Russia seeks to legitimize occupation of Ukraine with sham elections

MENASource Mar 19, 2025

Inside Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s diplomatic offensive with Syria’s Christians and Ismailis

By Gregory Waters

HTS’s diplomatic offensive demonstrates the leadership’s political approach, which evolved over years of engaging with the Christian and Druze communities in Idlib.
Democratic Transitions Freedom and Prosperity
Russia seeks to legitimize occupation of Ukraine with sham elections

UkraineAlert Mar 6, 2025

US peace initiative can help bring Ukraine’s abducted children home

By Kristina Hook, Iuliia Hoban

Securing the return of the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia since 2022 must play a part in the peace efforts recently initiated by US President Donald Trump, write Kristina Hook and Iuliia Hoban.
Civil Society Conflict
Russia seeks to legitimize occupation of Ukraine with sham elections

New Atlanticist Feb 28, 2025

Egyptian senator: The mass displacement of Gazans will only fuel Hamas’s extremist ideology

By Mohamed Farid

Displacing Palestinians from Gaza would perpetuate cycles of violence, deepen regional instability, and undermine Israel’s security.
Conflict Human Rights

Content

UkraineAlert

Sep 12, 2023

Russia seeks to legitimize occupation of Ukraine with sham elections

By Mercedes Sapuppo, Olivia Yanchik

In early September, Russia staged sham parliamentary elections in occupied regions of southern and eastern Ukraine as Moscow attempted to legitimize its earlier illegal annexation of five Ukrainian provinces.

Conflict
Disinformation

IranSource

Sep 8, 2023

Iran will never go back to the way it was

By Holly Dagres

While some argue that the ongoing anti-establishment protests began in mid-September 2022, the reality is that Iranians have been defying the regime for years.

Human Rights
Iran

In the News

Sep 7, 2023

Brahimi quoted in The Middle East Eye on meaning of Prigozhin’s death for North Africa

By Atlantic Council

Conflict
Corruption

UkraineAlert

Sep 6, 2023

Belarus dictator weaponizes passports in new attack on exiled opposition

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka has banned the country's embassies from issuing or renewing passports in a move that critics see as his latest escalation against Belarus's exiled pro-democracy opposition, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus
Civil Society

New Atlanticist

Sep 1, 2023

Fifty years later, the Helsinki process stands as a turning point for human rights in Europe

By Daniel Fried

A half century after landmark meetings in Geneva and Helsinki, it is easier to see the CSCE's role in advancing human rights in Central and Eastern Europe.

Central Europe
Democratic Transitions

UkraineAlert

Aug 23, 2023

Putin’s Russia is trapped in genocidal denial over Ukrainian independence

By Mercedes Sapuppo

Russia’s longstanding denial of Ukrainian national identity and refusal to accept the reality of Ukrainian independence are now fueling an invasion that many view as genocidal in nature, writes Mercedes Sapuppo.

Conflict
Disinformation

UkraineAlert

Aug 22, 2023

Belarus dictator Lukashenka must face justice for role in Russia’s Ukraine war

By Katie LaRoque

It is time for a serious conversation on how to hold Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka accountable for his participation in Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes Katie LaRoque.

Belarus
Conflict

IranSource

Aug 17, 2023

The Levinson Act means all Americans must return home—not just citizens

By Celeste Kmiotek

Shahab Dalili, Afshin Sheikholeslami Vatani, and Jamshid Sharmahd are all considered US nationals under the Levinson Act.

Human Rights
Iran

IranSource

Aug 15, 2023

Women in Iran fight to break Islamic Republic ‘cage’

By Khosro Sayeh Isfahani

“I will not return to that cage. I will not bow before bondage.”

Civil Society
Human Rights

New Atlanticist

Aug 14, 2023

Afghanistan’s next generation must rise above the Taliban’s ‘reality’

By Nasir Andisha

The Taliban are not and never were an acceptable alternative to a democratic state in a pluralistic society such as Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan
Civil Society
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Experts

Staff

Melanie Robbins 

Deputy Director, Realign for Palestine

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Civil Society Extremism

Fellow

Fabio Petito

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Freedom and Prosperity Human Rights

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Raphaela Schweiger

Director of Migration, Immigration Society, & Global Issues, Robert Bosch Foundation

Millennium Leadership Program

Europe & Eurasia Human Rights

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Salam Nukta

Innovation, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship Professional, Warsha Consulting

Millennium Leadership Program

Education Entrepreneurship

Fellow

Peter Mandaville

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Civil Society Freedom and Prosperity

Staff

Kate Springs

Program Assistant, Strategic Litigation Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Human Rights International Norms
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