Recent Posts

What’s Behind Russia’s Overture to Georgia?

Even if Georgia knew nothing about Russia’s decision beforehand, the current arrangement suits both the Kremlin and official Tbilisi: it helps Georgian Dream to hold on to power, while Russia is building on barely existent ties with Georgia that may lead to greater gains for Moscow in the future.Russian President …

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Putin’s Tactic of Inaction Could Backfire at Home

Putin’s plan is to wait out what he sees as inevitable changes in the West and Ukraine. These days, however, Russia’s elites are liable to see defeatism in inaction.Nothing is happening in Russia. At least, that’s the impression given by Vladimir Putin over the past six months. On some level, …

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Ukraine’s Other Battle: Zelensky vs. the Mayors

The Ukrainian government can always justify waging a war against regional grandees as part of the fight against corruption and the desire to prevent Western aid from ending up in the pockets of local clans. Distinguishing anti-corruption campaigns from political persecution in Ukraine has always been difficult, and even Russia’s …

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Sudan and the New Age of Conflict

How Regional Power Politics are Fueling Deadly Wars How Regional Power Politics are Fueling Deadly Wars For the past year, much of the world’s attention has been focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan—flashpoints that could trigger direct or even …

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Who Is Afraid of Georgian Democracy?

The Georgian government’s attempt to pass restrictive legislation on foreign influence provoked mass protests that ultimately led to the withdrawal of the bill. To anchor Georgia to Western values, the EU should support the country’s transition to institutional democracy. Georgia hit the headlines in March when thousands of people took …

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Turkey Heads Into a Critical Election Runoff

A return to a parliamentary democracy system—the opposition’s most important electoral promise—is highly unlikely if Erdogan remains in power. This would be bad news for Turkey’s Western allies. After a dynamic and unfair campaign, the interim results of Turkey’s dual election send the two main presidential contenders to a second …

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Judy Asks: Is Ukraine a Game Changer for European Defense?

Since Russia’s war on Ukraine, EU member states and institutions have been taking defense more seriously. But Europe’s security continues to depend on NATO and the United States. Raluca Csernatoni: Fellow at Carnegie Europe Russia’s war in Ukraine has spearheaded significant developments aimed at boosting European defense capabilities. But Ukraine’s …

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