Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
November 28th, 2017
CHINA Beijing Hinders Free Speech in America Wang Dan, NYT I spent nearly seven years in a Chinese prison for being a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. I was freed in 1998, and the Chinese government let me leave the country. I chose to go to the United States, where I could freely speak my mind without fear of being thrown in prison....
Arms control, security cooperation, and U.S.-Russian relations
By Steven PiferFor nearly 50 years, arms control agreements have contributed to more stable and predictable relations between Washington and Moscow. Beginning in the late 1980s, agreements such as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty followed by the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) went beyond mere limitations to...
Mixed Results for Emerging Europe in Legatum Prosperity Index
World prosperity increased in 2017 and now sits at its highest level in the last decade, being 2.6 per cent higher than in 2007, according to the 11th edition of the Legatum Prosperity Index. However, the gap between the highest and lowest scores has increased and the spread between nations is growing. Each country has been measured on nine...
Isolationism is Not an Option
Editor’s Note: This blog is part of an ongoing series of contributions from participants in The German Marshall Fund’s flagship leadership development program, The Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF). I received a typical American education. In high school, I was taught that the United States’ love of isolationism was a root...
Council of Europe will betray its human rights mandate by giving in to Russia, Mr Jagland
The Council of Europe is considering reinstating Russia’s voting rights which were withdrawn after Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. Crimea remains under occupation with ever-mounting human rights abuse, making the reference given to the Council of Europe’s ‘human rights mandate’ as excuse for removing...
Unexpected Freedom for two Crimean Tatar Dissidents
Russia / Europe In late October, President Vladimir Putin pardoned and released Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz, two Crimean Tatar dissidents. Both were members of the Mejlis, a legislative body for the Crimean Tatar people that has been dissolved since Russia’s capture of Crimea. Both were persecuted for their views: They openly stated that...
Belarus Refinery Boss Upbeat Despite Challenges
The most important oil refinery in Belarus, Naftan, is currently struggling with increasing oil prices and decreasing wages, while the whole country has been affected by the economic crisis, and protests against an unpopular new tax are on the increase. “In 2017, as compared to 2016, we saw a general improvement of the spread between world price...
The Duplicitous Superpower
Ted Galen Carpenter For any country, the foundation of successful diplomacy is a reputation for credibility and reliability. Governments are wary of concluding agreements with a negotiating partner that violates existing commitments and has a record of duplicity. Recent U.S. administrations have ignored that principle, and their actions have...
Introspecting on trans-Atlantic alliance at Halifax
This blog is based on discussions at the Halifax International Security Forum, held mid-November 2017. For more details on the event click here. A year after Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election, the United States is debating and re-orienting its global engagement. This has sparked concern among the U.S.’ allies about...
Eastern Partnership in Demise
The fifth summit of Eastern Partnership, taking place in Brussels, was a classic case of unmemorable event that other than being a photo-op delivered nothing and satisfied no one. This is perhaps unsurprising for the two fundamental reasons: mismatch of expectations and poor leadership of the initiative. When Eastern Partnership was initiated in...
