American F-16s police the Baltic Sea in 2017. Photo Credit: Sgt. Jonathan Snyder/DVIDS By Matthew Mai President Biden has pledged to put America “back at the head of the table” by restoring confidence in the NATO alliance. Yet, regardless of the current attitude in the White House, the United States’ defense commitments to countries on … Continue reading The Baltic States: Assets or Liabilities?
By Fiona Harrigan President Joe Biden’s campaign success largely hinged on promises of change. He spoke of prioritizing alliances, promoting U.S. leadership abroad, and transmitting American values across the world. In the first weeks of his presidency, however, he fell into a concerningly familiar foreign policy rut. By the one-month mark, he had dropped bombs … Continue reading National Security Priorities for the Biden Administration
By Jack Corso Despite the downturn in coverage by western media outlets over the past few months, the popular movements in Belarus against Alexander Lukashenko, the incumbent president, have continued. Lukashenko’s unpredictable behavior has been on full display in recent months as he seemingly expressed a willingness to step down if constitutional reforms were implemented. … Continue reading Biden and Belarus
Image Source: Belta News By Anastasia Couch When the Belarus protests were still burgeoning, Minsk officials arrested 33 men for suspected involvement with Russia’s private security group, Wagner. A Minsk-based source reports that the arrested men held alleged connections with two known citizens of Belarus who each face criminal counts of instigation and suspicion of … Continue reading Belarus Arrests Realign Attention to the Shadow World of Russia’s Private Military Companies
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, with a virtually present Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany (Getty Images) By Zack Blumberg As its leaders try to push ahead with grand ambitions, the EU is waylaid by itself. When Germany officially assumed the European Union (EU) Council presidency on June 1 of this year, its … Continue reading In the COVID era, the EU is its own stumbling block
An anti-Lukashenko rally at the Belarusian embassy in Moscow, August 11, 2020. Picture by David Saveliev By Zack Blumberg, contributor Over the course of the past week, protests have engulfed the small nation of Belarus. Frustrated citizens coalesced around the campaign of upstart presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and have come out in force to voice … Continue reading In Belarus, Europe’s last dictator faces a reckoning
By Guzi He In 1989, momentous events prompted Eastern Europe to break free from the chains of soviet communism. Negotiations with civil society in Poland did away with one-party rule in April. Hungary followed suit five months later, commencing its own “Round Table Talks”. Then the Berlin Wall fell on November 9th. Germans on both … Continue reading Nationalism Strikes Back in Eastern Europe
Petro Poroshenko, left, and Volodymyr Zelensky, right, during a presidential debate on April 19, 2019. Photograph: The Presidential Administration of Ukraine Written by Luke Grabowski Edited by David Saveliev Laughter, at its core, depends on an element of surprise; stable foreign policy – on diffusing it. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president-elect, famous comedian, and newcomer … Continue reading Can a Comedian Revitalize a Struggling Country?
Cover image by Natalie Wu Written by Jan Gerber On December 3, 2018, as the warmest year on record was coming to a close, the Polish President Andrzej Duda delivered his opening remarks at the COP24 Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland. With the double-edged motto of the conference, “Changing Together,” over his head, Mr. Duda … Continue reading The Populist Pushback on Climate Change
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Image by Sandro Halank By Lukasz Grabowski As the European Parliament election nears, continental leaders prime themselves for crucial coalition-building that will set the stage for the next five years of governance. Among them are Germany’s Angela Merkel, the veteran chancellor, and her newly minted successor as head of the Christian Democratic … Continue reading Meet Merkel’s Successor
