Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
A solution to the Ukraine-Russia bond standoff
Shutterstock.A two-step solution — if enacted — would allow Ukraine and Russia to end a multi-year deadlock and recognize the needs of all involved:Ukraine and Russia are at a stalemate over the US$3 billion bonds due in December 2015 that were purchased by the Russian government in 2013. Russia believes the bonds are an official concessional...
New Europe’s return to the Dark Ages
The widely expected victory of Jarosław Kaczyński’s Law and Justice Party (PiS) in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Poland Sunday (25 October) will mark the end of an era in the history of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia – or “New Europe”, to use a term coined by former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.After...
Investigation: The Hidden Assets of Moldova’s Gun Shop Bosses
How some top managers are ignoring the law and keeping their businesses and property out of public view. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
What is – and isn’t – at stake in the Polish parliamentary election
The widely expected victory of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland’s parliamentary election on Sunday matters not just for Poland, but for the entire European Union. Because it comes at a time when the continent is at several important crossroads, it might be the most consequential parliamentary election in the region in a...
A Kumbaya Moment for the Middle East? Hardly.
Israeli soldier patrols in Hebron Market on Sep 09 2009. About 500 stores were closed by military order in the center of Hebron since the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000. (Image: ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock) In his new film Taxi, Iranian director Jafar Panahi is having a conversation with his young niece. They’re sitting in the cab...
The Belarus dilemma
There never was much doubt that Alexander Lukashenko would obtain a fifth mandate in the presidential elections held in Belarus on 11 October. The incumbent, often labelled as Europe’s last dictator, won another landslide victory, with 87.75% of the recorded votes. More surprising was the limited protest that greeted his re-election,...
Moscow School Pulls Album to Remove Down Syndrome Girl
Parents’ objections to photo of a mentally handicapped first-grader allegedly results in photo album recall. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Germany: Saving Refugees Comes with a Huge Political Price Tag
Transatlantic TakeBERLIN—The influx of refugees into Germany is forcing its leaders to throw aside some of their long-held convictions and face reality. They are making nice with authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to get him to accept more refugees. They are talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin so that he does not further...
US Slams Assad’s Moscow Visit
On first foreign trip since 2011, Syrian President thanks Russia for fighting ‘terrorism.’ …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Military Conscription in Europe: New Relevance
This paper discusses the relevance of military conscription in Europe today. More specifically, it examines 1) the trend of abolishing conscription in Western countries over the last 20 years; 2) the approaches to conscription used by the countries that chose to maintain the practice; 3) why increased threat perceptions following Russia’s...
