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COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

The Power Vertical

The Power Vertical is a blog and podcast for Russia wonks and Kremlin watchers by Brian Whitmore. It covers emerging and developing trends in Russian politics, shining a spotlight on the high-stakes power struggles, machinations, and clashing interests that shape Kremlin policy today.

Host and Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Brian Whitmore invites guest experts to deliver their insights and analysis in this weekly podcast. The Atlantic Council and the Charles T. McDowell Center for Global Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington co-sponsor this production.

The Russia Tomorrow series

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The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

Content

Inflection Points

Dec 18, 2024

The stage is set for Trump’s global leadership moment

By Frederick Kempe

The lightning-like fall of the Assad regime in Syria reveals larger weaknesses in Russia and Iran. These weaknesses present the incoming president with three historic opportunities.

China Lebanon

UkraineAlert

Dec 17, 2024

Putin’s quiet Syrian surrender reveals the weakness behind his intimidation tactics

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin’s inability to save his Syrian ally Bashar Assad is a timely reminder that Russia is far weaker than many appreciate and Western fears of Kremlin escalation are wildly exaggerated, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Policy

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2024

The United States must revisit the basics of geostrategy

By Andrew A. Michta

It’s time to return to realism in US national security policy, putting hard power considerations and geopolitics front and center.

China National Security

Russia Tomorrow

Dec 17, 2024

The reluctant consensus: War and Russia’s public opinion

By Maria Snegovaya

A new Atlantic Council report explores Russian society’s consolidation around the Kremlin and the Russian public’s perception of Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Civil Society Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Dec 15, 2024

Nikoladze quoted by Handelsblatt on Georgia’s trade with Russia, China, and Iran

Read the full article here

China Economy & Business

Inflection Points Today

Dec 13, 2024

Monitoring the global ‘Trump effect’

By Frederick Kempe

The incoming president is already making waves in China, Iran, Ukraine, and NATO as he articulates goals and the world responds to them.

China Europe & Eurasia

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2024

Why Finland thinks Finlandization is a bad idea for Ukraine

By Minna Ålander

Some believe the Finlandization of Ukraine is the most realistic option to end Russia's invasion, but any attempt to impose neutrality would leave Ukraine in a precarious position, writes Minna Ålander.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Dec 12, 2024

Foreign troops help Putin avoid pitfalls of another Russian mobilization

By Katherine Spencer

Russia’s growing use of foreign troops in Ukraine is a dangerous trend that promises to prolong the war and has the potential to fuel international instability, writes Katherine Spencer.

Central Asia Conflict

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2024

Ukraine is expanding its long-range arsenal for deep strikes inside Russia

By Peter Dickinson

Ukraine is producing its own arsenal of long-range weapons as Kyiv seeks to bypass Western fears of escalation and bring Vladimir Putin's invasion home to Russia in 2025, writes Peter Dickinson.

Conflict Defense Industry

UkraineAlert

Dec 10, 2024

Russian victory in Ukraine would spark a new era of global insecurity

By Victor Liakh

If Vladimir Putin's Russia is allowed to claim even a limited victory in Ukraine, it will embolden other authoritarian regimes and plunge the world into a new era of insecurity, writes Victor Liakh.

Civil Society Conflict

Experts

Events