Category: Blogs

Content

UkraineAlert

May 24, 2017

Will Facebook Finally Fight Disinformation or Just Make Things Worse?

By Nina Jankowicz

For years, Facebook has quietly and very intentionally inserted itself into the daily lives of its users. It has succeeded wildly, becoming arguably the world’s most ubiquitous communication platform, with an average of 1.28 billion daily users. But now that it has become one of the world’s most popular sources of news, Facebook is failing […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2017

Kazakhstan’s Niche in China’s Belt and Road Initiative

By Alexandra Di Cocco

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, formerly One Belt, One Road) is an economic integration project that will allow the often-overlooked Kazakhstan to capitalize on its unique geographic location to leverage geopolitical benefits from the initiative. The infrastructure project is designed to expand China’s influence beyond its immediate neighborhood with economic […]

Central Asia China

MENASource

May 23, 2017

Tactical Lessons from the Ejection of ISIS from Sirte

By Dr Alia Brahimi and Jason Pack

In December 2016, ISIS was ejected from Sirte by a coalition of forces allied to the UN-backed government. US airstrikes and special operations by western forces were integral to the campaign and, combined, provided the tipping point. This article proposes three tactical lessons from the campaign – which, of course, contain within them strategic implications. 

Libya

SyriaSource

May 23, 2017

How the ‘De-Escalation Zone’ Plan Benefits Syria’s Foreign Players

By Lorenzo Trombetta

BEIRUT – Russia, Iran and Turkey’s recent agreement to create “de-escalation zones” in Syria is a result of Moscow’s significant steps towards partitioning the western part of the country into zones of – sometimes foreign – influence. The Kremlin’s plan, proposed at the recent round of Astana negotiations, safeguards its own interests in Syria, while giving […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

By Changing Alphabet, Kazakhs Take Another Step Toward the West

By Ariel Cohen

Kazakhstan has decided to switch alphabets, from Cyrillic to Latin script, by 2025. After decades of Russian and Soviet domination, countries are developing their own cultural code, though some feel uneasy about the change. Yet the Latin alphabet will only boost Kazakhstan’s international integration and its economic, technological, and scientific development. Plus, Latin script isn’t […]

Central Asia

IranSource

May 23, 2017

Iranians Vote for Competence over Ideology

By Barbara Slavin

Iranians celebrated in the streets of their cities this weekend in the aftermath of presidential elections out of relief that the most capable candidate on offer won.

UkraineAlert

May 23, 2017

The Reform Story Isn’t Over in Kyiv

By Ivan Mikloš

In the West, many people are ready to write off Ukraine. They wrongly believe that Ukraine’s reforms are stagnating, corruption is widespread, and the country is at war. But Ukraine’s reforms are definitely not done. To understand Ukraine’s promise, one must first grasp the country’s situation in 2014 when the reforms began. Two decades of […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2017

Macron Signifies a New ‘Third Way’ for France and Europe

By Mayecor Sar

The election of Emmanuel Macron as France’s president on May 7 is a welcome boost for “third way” politics, a centrist political philosophy that broadly advocates a combination of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. For the first time since the 1970s, France has elected a president that does not belong to either of the […]

France

UkraineAlert

May 22, 2017

Why Are Russian Opposition Leaders Democrats at Home and Imperialists Abroad?

By Taras Kuzio

The US Congress has approved $100 million to counter “Russian influence and aggression” and support civil society organizations in Europe and Eurasia. According to the legislation, the funding will be used to “support democracy programs in the Russian Federation, including to promote internet freedom, and shall also be made available to support the democracy and […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2017

Iranians Vote for Competence Over Ideology

By Barbara Slavin

Iranians celebrated in the streets of their cities this past weekend out of relief that the most capable candidate on offer won the presidential election held on May 19. Incumbent President Hassan Rouhani’s solid victory over a younger and more hardline cleric, Ebrahim Raisi, was a triumph of competence over ideology and of openness over […]

Iran
Load More