Category: Blogs

The Political Moves behind the Siege of Aleppo

By Youssef Sadaki

The latest battle for Aleppo is not just over the fate of the city, or even the fate of the Syrian civil war. The balance of power in the region as a whole is also at stake. Complex events at the local and international levels have led to the regime tightening siege around Aleppo and […]

Turkish Military Officer Seeking Asylum in United States

By Phil Stewart and Yara Bayoumy, Reuters

A Turkish military officer on a U.S.-based assignment for NATO is seeking asylum in the United States

Why Nord Stream II is Not Only Eastern Europe’s Problem

By Sijbren de Jong

In November of 2015 the Council of State in the Netherlands decided that natural gas production in the province of Groningen should be capped at 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year. As the region suffers from earthquakes due to natural gas production, the level of such is a delicate topic for the Dutch political […]

Public-Private Partnerships on Cybersecurity Seen as Key to Pass Effective Security Legislation

Increased cooperation between government cybersecurity officials and independent hacker communities can lead to streamlined and higher quality legislation for technology security measures, according to cybersecurity expert. “We are seeing a change from a completely adversarial relationship between the government and the hacker community and it’s starting to thaw a bit where there is a lot […]

Aleppo’s Last Doctors’ Plea to Obama

By Doctors of Aleppo

15 of the remaining doctors in eastern Aleppo have written a desperate plea to President Obama, begging him to act to stop the bombs and to protect the 300,000 people who remain in what was Syria’s largest city. The appeal comes after opposition troops lifted a month-long siege during which pro-government troops cut the city […]

Is Putin Preparing a New Attack on Ukraine?

By Anders Åslund

Observers have greatly feared that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin would start a small regional war this August. Russia has moved up its State Duma elections to September 18. Although only Putin’s parties are allowed to win, he has a predilection for “small and victorious wars” to mobilize his people. In 1999, the second war in […]

Kramatorsk, Two Years On

By Hannah Thoburn

Kramatorsk is one of the most American cities that I have encountered in Ukraine. It is not laid out in the walkable format that most Ukrainian towns and villages have. Rather, it has a wide, broad layout, with extensive blocks. It is a city in which a car is almost a necessity. And that is […]

Turkey’s Outreach to Russia

By Aaron Stein

As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes his first international visit in the wake of an attempted coup against his government, Turkey’s recent outreach to Russia comes as part of a broader effort to recalibrate Turkish foreign policy, following years of political isolation.

What Business in Ukraine is Really Like

By Thomas Theiner

A Response to James Brooke James Brooke truly believes that investors should sink their money into Ukraine. He couldn’t be more wrong. Every roulette table in Las Vegas is more promising than Ukraine. I know from personal experience; I lived in Kyiv for five years and knew a few dozen foreigners who invested in Ukraine. […]