Dear Friends,

We offer you FPRI’s year in a nutshell, highlighting but a fraction of the notable work of our 100-plus affiliated scholars, both on our own platforms and elsewhere.

At a glance, this year we offered a new approach on North Korea, exploring the possible role of Russia in restraining North Korea’s nuclear ambitions through a year-long project featuring a unique collaboration between FPRI and scholars from the Far Eastern University of Vladivostok, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Moscow State Institute for International Relations. Our Eurasia Program, begun in 2016, experienced a major expansion this year, with the appointment of five Eurasia Fellows, and the launch of our Black Sea Strategy Papers, Moldova Monthly and Caucasus Cable.

Robert A. Fox Fellow Clint Watts, a former FBI agent who has been tracking the online behavior of jihadis for a decade, stumbled into Russian trolls in 2014 and has been tracking them ever since. He began bringing attention to Russian influence operations on social media in 2015 and was called to testify on Capitol Hill four times this year. 

We also  launched our Civic Education Initiative through multimedia primers and  historical simulations for students, supplementing our 20 years of providing professional development for teachers.

There is much more to be said but I will let the publications below speak for themselves. In the meantime, I should add that all of this work would not be possible without your support. 

May you have a happy and healthy new year!

Alan Luxenberg
President, FPRI

Why We Must Recognize North Korea
Arthur Waldron, Senior Fellow

Why al Qaeda and Islamic State threats to Attack the West Should Be Taken More Seriously Now 
Clint Watts, Robert A. Fox Fellow

Long Black Robes: The Role of the Orthodox Church in the Conflict in Ukraine
The 21st Annual Templeton Lecture on Religion and World Affairs
Fr. Anthony Perkins

Israel’s National Security Since the Yom Kippur War 
Joshua Krasna, Robert A. Fox Fellow 

In the Shadow of Weimar: Understanding America’s Blossoming Domestic Terrorism Problem
Adam Garfinkle, Senior Fellow 

The Tranquil World of Donald J. Trump
John R. Haines , Co-Director, Eurasia Program

From Baghdad to Riyadh: A New Security Pact? 
Brandon Friedman, Senior Fellow

New Moon on the Rise but No Revolution?
Benjamin Katzeff- Silberstein, Associate Scholar

President Macron’s France: Between Internal Turmoil and External Crossroads
Hajnalka Vincze, Senior Fellow

The First Hundred Days: Trump Meets Asia…and Reality 
June Teufel-Dreyer, Senior Fellow
 

      

Getting Peshmerga Reform Right: Helping the Iraqi Kurds to Help Themselves in Post-ISIS Iraq
Samuel Helfont, Senior Fellow 

Nuclear Weapons and Russia-North Korea Relations
Arytom Lukin  et al. 

Russia and Crisis Management on the Korean Peninsula
Rensselear Lee , Senior Fellow &  William Severe

Assessing Baltic Sea Regional Maritime Security
Frank G. Hoffman, Board of Advisors 
 

Whose West is Best? 
Ronald Granieri, Director, Center for the Study of America and the West 

In Defense of the West 
Mackubin Owens, Editor, Orbis

The Geopolitics of the American Revolution 
Jeremy Black, Senior Fellow 

Thucydides and the Tragedy of Athens: A Parable for America
John H. Maurer, Senior Fellow

Does Donald Trump Believe in American Civil Religion? If So, Which One?
Walter A. McDougall, Co-Chair, Butcher History Institute for Teachers

History Is Not There To Be Liked: On Historical Memory, Real and Fake
Jason Steinhauer, Senior Fellow
 

Russia’s Foray Into the Balkans: Who Is Really to Blame? 
Dimitar Bechev

Crimea and the Art of Non-Recognition: A Baltic Analogy
Lukas Milevski, Baltic Sea Fellow

Why the Black Sea? 
Chris Miller, Research Director, Eurasia Program
 

Defending the West from Russian Disinformation: The Role of Leadership
Eriks Selga, Associate Scholar & Benjamin Rasmussen

“Nationality is Ethnicity”: Estonia’s Problematic Citizenship Policy 
David J. Trimbach

The Non-Citizenship, Non-Question: Latvia Struggles to Leave Soviet Legacy Behind
Indra Ekmanis 
 

This is what foreign spies see when they read President Trump’s tweets
Nada Bakos, Senior Fellow 
The Washington Post

Can the Michelin Model Fix Fake News? 
Clint Watts, Robert A. Fox Fellow
The Daily Beast 

Hope Deferred For Zimbabwe
Ann Toews, Lt. General Bernard E. Trainor Fellow 
The American Interest 

Vladimir Putin: Past, Present and Future President of Russia
Maia Otarashvili, Research Fellow
Majalla 

Arab Liberals Become Media Stars
Joseph Braude, Senior Fellow
The Wall Street Journal 

The US can look to the Far East for advice on its monuments
Thomas Shattuck, Research Associate
The Washington Post

Human Rights Are Largely Irrelevant to the Emerging ‘Trump Doctrine’ 
Dominic Tierney, Senior Fellow
The Atlantic 

Russia and America’s Tit for Tat Continues 
Nikolas Gvosdev, Senior Fellow
The National Interest 

War with Russia: Trump is Losing the Intelligence Battle
Naveed Jamali, Senior Fellow
Newsweek 

Seize the Doklam Crisis 

Indian Express