africa’s President Zuma Told to Quit. Will He?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Will he go? That’s the big question on the minds of South Africans this week as their president, Jacob Zuma, was asked to step down by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party’s National Executive Committee (NEC). The NEC’s decision followed a marathon thirteen-hour meeting on February 12 to decide the fate of Zuma, who […]

Africa South Africa

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2018

A Ticking Clock

By Teri Schultz

Rose Gottemoeller, deputy secretary general of NATO, discusses arms control When the Doomsday Clock took its last big leap, moving from five minutes to three minutes to midnight in 2015, Rose Gottemoeller took it personally. She was then US under secretary of state for arms control and had spent her entire career negotiating with first […]

Missile Defense NATO

SyriaSource

Feb 12, 2018

Iran and Israel’s New Rules of Engagement

By Feras Hanoush

A confrontation escalated along the Syrian-Israeli front the morning of February 10, opening a new destabilizing chapter to the Syrian war. A Syrian anti-aircraft battery downed an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft that had penetrated Syrian airspace, seriously wounding the pilot. The incident immediately sparked Israeli air attacks on Syrian and Iranian rocket platforms.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2018

Talking Turkey

By Carmen Gentile

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s trip to the Middle East this week comes amid escalating tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the United States as their forces stare down one another in war-ravaged northern Syria. While Tillerson’s agenda is notably missing a stop in Israel, the secretary will meet with leaders in Turkey, as […]

Syria Turkey
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