Category: Blogs

The Fourth-Term Challenge

By Tyson Barker

The German electorate has dealt Angela Merkel a wake-up call. Her new term will define her legacy.

How to Keep the Russian Bear Out of Ukraine’s Energy Sector

By Olga Bielkova and Anders Åslund

Russia is at war with Ukraine. This is a hybrid war with many arms. One of them is energy. The Kremlin has weaponized the energy trade between Russia and Ukraine to impose a client-state status on Ukraine. Given its weak negotiating position, Ukraine had to accept Gazprom’s unjustified prices. Facing the threat of supply interruptions, […]

Patriot: Working Hard to Bring Home Ukrainian POWs

By Vera Zimmerman

The situation with prisoners of war being held in Ukraine’s occupied Donbas is a tragedy. Some have been locked up for over two years, some tortured, and a few executed. Access to them by international missions is usually denied. Despairing families sometimes fall prey to swindlers seeking ransom. Since the war is officially undeclared, these […]

(Too) Much Ado About Germany’s Far-Right?

By Teri Schultz

European parliamentarian Elmar Brok says post-election Germany is no “problem case” Elmar Brok is the longest-serving lawmaker in the European Parliament (EP), a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who’s known her personally for nearly three decades. Brok, who spoke out forcefully against the extreme right during the recent election campaign, […]

After the referendum: Negotiation is still possible

By Harith Hasan

Monday’s referendum in Kurdistan resulted in a situation whereby all parties lack good options. To be sure, Masoud Barzani, the leader of Kurdistan Region Government (KRG), achieved some immediate political gains. He managed to mobilize his base by calling for and conducting the referendum despite international objections. In doing so, he strengthened his political stance […]

Germany’s ‘Lame Duck’ Chancellor

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was re-elected on September 24, will be a “lame duck” in her fourth, and likely final, term in office, according to Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference and Atlantic Council board director. “There are those in her party and sister party that will want to start having a […]

Dark Money, Shell Corporations in the United States Seen as Invitation to Russian Meddling

By Ashish Kumar Sen

If the United States is to succeed in tackling Russian meddling, it needs to address vulnerabilities—dark money and shell corporations—that are “an open invitation to the Russians to continue their election interference,” US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said at the Atlantic Council on September 26. The United States faces something of a predicament because dark […]

Who Says that Russians Have to Live Under a Corrupt, Aging, and Irrational Strongman?

By Anastazia Clouting

On September 13, a man who cheated death twice came to Washington. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and deputy head of the nongovernmental organization Open Russia, survived a second state-sanctioned poisoning in February. He has lived to deliver a message for democratic allies in the West. In a speech at the US Capitol, Kara-Murza said, “It […]

A High-Ambition Coalition? What Germany’s Elections Could Mean for Climate

By Ellen Scholl

In the German elections on September 24, Germany’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU) emerged once again as the most popular party, securing a fourth term for Chancellor Angela Merkel. While the question of who will lead Germany was answered, the question of which parties will govern the country—and in what coalition—is far from settled. As coalition […]