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UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Time for Ukraine to Assume Rightful Place in Global Energy Market

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska

In the course of its reforms, Ukraine has launched one of its most critical markets, the energy market. The state economy is highly energy intensive, based on fossil fuels, and imports-dependent. After having lost 10 percent of its industrial coal and gas-bearing territories, the government needs to make up for its energy shortage. Meanwhile, lying […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

If Ukraine Finally Gets Visa-Free Travel, Activists Deserve Credit, Too

By Josh Cohen

The chattering classes in Kyiv remain riveted by the startling revelations from the Panama Papers, the resignation of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the formation of a new government, but there’s another story that deserves attention. On April 20, the European Union proposed visa-free travel in Europe to Ukrainians. It’s no exaggeration to say that Ukrainians […]

Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Ukraine’s Finally Got a Cybersecurity Strategy. But Is It Enough?

By Vera Zimmerman

Ukraine has been battling for its independence not only in the fields of the Donbas, but also in cyberspace. Government networks have been subject to continuous cyber espionage, while other cyberattacks have disrupted a presidential election, blocked access to news media, and engaged in hacktivism and propaganda distribution. Although these attacks initially did not seem […]

Cybersecurity Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2016

South Sudan: Paging Dr. Riek

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Vice President’s absence from Juba speaks to a lack of trust in President Salva Kiir, says Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham Riek Machar’s failure to return to Juba this week to take up his duties as Vice President of South Sudan has been met with statements of dismay from the international community, but his no-show […]

Africa East Africa

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Why I’m Optimistic about Ukraine’s New Government

By John E. Herbst

The past two months have not been favorable for Ukraine’s image in the West. The unnecessary government crisis leading to the ouster of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his government has meant little progress on reform and lots of attention to politics. The strongest reform ministers—Natalie Jaresko, Aivaras Abromavicius, Oleksiy Pavlenko, and Andriy Pyvovarskiy—left with […]

Ukraine

AfricaSource

Apr 20, 2016

Urban Africa’s Big Chance

By Kelsey Lilley and Stephanie Sparrow

In popular imagination of Africa, the continent is more famous for its savannahs than its skyscrapers. Sub-Saharan Africa’s total urbanized population is just 37 percent, compared to nearly 75 percent of European Union citizens who live in cities. Africa’s rural population has always been larger than its urban population. But that is changing, and in […]

Africa

UkraineAlert

Apr 20, 2016

Shame on You, Netherlands

By Aaron Korewa

In a recent referendum, the Dutch people rejected the EU-Ukraine association agreement. Or rather, it was rejected by a majority of the just over 30 percent of Dutch people who decided to participate in this—for lack of a better word—joke. On the day of the referendum, a cartoon with the statement, “If you are voting […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2016

US Disengagement from Middle East ‘Raises a Question About American Values’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

On the eve of the US-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Riyadh on April 21, Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi, discusses key challenges in the United States’ relationship with its Arab Gulf partners, the cost of US disengagement, and the Iranian threat. Ebtesam Al-Ketbi shared her views in an […]

International Organizations Iran

SyriaSource

Apr 19, 2016

At What Point is a Cessation of Hostilities Broken?

By Faysal Itani and Hossam Abouzahr

For several weeks, the cessation of hostilities (COH) in Syria led to a significant and widespread decline in violence. This gave the impression that parties to the Syrian conflict and their foreign sponsors had somehow reached a lasting ceasefire, against all odds. In truth, however, and quite apart from the expected sporadic violations, serious fighting […]

Syria

MENASource

Apr 19, 2016

The Missing Multilateralism: Building Institutional Relations between the US and the GCC

By Jessica Ashooh

Ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to the GCC Summit in Riyadh, the focus from the White House is all on the immediate. In what is likely the last trip to the Gulf of the Obama presidency, issues like the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Iranian regional activities dominate. The agenda for the […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy