Content

BelarusAlert

Jun 2, 2021

Putin’s Belarus strategy: Arsonist and firefighter?

By Brian Whitmore

Vladimir Putin has a proven skill for surreptitiously playing the arsonist and then offering his services as a firefighter. He may now be employing these same tactics in his approach towards the crisis in neighboring Belarus.

Belarus
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jun 2, 2021

The gathering threat to the US in Kyrgyzstan

By Lillian Posner

As President Sadyr Japarov takes aim at Kyrgyz and US institutions, the US has not only an opportunity but a responsibility to help with democracy-building and make sure the Kyrgyz people get the message.

Central Asia
Corruption

MENASource

Jun 2, 2021

Egypt has a water problem—and no, it’s not only the GERD

By Yaniv Cohen

The Nile River, a once seemingly unending water resource serving Egypt as a dependable and mighty lifeline for millennia, now barely reaches the Mediterranean Sea.

Energy & Environment
Middle East

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2021

Why Eurovision is Ukraine’s soft power secret weapon

By Peter Dickinson

Since the dawn of Ukrainian independence in 1991, no single event has done as much to promote Brand Ukraine internationally or showcase the country’s creativity as the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

Resilience & Society
Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jun 1, 2021

Assessing Russia’s role and responsibility in the Colonial Pipeline attack

By Scott Jasper

Russia benefits politically from the chaos of this attack and Russia has the power and duty to do something about such hacks, even if the weapon is in someone else's hands.

Cybersecurity
National Security

Event Recap

Jun 1, 2021

Event recap: “I’ll Meet You There” with Iram Parveen Bilal and Shuja Nawaz

By Atlantic Council

On May 21, 2021, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal for a conversation on her new film, I’ll Meet You There, and the underlying issues it addresses relating to immigrants, identity, race and surveillance, and more.

Civil Society
Human Rights

IranSource

Jun 1, 2021

A Raisi presidential win may be his undoing as future Supreme Leader

By Anonymous

Conventional wisdom is that the election will facilitate Ebrahim Raisi’s ascent to the real decision-making post in Iran—that of Supreme Leader. But nothing is ever certain in Iran’s contentious politics.

Elections
Iran

Fast Thinking

Jun 1, 2021

FAST THINKING: Ransomware attacks are on the rise. What can we do about it?

By Atlantic Council

On this episode of Fast Thinking, David Bray, director of the Geotech Center, and Trey Herr, director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, dive into the geopolitical, cyber-defense, and small business implications of the growing trend of ransomware attacks - and suggest effective policy solutions to minimize vulnerabilities and adapt to future threats.

Cybersecurity
Russia

UkraineAlert

Jun 1, 2021

Ending Ukraine’s memory wars

By Peter Pomerantsev, Nataliya Gumenyuk, Maria Montague

Since 1991, Russia has sought to fuel memory wars as a way of preventing Ukraine from consolidating its statehood. However, recent research indicates that history can unite Ukrainians as well as dividing them.

Democratic Transitions
Disinformation

AfricaSource

Jun 1, 2021

A US-Africa summit done right

By Aubrey Hruby

The last few decades of global Africa policy can be defined in a single word: summitry. After five years of absence from the summit stage, a revived US-Africa summit under the Biden administration is a no-brainer.

Africa
Economy & Business