Category: Blogs

US and NATO Allies Grapple with Countering Russia’s Cyber Offensive

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

NATO’s long-standing tactical advantage on the battlefield could be at risk as cyber adversaries probe for weak points in the U.S.-led security pact’s networks, a top alliance official said.

Ukrainians Are Protesting Again. Will It Amount to Anything?

By Melinda Haring

On October 19, several thousand protesters in Kyiv cheered as parliament passed a bill that will lift parliamentary immunity. It was not the only victory of the day; parliament approved major health care reform as well. This was the third day that thousands of Ukrainians have taken to the streets to demand that President Petro […]

Xi Seeks to Solidify Grip on China

The National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened in Beijing on October 18, will solidify Chinese President Xi Jinping’s grip on Chinese politics and society, part of a plan to guide the Asian nation toward dominance on the world stage, potentially at the expense of the United States, according to Atlantic Council […]

How US Army Europe’s Outgoing General Got the Pentagon’s Attention

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes

The resources didn’t match the mission, and it gnawed at Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges during the early days of his tenure commanding U.S. Army Europe.

Austrian Elections Demonstrate Success of Aestheticized Populism

By Adham Sahloul

The victory of Sebastian Kurz’s conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) in parliamentary elections on October 15 is the latest manifestation of the rightward shift in European politics and the consequence of adjustments conservative politicians are making to attract a wider base.  The ÖVP came in at first place with more than 30 percent of the […]

Stanford Cultivates the Next Generation of Ukrainian Leaders

By Sasha Jason

Even within Ukraine’s embattled political sphere, a new generation of leaders is still inspiring change. Stanford University intends to harness this energy through its Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program, a new program for mid-career professionals to study at Stanford for an academic year. Olexandr Starodubtsev, Oleksandra Matviichuk, and Dmytro Romanovych were inducted as the first members […]

RT: A Low-Grade Platform for Useful Idiots

By Monika L. Richter

RT is coming under increasing scrutiny for its role in the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign against the West. The US Justice Department is allegedly requesting that individuals associated with the network’s US branch, RT America, register as foreign agents. Nascent Congressional efforts to investigate and counter the Kremlin’s influence operations have also targeted RT. These are […]

Intra-Kurdish division and Abadi’s options

By Harith Hasan

In the wake of the September 25 referendum in Kurdistan, the Iraqi government announced on October 15 that it began a military deployment to reestablish authority in Kirkuk in coordination with the Peshmerga. It soon became clear that the Peshmerga mentioned belonged to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—specifically, the Talabani family wing—which views aggressive […]

Raqqa Falls. Now Comes the Hard Part

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is driven from its strongholds in Syria, US-backed forces face the challenge of stabilizing these conflict-ravaged territories. This task is made more urgent by the fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Iran-backed militias are swooping in on eastern Syria in an attempt to capitalize […]

Post referendum hangovers: The local aspects

By Sardar Aziz

As Tip O’Neill coined it, “all politics is local.” Accordingly, the local dimension of the Kurdistan referendum is a core aspect, but underplayed as the news focuses on regional and international repercussions. The internal political moves that led up to the referendum and the referendum’s results will define KRG politics in the near future, but […]