Category: Blogs

State of the Order: Assessing April 2022

The State of the Order breaks down the month's most important events impacting the democratic world order.

Ukraine War Diary: Everyday life is slowly returning to Fortress Kyiv

By Vitaly Sych

Ukraine War Diary: A semblance of normality is returning to life in the capital but Kyiv remains a fortress city where a strong military presence and an absence of children serve as constant reminders that the country is at war.

Will Putin use chemical weapons in Ukraine?

By Ben Connable

Fears are mounting that Vladimir Putin may seek to save his failing Ukraine invasion by deploying chemical weapons, but there are reasons to believe that the Russian army is not capable of biological warfare.

Western advocates of appeasement need a crash course in Putinology

By Anders Åslund

The war in Ukraine has exposed the fundamental failure of international audiences to appreciate the true nature of modern Russia. Western advocates of appeasement clearly need a crash course in Putinology.

Ukraine wins Eurovision as European voters show song contest solidarity

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine's Eurovision victory is a soft power success story that underlines the country's dominance over Russia on the information front while highlighting the strength of international solidary and support for Ukraine.

Memorializing Sheikh Khalifa, transition, and restoring US-UAE relations

By R. Clarke Cooper

The death of Sheikh Khalifa and the designation of his successor occurs during the fiftieth anniversary year of formal diplomatic relations with the US, marking decades of increasing security cooperation vital to supporting US interests in the Middle East. 

What does the future of autonomous warfare look like? Four critical questions, answered.

By Forward Defense experts

Experts from the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Forward Defense practice break down how these autonomous systems will shape the future of battle.

Russian War Report: Drone footage confirms failed Russian military pontoon crossing 

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

The DFRLab geolocated drone footage that showed the obliteration of the Russian unit that tried to cross the Siversky Donets in the Donbas region.

Why Finland and Sweden can join NATO with unprecedented speed

By Christopher Skaluba, Anna Wieslander

Both have put in the prescient and painstaking work to make a potential transition from partner to member so straightforward.

Independent Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk dies aged 88

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine’s first post-Soviet president Leonid Kravchuk passed away on May 10. He is best remembered for his leading role in the 1991 Ukrainian Declaration of Independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union.