Category: Blogs

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UkraineAlert

May 30, 2018

Q&A: “Dead” Russian Journalist Arkady Babchenko Is Alive and Well. Does Faking His Murder Help or Hinder Ukraine’s Credibility?

By Melinda Haring

On May 29, the media reported that Russian journalist and Putin critic Arkady Babchenko had been assassinated in Kyiv. He reportedly died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. On May 30, Babchenko appeared at a press conference, alongside the head of the Ukrainan Security Service (SBU) Vasily Gritsak and Prosecutor General Yuriy […]

Russia Ukraine

AfricaSource

May 30, 2018

Congolese opposition unify ahead of presidential elections

By Pierre Englebert

Democratic Republic of the Congo opposition leaders Moïse Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi are on a US and European tour to lobby for further sanctions against the regime of President Joseph Kabila and for continued Western pressure towards free and fair elections, scheduled for December. They have formed an alliance which, they hope, can unite the […]

Africa Corruption

IranSource

May 30, 2018

Great Power Competition in Iran as the US Exits the Arena

By Ali Scotten

US President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, and thus re-impose broad sanctions against the Islamic Republic, sends a clear signal that Washington has reverted to a full containment policy against Tehran. But, lacking a clear overarching Middle East strategy, US policymakers do not appear to be weighing the merits of this […]

China India

New Atlanticist

May 30, 2018

North Korea’s Other Kim Comes to New York

By Ashish Kumar Sen

North Korean Gen. Kim Yong-chol was seated barely a few feet away from Ivanka Trump at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on February 25. The world’s attention was focused firmly on them amid signs of a thaw in relations between North and South Korea. The two did not exchange […]

Korea United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 29, 2018

#PutinAtWar: Dismissing MH17

By Ben Nimmo

On May 24, 2018, a Dutch-led international investigation said that the weapon which downed Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in July 2014 had been provided by a Russian military unit. Kremlin and pro-Kremlin outlets were quick to launch a counter-offensive, denying any Russian involvement, and attacking the investigators and their methods.

Disinformation Russia

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Richard Pipes: An Appreciation

By Stephen Blank

I was not a student of the late Richard Pipes, and I only met him once briefly, so I cannot claim any special relationship or unique insight into his personality and character. Nevertheless, he was and remains a model for historians of Russia and those who aspire to understand Russia as it really is.

Russia Ukraine

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Why I’m Still Doing Business in Ukraine

By Paul Niland

Ukraine is a challenging and confusing place to do business. At the same time, it’s also exciting and changing. I’ve been doing business in Ukraine for fifteen years, and while Ukraine has a bad reputation for international business, it deserves a second look.

Ukraine

MENASource

May 29, 2018

The truth about Iraq’s democracy

By Harith Hasan

Some commentators recently celebrated the Iraqi election as a sign that democracy is taking root in Iraq’s soil. This optimistic view is justified given the bleak situation of democratic transformation in the region. Authoritarianism in the Middle East persists as the common model of governing, even in countries that witnessed popular uprisings and demands for […]

Democratic Transitions Iraq

UkraineAlert

May 29, 2018

Time to Cut Out the Middlemen in Ukraine Gas Trade

By Diane Francis

Four years after Ukrainians protested in the streets against jaw-dropping corruption, the most odious scheme of all—the corrupt natural gas market—continues to siphon billions from Ukraine. These proceeds underwrite a sophisticated bribery scheme in Russia and Ukraine, and more recently help subsidize Russia’s war and occupation against Ukraine. The heist was devised years ago by […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

May 28, 2018

Italy’s President Keeps Populists At Bay

By Nick Ottens

Italy is, not for the first time, in political crisis. But this time, what happens in Rome could have a big impact on financial markets, the euro, and the longer-term future of the European Union as a whole. Sergio Mattarella, the country’s largely ceremonial president, took the unusual step on May 28 of vetoing a […]

European Union International Organizations