Commentary & Analysis

Working with a wide community of experts and thought-leaders, the Eurasia Center delivers cutting-edge analysis and commentary on issues affecting Eurasia and the transatlantic community.

New Atlanticist

Jun 17, 2011

Could a Turkish Buffer Enable a New Syria?

By Anna Borshchevskaya

Almost 10,000 Syrian refugees have entered Turkey over the last several days, as the Syrian government escalates its crackdown on protesters. While this is a large number, the Turkish daily Posta suggests Ankara fears much worse—that a civil war in Syria could flood Turkey with 200,000 more refugees. During a recent summit in Ankara, Turkish […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2011

Turkish Election: An AKP Victory with Limits

By Ross Wilson

The unprecedented third consecutive electoral victory won by Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Sunday’s parliamentary elections owes to a widespread feeling of satisfaction with eight years of the Erdogan government’s rule. According to preliminary results, the party won 50 percent of the vote. This was at the top end of expectations and exceeded […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2011

Turkish Elections Primer

By Ross Wilson

Ross Wilson, director of the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council and a former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, provides this backgrounder on this weekend’s elections in a pivotal state.

Event Recap

May 24, 2011

Roadmaps on International Energy Cooperation in Southeast Europe

By Jason Harmala

On May 24, the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a discussion “Roadmaps on International Energy Cooperation in Southeast Europe” with Ambassador André Mernier, Secretary General of the Energy Charter Secretariat and Dr. Anita Orbán, Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Feb 4, 2011

Leviathan in the Levant

By Alexandros Petersen

The recent discovery of the Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel, though not a game changer like shale in terms of global gas supplies, promises to have major implications for the country’s energy security and even the energy balance of the region at large, while setting off competition over other finds in […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 31, 2011

Turkey’s Dynamic Resurgence in the New Global Era

By Zeynep Dereli and Jean-Pierre Lehmann

In a recent article in Newsweek, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan branded the EU “geriatric” and “comatose.” This reflects not only Ankara’s frustrations with the EU accession process, but also the global transformations of the early 21st century.

New Atlanticist

Jan 31, 2011

Egypt Needs Reform, Not Revolution

By George Grant and Alexandros Petersen

The mounting pro-democracy protests in Egypt against the 30-year tyranny of Hosni Mubarak are an encouraging development in the wake of Tunisia’s ousting of its own long-time autocrat, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, earlier this month. It is tempting, indeed altogether proper, to hope for “people power” changes of governance across the autocratic Arab world. […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 25, 2010

An Opportunity to Reimagine Eurasia

By Samuel Charap and Alexandros Petersen

Despite the smiles, hearty handshakes and declarations of partnership, President Obama’s meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in New York last month was actually a symptom of waning U.S. influence in Eurasia.

New Atlanticist

Oct 13, 2010

Fueling Growth in Asia: Energy, Investment, and a Home-Grown Middle Class

By Boyko Nitzov and Rustam Makhmudov

Many would argue that export-oriented Asian economies are the paragon of economic success and an engine of global growth. Plenty of evidence supports this opinion: the economies of China and India grew by 10-11% and 6-7% annually for the greater part of the last ten years, and even when the global financial crisis induced a […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2010

Kyrgyzstan’s Historic Elections: A Guide

By Meerim Abdieva and Ross Wilson

Kyrgyzstan’s political drama that began with the overthrow of President Bakiyev in April, violent ethnic clashes in the country’s south in June, and a constitutional referendum two weeks later reaches it next pivot point in parliamentary elections that take place on Sunday.

The Eurasia Center’s mission is to promote policies that strengthen stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.