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New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2016

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama: Enlargement a Secondary Priority for the European Union

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Leader says Europe preoccupied with economic, security, and migration crises A combination of economic, security, and migration challenges facing Europe could “fuel instability in the Western Balkans” and “bring more uncertainty to the south and east,” Albania’s Prime Minister, Edi Rama, said on April 13. Rama contended that Balkan states such as Albania—eager to deepen […]

European Union Germany

MENASource

Apr 13, 2016

Working in Tandem on Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

From the beginning of the Syrian crisis Washington and key GCC players have approached the problem with fundamentally differing priorities inspired by one key player: Iran. For Riyadh in particular, the salient feature of Syria’s agony and destruction has been Tehran’s aggressive, aggrandizing reach into the Arab world. For Washington, reaching a nuclear agreement with […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2016

Iraq’s Prime Minister Abadi Stuck Between Parliament and Protesters at the Gates

By Nussaibah Younis

No matter what he tries, Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi just can’t catch a break. Faced with thousands of protesters threatening to breach the Green Zone in Baghdad, Abadi relented to their demand that he assemble a group of independent technocrats to form a new cabinet. But when Iraq’s political blocs got wind of the […]

Iraq

SyriaSource

Apr 12, 2016

The Aleppo-Geneva Disconnect

By Faysal Itani and Reema Hibrawi

As usual, events in Aleppo portend more general crises in Syria. The recent outbreak of fighting southwest of Aleppo city is the most serious violation of the February 27 ‘cessation of hostilities’ (COH) yet, and further highlights the COH’s fundamental weaknesses and poor prospects. According to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ (SOHR) monitoring reports, the […]

Syria

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 12, 2016

Ukraine, Let’s Build a Country that the Dutch and All of Europe Will Embrace

By Hanna Hopko

Shall we live the old way? What are the lessons for the government of Ukraine from the referendum in the Netherlands? Let’s begin with gratitude to the hundreds of colleagues and friends who in recent days worked to urge the people of the Netherlands to support Ukraine in the referendum. We lost and Holland lost too. […]

Ukraine

MENASource

Apr 12, 2016

He Offered Us Bread In Exchange For Freedom: A Documentary on Nasser

By MENASource

Nasser’s Republic: The Making of Modern Egypt begins with footage of Gamal Abdel Nasser visiting the Aswan High Dam for the first time. The cheering crowds seen in the footage are a common sight in the documentary about Abdel Nasser, a polarizing figure in Egypt’s history. As Galal Amin puts it, “Many people would attribute […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 12, 2016

Q&A: The Egypt-Saudi Island Deal

By Margaret Suter

During King Salman’s recent visit to Cairo, Saudi Arabia and Egypt signed several investment agreements and cooperative deals, including a 60 billion Saudi Riyal investment fund. Among the more notable elements of the bilateral agreements are a proposed bridge that would link Saudi Arabia and Egypt through the Red Sea, and Egypt’s decision to cede […]

North Africa Saudi Arabia

IranSource

Apr 12, 2016

Is Iran Seeking Regional Hegemony?

By Yasuyuki Matsunaga

During his recent visit to Washington, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon remarked that a “Shiite radical axis” headed by Iran “is exploiting the deal now to gain hegemony” in the region. This has, in fact, become a rallying cry for those countries in the MENA region that are irked by the nuclear deal reached in […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2016

How to Solve Ukraine’s Security Dilemma

By Andreas Umland

The Case for a New Security Pact between the Baltic and Black Seas A main reason for the recent escalation of tensions in Eastern Europe is the absence of an effective security structure encompassing such militarily weak countries as Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine. While Ukrainian public opinion has recently made a U-turn from a rejection […]

Moldova Russia

UkraineAlert

Apr 12, 2016

“Putin’s Not Finished,” Warns Former Defense Official Evelyn Farkas

By Diane Francis

On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin suddenly announced creation of a National Guard, of up to 400,000 personnel, to control drug trafficking and terrorism. But former Pentagon adviser Evelyn Farkas has a different take: “I see this as riot control.” Putin is distracting attention from bad economic news, due to sanctions, she said. “This […]

Russia Ukraine
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