Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
One Year on from the Annexation of Crimea
One year on from the Annexation of Crimea, Russians’ attitude toward the West has deteriorated. The Russian government uses the situation to fuel patriotism and isolate critics. Besides, the Ukraine conflict shows that Russia follows its own cost-benefit ratio, neglecting its economic interests. …read more Source: Konrad Adenauer...
Here’s Why European Disunity is a Greater Threat to Ukraine Than Russia
As the Greek tragedy unfolds, many Europeans seem to have forgotten that for the first time since the end of World War II, a country is trying to redraw European borders by force. Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine is, by far, Europe’s most serious security crisis since the Balkan wars. Once...
Ukraine: Just a little historical perspective
Crises telescope time. They focus us on the urgency of the now and, as important as they are, sometimes they distract us from enduring truths and long-term strategies. The crisis over Ukraine is no exception. We worry about war and escalation; we despair about refugees and suffering; and we naturally focus on ceasefires and their violations. This...
Ukraine’s Dangerous Drive to Decentralize
Here’s Why the West Should Stop Pushing Decentralization Now In the coming days the Ukrainian parliament is expected to debate a draft law that would amend Ukraine’s Constitution on decentralization to expand local governments’ powers.The West has enthusiastically encouraged Ukraine to embrace decentralization, provide special...
Kazakhstan Finally Gains WTO Membership
On June 10, Kazakhstan and the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced they had reached an agreement for Kazakhstan’s accession to the trade body, bringing an end to an almost 20-year negotiation process that began when the Central Asian republic applied in January 1996 (Wto.org, June 10). On June 22, the WTO Working Group on Kazakhstan...
Italy’s Energy Policy Untouched by Turkish Stream’s Flop
In a surprising turn of events, on July 8, the Russian state-run natural gas monopoly Gazprom canceled a contract with the Italian oil and gas services group Saipem. The two companies were supposed to jointly build the first line of Turkish Stream, the Moscow-backed pipeline project to pump gas from Russia’s Black Sea coast to the...
Ukraine’s Constitutional Reform Precludes Federalization or Special Status for Donetsk-Luhansk
On July 1, President Petro Poroshenko made public the draft amendments to Ukraine’s Constitution, regarding decentralization of the country’s administrative-territorial system (Kyiv Post, July 1). The amendments redefine the relationship between Ukraine’s central government and the administrative-territorial units on three...
Ukraine’s Decommunization Laws: Legislating the Past?
In May 2015, the Ukrainian government passed four controversial laws aimed at initiating a clean break with the country’s communist past. Included in the laws are instructions on removing remnants of the communist past (monuments and street names), prescriptions on how to write the country’s history, as well as new measures to...
A Black Eye for Croatia and Romania, Poland Legislators Debate IVF
Plus, a Serbian war-crimes suspect is extradited to Croatia and a Russian court date is set for Ukrainian filmmaker’s trial. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Pentagon Concludes America Not Safe Unless It Conquers The World
The Pentagon has released its “National Military Strategy of the United States of America 2015” in June, 2015. The document announces a shift in focus from terrorists to “state actors” that “are challenging international norms.” It is important to understand what these words mean. Governments that challenge international norms are sovereign...
