Publications

In December 2015, Montenegro opted to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and in doing so categorcially rebuffed two years of Russian efforts to secure a port there for the replenishment and repair of Russian military vessels. Russia...

This past May was one of the most tension-filled periods for Israel in recent years due to a unique convergence of explosive events, with each one potentially resulting in a large-scale conflagration. In the North, Israel engaged for the...

Kyiv Post From the standpoint of defense spending, Russia’s navy might be thought of as the neglected stepchild of the Russian military. But that conclusion would be wrong. That’s especially true if one considers its recent deployments and activities;...

Bloomberg Mexico goes to the polls this Sunday to choose its next president. Barring a last-minute surprise, the winner will be Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a populist candidate who has sometimes styled himself as a foil to Donald Trump....

What does it mean to speak of American Exceptionalism? If it just means unique, then the claim is unexceptional because no two countries are alike. If it means Americans believe their great country is special, then again that’s nothing...

Kyiv Post It’s been six months since I’ve seen Ukraine’s most energetic minister, Dr. Ulana Suprun, and she’s been busy. Her comprehensive efforts to overhaul Ukraine’s dysfunctional health system are going well, she assures me. It’s the first time...

Kyiv Post On June 3, Andrei Nastase was elected mayor of Chisinau with 52.5 percent of the vote. Nastase, a pro-European prosecutor and anti-corruption activist, defeated Socialist Ion Ceban who favors closer ties to Moscow. On June 19, a...

In October 2006, al-Qaeda in Iraq consolidated its alliances and declared itself a state—the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).  Despite the fact that ISI created ministries and other trappings of a state, it never controlled territory in a manner...

Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States has tended to engage in regime change missions with a short-term and improvisational approach that focuses on removing adversaries from the battlefield rather than achieving consolidated political gains. Today, Washington may repeat...

Kinetic operations—either overt, covert, or clandestine— should only be employed with ample forethought as to what they are intended to achieve and whether the costs are worth the benefits. Notwithstanding their advantages and disadvantages, the Islamic State in Iraq...