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UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

New Law Invites Corruption but Ukraine’s Government Is Actually Fixing It

By Paul Thomas

Corruption remains Ukraine’s greatest scourge. But while there are ample examples of it around the country, signs are emerging that government is heeding civil society’s cries for change. A new tax policy implemented in July 2018 is a key example: the fight to change this policy in order to directly reduce corruption is being waged […]

Ukraine

IranSource

Sep 10, 2018

Iran and the US Should Use the UN to Reopen a Channel for Dialogue

By Daniel R. DePetris

To say that the US-Iran relationship is at new low would be an understatement. Whatever slim opening existed as a result of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been closed shut, replaced by a cacophony of mutual threats, personal insults, financial sanctions and the absence of even basic communication between Washington and […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2018

Moscow looks to flex its muscles in the East

By Brooks Tigner

While far from the Alliance’s borders this time, the forthcoming event’s location, huge scale, and unusual partner participation (China) carry strategic implications for NATO and the West, and also raise serious questions open to diverse interpretation.

China NATO

UkraineAlert

Sep 10, 2018

How to Lose a Presidential Election Before It Even Starts: Ukraine’s Top Reform Party Turns on Itself

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine’s Maidan reformers had a real shot at reaching a tipping point and changing the country once and for all. In 2014, the reform-oriented Samopomich party, led by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, performed far better than expected in the parliamentary elections just a few months after street protests ejected pro-Russian President Victor Yanukovych. The Lviv-based […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 7, 2018

Seven things you should know about Macedonia

By David Wemer

On September 30, citizens will vote in a referendum to ratify a name-deal with Greece, that will see the country renamed to “the Republic of North Macedonia,” hopefully ending a decades-long disagreement with Greece and paving the way for Macedonia’s accession to the European Union and NATO.

Elections NATO

New Atlanticist

Sep 7, 2018

The war in Syria: A battle looms in Idlib

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Idlib’s population has almost doubled to around three million as tens of thousands of Syrians trapped in other parts of the country were evacuated there under various ceasefire agreements with the Assad regime. Now there are few safe spaces to which they can flee.

Conflict Crisis Management

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Why Does the Press Still Take Moscow at Its Word?

By Paul Niland

Reporting on the recent killing of Alexander Zakharchenko in Donetsk, Ukraine, has enraged many, and with good reason. Far too many reports from top outlets included the phrase or something similar, “Moscow denies sending regular troops and heavy weaponry to Ukraine, the rebels, or separatists.” Of course, Moscow regularly issues such denials. However, the time […]

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

Sep 7, 2018

Forget Javelins. What Ukraine Needs to Get Putin’s Attention

By Stephen Blank

US Ambassador Kurt Volker recently toldThe Guardian that the United States was prepared to offer Ukraine new weapons to defend itself. There is no doubt that Ukraine needs these weapons; in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, Moscow is waging a simultaneous military and economic war against Kyiv. It has blockaded the Sea […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 7, 2018

Europe’s new normal: Turning the migrant challenge into an opportunity

By Pete Seat

With inhospitable temperatures across North Africa and Central Asia, constant war and conflict in Middle East hot spots, and the advance of authoritarian regimes, today’s refugees don’t represent a temporary conundrum, but rather a new normal of European life.

Climate Change & Climate Action Conflict

IranSource

Sep 7, 2018

Discrimination and Past Due Payments: Some of the Problems Iranian Workers Face

By Holly Dagres

Since the December 2017 nationwide protests in Iran, there have been countless strikes and labor protests. During the months of June and July alone, railroad workers and truck drivers went on strike in over two dozen cities across the country. Unionization is banned in Iran and security forces constantly crack down on labor rights activists, […]

Iran