Category: Blogs

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EconoGraphics

Mar 20, 2018

Venezuela’s Cryptocurrency: Should OFAC Be Petrofied?

By Ole Moehr, Zachary Coles, and Alexatrini Tsiknia

Venezuela's Cryptocurrency: Should OFAC be Petrofied? The short answer is no.

Economy & Business Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2018

Putin’s ‘Election’ And Why It’s Time for the West to Get Its Act Together

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Vladimir Kara-Murza bristles when the words “election” and “Vladimir Putin” are strung together in the same sentence. “There are many ways to describe what happened in Russia [on March 18]. Election is not one of them,” said the Russian opposition figure who, despite surviving two apparent poisonings, remains an ardent critic of Russian President Vladimir […]

Russia

SyriaSource

Mar 20, 2018

Impoverished Syrian Teachers in Turkey

By Hossam al-Jablawi

Over the last few years, thousands of Syrian refugees have arrived in Turkey to escape the war. Several with educational degrees found it difficult to find a job in their areas of expertise due to the challenges of obtaining required work permits  for the private sector. Many Syrian refugees in Turkey are forced to work […]

Syria

UkraineAlert

Mar 20, 2018

Why Nord Stream 2 Isn’t Just an Ordinary Pipeline

By Diane Francis

Of all nations, Germany must heed the lessons of history, both current and past. This begs the question as to why Germany would help Europe become more energy dependent on a country like Russia that ignores norms, contracts, laws, treaties, and borders. And yet that is exactly what Germany is about to do if it […]

Germany Russia

UkraineAlert

Mar 19, 2018

Ukraine should remove “stringent” disclosure law on civil society

By Gina S. Lentine

There has been an ominous change in the state of freedom of association in Ukraine over the last year. One of Ukraine’s leading activists, Vitaliy Shabunin of the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AntAC), is facing trial on criminal charges and could receive up to five years in prison. The charges are at best exaggerated and at […]

Corruption Rule of Law

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2018

Full Speed Ahead to Brexit?

By Bart J. Oosterveld, Jörn Fleck, and Álvaro Morales Salto-Weis

Brexit may not be avoidable after all. The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) announced on March 19 that they have agreed on a “large part” of an agreement that would result in Britain leaving the EU.

European Union International Organizations

EnergySource

Mar 19, 2018

Saudi Aramco’s downstream push will increase its value

By Jean-Francois Seznec

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in the United States Monday to much fanfare. One of the hot topics during the crown prince’s visit is the long-expected, much-anticipated privatization of Saudi Aramco. One major unanswered question surrounding the plan for privatization is where Saudi leadership wants to locate the initial public offering (IPO) for […]

Energy Markets & Governance Oil and Gas

Trade in Action

Mar 19, 2018

TRADE IN ACTION March 16, 2018

By Global Business & Economics Program

HEADLINESMarch madness seems to transcend from sports to trade these days… On the US side: As the US President releases more details on the upcoming tariffs, there has also been considerable concern surrounding the national security justification behind the tariff package, as it might be creating precedent for other countries to do the same. President Trump also […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

MENASource

Mar 19, 2018

Going local in Libya

By Karim Mezran & Frank Talbot

The political situation in Libya has slowly reached one of apparent paralysis while the military situation is continually evolving with frequent clashes across the country. Given the lack of any progress, the whole approach undertaken by the international community has clearly failed and desperately needs a new strategy. Political negotiation alone, without one that engages […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Mar 17, 2018

What Not to Expect from the Saudi Crown Prince

By Richard LeBaron

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the United States has energized the commentariat in Washington. Rarely have I seen more Middle East experts opining excitedly on the personality of and prospects for an Arab leader, on the significant change he has already brought to Saudi Arabia, and on the need to support his […]

International Organizations Iran