Section: Brookings (USA)
Is Putin about to make a costly mistake in Belarus?
By Steven PiferFrom 2001 to 2004, I was the senior American official to visit Belarus. The United States and European Union were thoroughly dissatisfied with President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s authoritarianism, and US policy mandated that no official higher than a deputy assistant secretary travel to Minsk. EU officials and EU member states...
Trans-Atlantic Scorecard – January 2020
Welcome to the sixth edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the...
Putin’s not-so-excellent spring
By Steven PiferEarly this year, Vladimir Putin had big plans for an excellent spring: first, constitutional amendments approved by the legislative branch and public allowing him the opportunity to remain in power until 2036, followed by a huge patriotic celebration of the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Well, stuff...
March was a roller coaster month for Ukraine
By Steven PiferUkrainians rode a wild roller coaster in March. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy began the month by firing the prime minister and reshuffling the cabinet, prompting concern that oligarchs were reasserting their influence. COVID-19 and its dire economic implications, however, refocused attention. At the end of the month, the Rada...
March was a roller coaster month for Ukraine
By Steven PiferUkrainians rode a wild roller coaster in March. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy began the month by firing the prime minister and reshuffling the cabinet, prompting concern that oligarchs were reasserting their influence. COVID-19 and its dire economic implications, however, refocused attention. At the end of the month, the Rada...
Unpacking the China-Russia ‘alliance’
By Michael E. O’Hanlon, Adam TwardowskiThe United States appears to be settling in for a protracted period of great power military competition. Ever since Russia seized Crimea and militarily intervened in Ukraine, and as China moved onto islands across the South China Sea while claiming almost all surrounding waterways, American defense...
President Trump’s instincts on Ukraine have been bad, but he’s right about one thing
By Michael E. O’HanlonTo be sure, President Donald Trump continues to get many things wrong in regard to U.S. relations with Ukraine. According to recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, among others, he still thinks that Ukrainian officials tried to help Hillary Clinton defeat him in 2016. He thinks, also...
Europe 1989-2019: Lessons learned 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall
The 30 years since the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 have been marked by incredible progress toward a Europe “whole and free.” The European Communities became the European Union, grew to 28 member states, and helped raise living standards across the continent. NATO survived the end of the Cold War and expanded to 29 members. But...
Russia returns: Navigating U.S.-Russia relations
What’s going on with Russia? Managing U.S.-Russian relations is one of the most important priorities for any American administration. Russia is an active player in key global issues, and with its enormous nuclear arsenal, is the only foreign state that represents a true existential threat to the United States. And yet, the relationship...
Trans-Atlantic Scorecard – October 2019
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Trans-Atlantic Scorecard, a quarterly evaluation of U.S.-European relations produced by Brookings’s Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE), as part of the Brookings – Robert Bosch Foundation Transatlantic Initiative. To produce the Scorecard, we poll Brookings scholars and other experts on the...
