Content

Forward Defense and Seizing the Advantage

Fast Thinking

Feb 26, 2021

FAST THINKING: Biden’s first bombing

By Atlantic Council

What does the strike signal about Joe Biden’s simultaneous efforts to re-engage Iran in talks to revive their nuclear deal? And what does it suggest about how the president will approach military action and the American presence in the Middle East?

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Russia’s collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars is a war crime

By Wayne Jordash and Anna Mykytenko

As Ukraine seeks international justice over the Russian seizure and occupation of Crimea, Kyiv should consider holding the Kremlin to account for the collective punishment of the Crimean Tatars.

Conflict Human Rights

IranSource

Feb 25, 2021

With Iran, nuclear diplomacy comes first

By Mehran Haghirian

Iranian officials at all levels have shifted their talking points regarding the US. They have been clear that they are willing to reengage the US despite the bitter experience of the past four years. It is past time that the Biden foreign policy team implements what they have been preaching and reaches out to Iran in a constructive manner.

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Biden must freeze Putin’s pipeline and prevent this “bad deal for Europe”

By Benjamin Schmitt

By taking steps to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, US President Joe Biden has a real opportunity to build a new transatlantic security consensus while revitalizing the US-German relationship.

Geopolitics & Energy Security Germany

SouthAsiaSource

Feb 25, 2021

Afghans’ views on the Doha peace process and the Biden administration’s review of the US-Taliban peace agreement

By Makhfi Azizi

Over the last two years, many experts in Afghanistan and the international community have increasingly viewed the 2020 US-Taliban peace deal to be largely skewed to advantage the Taliban. The Biden administration’s step to review the agreement has thus been welcomed by many. In this blog, five Afghans who have lived under the increased threats and violence of the past year share their perspectives.

Afghanistan Human Rights

EnergySource

Feb 25, 2021

In Texas and California, blackouts highlight the challenge of balancing reliability with cost

By Jonathan Gillis

Over the past year, the United States has endured two major “load shedding” events, first in California and now in Texas, in which electric system operators instructed transmission owners to reduce demand by rotating blackouts across service areas. In both cases, customers were left wondering how an entire region could run out of electricity. The answer lies in the complex and contentious world of “resource adequacy,” one of the most challenging issues in electric system planning and market design.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2021

The world’s wealthy countries are at risk of a moral default

By Vasuki Shastry and Jeremy Mark

Rich countries must live up to their pledges by getting specific about the resources they’re making available to low-income countries—particularly in Africa—to deal with the economic downturn and rising debt. The meeting of G20 finance ministers on February 26 will provide an opportunity to fill in the policy blanks.

Africa Economy & Business

UkraineAlert

Feb 25, 2021

Ukrainians protest “political justice” over activist jailing

By Solomiia Bobrovska

The jailing of a high-profile Ukrainian activist has sparked protests over fears that his conviction represents politicized justice and a victory for pro-Kremlin forces within the Ukrainian establishment.

Civil Society Conflict

MENASource

Feb 25, 2021

Rewriting the rules of mediation and conflict resolution: The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum

By Hafed Al Ghwell and Karim Mezran

Good news for the Joe Biden administration may strangely come from the recent results of the inter-Libyan negotiations in Geneva.

Libya Middle East

BelarusAlert

Feb 24, 2021

Questions remain after Putin hosts Lukashenka

By Brian Whitmore

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed his Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka to Sochi this week but it remains unclear exactly what was agreed during their summit meeting.

Belarus Politics & Diplomacy
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