Category: Blogs

How Not to Become a War Criminal: A Guide for Russian Soldiers

By Valentyn Badrak, Lada Roslycky, Mykhailo Samus, and Volodymyr Kopchak

Few Russian citizens view the Kremlin’s invasion into Ukraine as unlawful. Not many Russian servicemen realize that when they are fighting there, they fight as unnamed, faceless soldiers who lack the protection of international pacts, including the Geneva Conventions. They not only risk death, injury, or abandonment by the state that sent them there; they […]

Do Bulgaria’s Historical Russian Ties Spell Trouble for NATO and the Black Sea Region?

By Adam Maisel and Will DuVal, Modern War Institute

The November election of Rumen Radev as president of Bulgaria has contributed to growing concerns that several former Soviet satellite states are drifting back into the orbit of Putin’s Russia.

Why Is the Kremlin So Fixated on Phantom Fascists?

By Peter Dickinson

In April, reports emerged of Kremlin plans to launch a major smear campaign against Russian opposition figurehead Alexey Navalny. Within days, an expensive-looking attack video had appeared anonymously on YouTube, comparing Navalny to Adolf Hitler. The Russian authorities denied any connection to the video, but few believed them. After all, branding opponents as fascists is […]

Iraqi Shia Fighters in Syria

By Ali Alfoneh

While the Shia led government in Baghdad is engaged in a determined effort to wipe out the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) from Iraqi territory, the very Shia militias, which constitute the backbone of the government forces, are simultaneously engaged in combat operations in neighboring Syria.

To Secure the United States’ Southern Border, Look to Central America

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly says improvement in conditions will reduce unauthorized migration US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has some advice for people thinking of crossing over illegally into the United States: don’t bother coming. “The message is, ‘If you get here—if you pay the traffickers you will probably get here—you […]

TRADE in ACTION – May 4, 2017

By Global Business & Economics Program

This week in TradeinAction: Happy World Trade Month! On the US side, the new US government has passed its first 100 days in office and the Senate has passed a $1 trillion spending bill that would keep the government running until September. 

Making the Three Seas Initiative a Priority for Trump

In light of Russia’s use of energy as a weapon in Europe, the Three Seas Initiative—a project designed to unite the region of Europe between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas through energy infrastructure—should be a strategic priority for the new US administration, retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, chairman of the Atlantic Council’s […]

NATO’s Military Commander Concerned About Russia’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe

By Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Senate Appropriations Committee

[T]oday we face the most dynamic European security environment in history.

Conflict Flares Between Sinai Tribes and the Islamic State

By Ahmed Zaghloul Shallata

Recent clashes occurred in the south of Rafah between fighters loyal to Wilayat Sinai––previously known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which joined the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in 2014––and the Tarabin tribe. This follows a militant attack on April 17 against a truck belonging to a Tarabin tribesman as it carried cigarettes towards Gaza. After […]