After Debaltseve—Is There Chance for Ceasefire?
(EDM) It is entirely correct to say that the “Minsk Two” agreement, reached on February 12, after painstakingly long talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany, was broken…
Putin’s Frozen Conflicts
(FP) Each of Russia's reform-minded neighbors is plagued by separatism. It's no coincidence. High-level negotiations in Minsk have just produced a new ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Few believe that…
Is Putin Winning the Recognition Game? Is the Eurasian Union Back on the Table?
(Guest post by A. Kazharski) Russia's project of Eurasian integration has been very dear to President Vladimir Putin, but it was never recognized by his Western colleagues. Is the war…
New Policy Memo: Could Russia Become a Serious Spoiler in the Middle East?
There were many new twists in the chain of Middle Eastern upheavals in 2014—from the escalation of civil war in Libya to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in…
Hybrid Tactics: Neither New nor only Russian
Since the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, the spectre of ‘hybrid’ tactics (or threats) is haunting both European and American security debates. This seems to suggest that this is…
Diplomacy Delivers Another Pause for Struggling Ukraine and Sinking Russia
(EDM) The week of February 2 registered an explosion in political intrigue around the war in eastern Ukraine, and some sort of pause in hostilities is likely to ensue. Undoubtedly,…
Should the United States Provide Military Assistance to Ukraine? PONARS Eurasia Experts Weigh In
A group of former senior military and diplomatic officials have called for the United States to provide $1 billion a year in military assistance to Ukraine over the next three…
New Policy Memo: What Should Students Know about Russia’s Enemies? Conspiracy Theories in Russian Geopolitical Textbooks
In Russia, conspiracy theories involving clandestine and sinister external actors are widespread. Many of these theories are geopolitical in nature, involving antagonism toward Russia because of its vast territory and natural…
The Looming New Cold War and Its Consequences
(IISS) (Co-authored with J. Shapiro) The Ukraine crisis poses vexing policy challenges for Washington. President Obama has sought to strike a balance between the imperative of responding to Russian actions and…
Endangering USA won’t stop Putin: Opposing view
(USA Today) Supporting the democratically elected Ukrainian government with funding and advice is good policy. So is sending communications, monitoring and protective equipment to the struggling Ukrainian army. But supplying…
Russia’s Foreign Propaganda Curbed by Recession
(Moscow Times) (Co-authored with E. Nelson) The plunging value of the ruble is forcing even Russia's state-funded international television channel RT to face reality. Russia's economic difficulties are inducing the many-headed hydra of Russia's international propaganda machine…
Tsipras’ Greek balancing act begins
(Monkey Cage) (Co-authored with A. Georgakellos) The much-awaited Greek parliamentary elections took place on Jan. 25, and the first moves of the new government are making headlines all over the world. Greece is…