Ukraine’s Civil War: Would Accepting This Terminology Help Resolve the Conflict?
Since Ukraine is the site of both an invasion (Crimea) and a civil war (in the Donbas), there is no academic consensus on what to call the crisis in Ukraine.…
Posts by tag
2019
73 posts
Policy Memos in 2019
Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union: Lack of Trust in Russia Limits the Possible
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which currently includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, is the first relatively successful attempt to establish strong multilateral institutions for…
Church and Geopolitics: The Battle Over Ukrainian Autocephaly
(PONARS Policy Memo) The solemn presentation by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople of the so-called tomos, or a decree of autocephaly, for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to newly elected Ukrainian primate Metropolitan Epiphanius in…
Evolving Dynamics and Conflict Potential in Eastern Ukraine
(PONARS Policy Memo) How can institutions in Ukraine be strengthened in their effectiveness and legitimacy in order to mitigate conflict escalation and impel peace? How can the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk…
How the Trump Administration’s Contradictory Policies Impact Ukraine
(PONARS Policy Memo) There was widespread anticipation of profound changes in relations between the United States and Ukraine in light of the 2016 U.S. presidential election results. As a candidate,…
Diminishing Returns: How Effective Are Sanctions Against Russia?
In November 2018, the Trump administration announced another set of sanctions on Russian individuals and entities for supporting Russia’s economic integration of Crimea and for committing human rights violations. Are…
Territory versus Reform Success: Why Reformers Are Better Positioned in Georgia than in Armenia
(PONARS Policy Memo) In both Armenia and Georgia, while neither state has achieved democratic consolidation, the role of public debate is especially salient and there is real public power in politics.…
Why the International Community Should Be More Accommodating to De Facto States
(PONARS Policy Memo) De facto states are notorious for their pariah status, constant security deficit, and embryonic institutions, producing the perception that they are states-in-the-making perpetually striving for sheer survival. Their…
The Use of Twitter Bots in Russian Political Communication
(PONARS Policy Memo) The question of how regimes respond to online opposition has become a central topic of politics in the digital age. In previous work, we have identified three…
Whose Cossacks Are They Anyway? A Movement Torn by the Ukraine-Russia Divide
(PONARS Policy Memo) Most headlines about the conflict in Eastern Ukraine do not normally mention either the role of the Cossacks or the use of the Cossack image, but both are,…