Category: Blogs

Russia and the UAE: Friends with Benefits

By Theodore Karasik and Giorgio Cafiero

Russia’s deepening engagement in the Middle East is a positive development from the United Arab Emirates’ perspective. The Emiratis, with their unique relationship with the Kremlin, are trying to resolve regional security challenges that threaten their interests. More importantly, the Emiratis’ relationship with the Kremlin could help the UAE become an important interlocutor in efforts […]

What Do European Countries Think about Russia?

By Jakub Janda

On April 24, the European Values Think-Tank released a new major study examining how individual member states of the European Union perceive the threat coming from the Russian Federation. More than 450 policy documents, intelligence reports, and other sources were used to assess how Russia’s aggressive behavior impacts the foreign and security policies of the […]

Russia Funds and Manages Conflict in Ukraine, Leaks Show

By Aric Toler and Melinda Haring

Hacked emails show that the Kremlin directs and funds the ostensibly independent republics in eastern Ukraine and runs military operations there. In late 2016, Ukrainian hacker groups released emails purportedly taken from the office of Kremlin official Vladislav Surkov, who oversees Ukraine policy for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Surkov leaks confirm what many have […]

Making the Case for Multilateralism

European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer cites the importance of explaining the values of international cooperation World leaders must reaffirm the importance of a cooperative international system and the tangible benefits to all stakeholders, Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), said at the Atlantic Council on April 21. While the surge of […]

Macron is Good and Bad News for Brexit Backers

By Reginald Dale

For anxious Britons seeking a good deal in their forthcoming Brexit negotiations with the European Union, the strong probability that Emmanuel Macron will be the next president of France is both good and bad news. The good news is that a Macron victory is the outcome most likely to ensure the EU remains a relatively […]

Riyadh & Cairo: A Relationship of Alignment

By Dr. H.A. Hellyer

This past Sunday, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited Riyadh for an official state visit to the Saudi Kingdom. It comes at a time when many are speculating about the future and current state of Saudi-Egyptian relations, particularly after the furor about the status of the islands off the coast of Sinai. But much of […]

French Election Shows Reports of Western Liberal Order’s Demise Were Exaggerated

By Erwan Lagadec

The dust has yet to settle on the collapse of conventional French politics caused by the results of the first round of the presidential elections on April 23, yet we can already discern the broad features of a Marine Le Pen, or more likely an Emmanuel Macron, foreign policy, especially vis-à-vis the United States and […]

Bottom Up Development: Recreating a Civilian Syrian Police Force

By Ross Longton

The Syrian revolution has been, at least in part, a consequence of demands for a more transparent rule of law based on trust and legitimacy.

Emmanuel Macron and the Revenge of the Enlightenment

By Nicholas Dungan

It would be tempting to try to portray the French presidential election as something other than a struggle of globalism versus parochialism, modernity versus nostalgia, tolerance versus intolerance, open-mindedness versus narrow-mindedness, education versus ignorance, ideas versus prejudices. Yet those issues are exactly what the French elections are about. The emergence of the progressive Emmanuel Macron […]