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UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2019

What Nord Stream 2 means for Europe

By Maik Günther

The EU has enough pipelines and LNG terminals to import all the gas it needs without Nord Stream 2.

Energy Markets & Governance Geopolitics & Energy Security
Saudi Aramco oil facility

EnergySource

Nov 5, 2019

Two frameworks for understanding the Aramco IPO

By Randolph Bell

The recent announcement that the partial initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco is finally moving forward is either a cause for celebration or consternation, depending on your perspective. The divergence in views comes from the way in which market players and analysts understand the IPO and the role of Aramco in the Saudi economy.

Energy Markets & Governance Oil and Gas

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2019

Trump abandons US climate leadership with pact withdrawal

By David A. Wemer

While a disappointment, the United States’ notification of intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement was already largely ‘priced in’ to political discourse and expectations. What matters most now is continued bold leadership—and hard, prosaic work—by the entities that have at least as much control over the future US emissions trajectory as the federal government.

Climate Change & Climate Action United States and Canada

IranSource

Nov 5, 2019

Iran’s revolutionary bluster masks its role as oppressor in the Middle East

By Borzou Daragahi

At their core, the problems in Iraq and Lebanon are the same as those in Iran, as they are in Egypt, Syria, Algeria and elsewhere in the Middle East: castes of entrenched, corrupt and incompetent rulers lord over young populations yearning for better lives.

Corruption Iran

UkraineAlert

Nov 4, 2019

Why Andriy Bohdan is the wrong man for the time

By Yuri Polakiwsky

Despite his age, Bohdan has shown himself to be yesterday’s man. His personal profile is not indicative of the values that the public expects from its new generation of political leaders.

Democratic Transitions Political Reform

New Atlanticist

Nov 4, 2019

Sanctions are effective—if used correctly

By Brian O’Toole

Ilhan Omar is spot on that sanctions are not a one-size fits all solution to the United States’ problems. But her critique of sanctions as a failed tool in the foreign policy playbook misses the mark.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

UkraineAlert

Nov 1, 2019

Is Nord Stream 2 a done deal?

By Melinda Haring

The controversial natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany—Nord Stream 2—cleared its last obstacle this week.

Energy Markets & Governance Geopolitics & Energy Security

New Atlanticist

Nov 1, 2019

Argentina’s election: The international implications of a Fernández government

By Frederico Fróes

Supporters of President Mauricio Macri hope that the new Fernández government will follow a moderate and pragmatic agenda, yet there is no doubt that it will be a departure from the current course, with regional and international repercussions

Argentina Elections

New Atlanticist

Nov 1, 2019

Iraq’s government cannot reform itself

By Samir Sumaidaie

The Iraqi government, as it is constituted now and despite all past and present promises and claims to the contrary, does not have the political will or the capacity to deliver good governance. That is why the first demand of the protesters is for the government to step aside and be replaced—hopefully peacefully by constitutional steps—by an emergency administration.

Democratic Transitions Iraq

IranSource

Nov 1, 2019

Why the Islamic Republic of Iran keeps taking hostages

By John Limbert

After forty years, the evidence should be clear to even the most benighted. The hostage-taking of 1979-1981 was an unmitigated disaster for Iran and its people.

Iran Middle East