Ukraine Should Drop Bills Which Hamper Activists’ Work
Expand Lawmakers attend a parliament session in Kiev, Ukraine December 21, 2017. © 2017 Reuters A package of draft laws presented by the administration of Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, has lingered since the summer on the desks of Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Part of this package would annul a senseless legal provision...
Why Election Reform Should Be a Top Priority Now
Election reform in Ukraine is finally gaining some momentum. In December, parliament passed in the first reading draft law #3112-1, which creates an open list proportional election system and makes it easier for small parties to win seats in parliament. In addition, the president’s long-awaited list of candidates for the Central Election...
Georgia’s sentence against Saakashvili: restoration of justice or political persecution?
Written by: Givi Gigitashvili Source: Euromaidan Press As Ukraine mulls deporting ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who was stripped of Ukrainian citizenship, to Georgia on the request of the Georgian court, despite earlier having, like most European countries, qualified his trial in Georgia as politically motivated, let’s revisit...
Ukraine reintegration bill Donbas deadlock
Russia says the bill amounts to preparation for war. But it might clear a path for meaningful negotiations. …read more Source: International Institute for Strategic...
Yes, Ukraine’s Oligarchs Own the Airwaves, but Their Days Are Numbered
Oligarchs own the airwaves in Ukraine. More than 75 percent of Ukrainians regularly watch TV channels owned by Ukrainian oligarchs Viktor Pinchuk, Ihor Kolomoisky, Dmytro Firtash, and Rinat Akhmetov. But this is hardly news since TV serves as the primary source of information for 58 percent of Ukrainians. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human...
Armenia is Rethinking Relations with Russia
Russia / Europe Over the past few years, Armenia has faced a string of internal and foreign policy challenges. The wide-reaching referendum vote back in 2015 in favor of constitutional change means that Armenia’s time as a semi-presidential republic is over. According to its new constitution, the country is now a parliamentary republic. The...
The Cheap Assault on the Immigration Visa Lottery
Alex Nowrasteh Congress is in the thick of another intense debate on immigration reform, which comes to a head on Feb. 8, the deadline by which lawmakers must pass a spending bill or the government shuts down again. At center stage is what what happens to Dreamers, illegal immigrants brought here as children, but Republicans have also thrown into...
Kennan Cable No. 30: Democracy in Ukraine: Are We There Yet?
Introduction More than a quarter century ago, the Ukrainian people made a historic choice in favor of independence, democracy, and the free market. Their vision of a fully sovereign, democratic, and prosperous state has been only partially fulfilled. While Ukraine is a clearly established polity with internationally recognized sovereignty, it is...
US Allies Should Back President Trump
Donald Trump, photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr CCBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 726, January 28, 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Donald J. Trump is facing unprecedented criticism one year into his term as president of the world’s greatest power. The allies of the US can assist him by making clear how much he has advanced American foreign...
