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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.

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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.

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President of Finland Sauli Niinisto and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nov. 14, 2012

NATOSource

Sep 11, 2013

Finland, Sweden Mull NATO Option

By Gerard O'Dwyer, Defense News

Finland’s Armed Forces’ commander in chief, President Sauli Niinistö, has entered the debate over whether the Nordic nation should join NATO as a long-term solution to meeting its future defense needs.

NATO Northern Europe
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt

NATOSource

Sep 9, 2013

Sweden Lashes Out at Russian ‘Economic Warfare’ in East Europe

By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft, Reuters

Sweden accused Russia on Friday of waging “economic warfare” against former Soviet republics that have been considering closer trade relations with the European Union and said the EU needed a strategy to resist Moscow.

European Union International Organizations
Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin

NATOSource

Sep 5, 2013

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Warns of ‘Serious Consequences’ if Georgia Joins NATO

By Katerina O. Labetskaya, Russia Direct

[I]t seems that some politicians in the West regard the positive processes to ease the tensions in Russian-Georgian relations as an opportunity to continue the same policy of attracting Tbilisi into NATO

NATO Russia
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

NATOSource

Sep 5, 2013

NATO Chief Regrets Divisions Over Syria

By AFP

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen sharply regretted international divisions over Syria on Sept. 5, warning that such splits risked sending a message of encouragement to dictators

European Union International Organizations
Obama administraion authorized hundreds of offensive cyber operations

NATOSource

Aug 31, 2013

US Spy Agencies Mounted 231 Offensive Cyber-Operations in 2011, Documents Show

By Barton Gellman and Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post

U.S. intelligence services carried out 231 offensive cyber-operations in 2011

China Cybersecurity
Obama meeting with Baltic leaders at White House

NATOSource

Aug 30, 2013

Obama Highlights Strong Relationships with Nordic-Baltic Countries

By Magnus Nordenman

President Barack Obama’s meeting in Washington with the presidents of the Baltic states, his trip to Sweden, and his meeting with the Nordic heads of government while there, is a recognition of the broad success story of the region

Afghanistan NATO
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

NATOSource

Aug 26, 2013

Syria: Russia Dooms Hopes of UN Security Council Resolution

By Raf Sanchez and Roland Oliphant, Telegraph

As the US, Britain and France edged closer to approving strikes in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons, the Kremlin said that the West was moving down “a very dangerous path.”

France International Organizations
Russian President Vladimir Putin

NATOSource

Aug 22, 2013

Russian Military Creating Cyber Warfare Branch

By RIA Novosti

A separate branch dedicated to cyber warfare is being created in the Russian Armed Forces as the Internet could become a new “theater of war” in the near future, a senior Russian military R&D official said.

Cybersecurity Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 21, 2013

No No-Fly Zone over Syria

By Paul Rasmussen

Last week’s meeting between General Dempsey and King Abdullah II of Jordan was noteworthy in that the subject of military intervention in Syria was not discussed.  After two years of endless strategic and political debate it seems that recent events have put an end to the suggestion that the United States should intervene in Syria.  […]

International Organizations North Africa
"NATO has an obligation to provide Georgia with a concrete pathway into the Alliance"

NATOSource

Aug 19, 2013

Yes, NATO Should Let Georgia In

By Michael Cecire, National Interest

Categorical critics of NATO like [Doug] Bandow accuse the organization of being without a mission since the Soviet Union’s disintegration, but somehow fail to recognize that the Cold War success of NATO was as much sociopolitical as it was military.

NATO Russia

Experts