Category: Blogs

Difficult neighbors: How the Belarus crisis has strained ties between Minsk and Kyiv

By Vladislav Davidzon

The democratic awakening that has taken place in Belarus since August 2020 has fractured and realigned the economic, military, diplomatic, and security relationship between Minsk and Kyiv.

How to normalize the Iraq-Iran relationship

By Andrew L. Peek

Of course, no country exists in a vacuum, but there are certain clarifications of the relationship between the two countries that every Iraqi should support—and Americans should insist upon.

Extracting more value from CFIUS transaction costs

By John Kabealo

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States plays a vital role in the national security of the United States, especially in a geopolitical climate in which economic statecraft is contested. However, CFIUS bears a heavy cost burden. How can the US extract more value from these costs?

Spring showdown looms in Belarus

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus faces a hot spring season in 2021. Pro-democracy protesters are seeking the end of a 26-year dictatorship. The geopolitical implications mean Russia and the West will also be very much engaged.

The unintended consequence of Ethiopia’s civil war might be a border war with Sudan

Ethiopia is at war with itself—and the international community is struggling to respond. The stakes in Tigray are high and the civilian toll could be considerable. But there’s another scenario, with the potential to exact an even higher toll, that many observers are overlooking: conventional war that could break out at any moment between Sudan and Ethiopia and their many allied proxies.

Three big takeaways from Biden’s first Russia sanctions

By Brian O’Toole, Daniel Fried

After weeks of speculation, we now know how the Biden administration will sanction Russia in direct response to the poisoning, sentencing, and detention of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Ukrainian parliament finally moves to end multi-voting

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine scored a small but significant victory in the battle against political corruption on March 2 with the launch of a new voting system in the country’s parliament that should put an end to the practice of MPs voting on behalf of absent colleagues.

How should the next National Defense Strategy balance terrorism, rogue regimes, and great-power competition?

By Matthew R. Crouch, Ronald C. Fairbanks

Our experts explore how the United States can tackle terrorism, address the advances of rogue regimes, and establish a balance between competition and cooperation with other global powers.

CARICOM chairman: It’s time for a ‘reset’ in US-Caribbean relations

By Larry Luxner

The world’s inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is threatening the Caribbean’s economic recovery, and climate change is quickly becoming an “existential threat” to all low-lying island states, warns Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley.

Event recap | Women’s leadership in the GeoTech Decade

By the GeoTech Center

The start of the Geotech Decade has had disproportionate impacts on women and has shown the need for women’s leadership worldwide. Women however currently only make up 26 percent of workers in data and AI roles, 15 percent in engineering, and 12 percent in cloud computing. In this episode of the GeoTech Hour, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow Stephanie Wander discuss leadership in the GeoTech Decade with the four women leading the GeoTech Commission.