NATO’s Relevance and Europe’s Search for an Alternative
The North Treaty Organization (NATO) came into being to guarantee security to the war-torn Europe after the most devastated war in human history called “World War II.” It was precisely meant for containing “Communist” threat from the former Soviet Union. The “Warsaw Pact” was the response to NATO during the height of cold war by the Soviet...
Kleptocracy Weekly: October 6, 2017
“Kleptocracy is the business model of 21st century authoritarianism.” Charles Davidson, KI’s Executive Director,testified before the Helsinki Commission in Congress this week on how anonymous companies threaten democracy and security. Next week: Join KI and distinguished experts at Hudson Institute on October 11th for the launch of Ilya...
The Russian State’s New Surprising Crusade … Against “Orthodox Extremists”
Society It seems that the Russian state is preparing to get tough on various hardline, fringe followers of the Orthodox Church. Columnists in the opposition media and panic-stricken citizens on social media have already dubbed these Russian citizens “Orthodox extremists” or “new fundamentalists” Alexander Kalinin, for instance, the leader of the...
Ukraine’s Poorly Timed Education Law
Endorsing bilingualism in education would be the inspired and progressive option for the Ukrainian leadership. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Inside Tomsk’s Political Machine
The Siberian city’s gubernatorial election, rigged and managed from above, illustrates how the electoral system really works in many Russian regions. From openDemocracy. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Wealth of Ukrainian Security Officers Revealed
The powerful interior minister is also under a spotlight as the authorities open a probe into corruption allegations against him. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
What would it take to trigger war between Russia and NATO? Just a spark
This September in Europe was a tense month of military posturing and preparations. Sweden recently began a three-week war game, its largest since the Cold War. Even as it did so, across the Baltic Sea, Russian and Belarusian forces concluded the Zapad military exercises – which NATO officials called “serious preparations for a big war”. Major war...
September 22nd, 2017
CHINA China’s Security Chief Calls For Greater Use Of AI To Predict Terrorism, Social Unrest Nectar Gan, South China Morning Post Meng Jianzhu, head of the Communist Party’s central commission for political and legal affairs in charge of the country’s massive security and intelligence systems, pledged at a meeting in Beijing on...
September 20th, 2017
CHINA China Is Refusing To Cede Ground As US Issues Trade Threats Sophia Yan, NBC News The long-term battle on trade between the US and China shows no sign of ending as a war of words ensued this week between the two. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer called China an “unprecedented” threat, because of the “sheer scale of their coordinated...
Finding My Creative Courage in North Korea
Just 15 months after taking his first writing workshop at Aspen Summer Words, Welby Altidor published Creative Courage, a book that draws on his experience as executive creative director at Cirque du Soleil, where he was responsible for a portfolio of groundbreaking live events. In the midst of making the final edits to his manuscript this past...
