Publications

Russia’s belligerence in Syria has renewed debates about Russian motives. James Nixey, head of the Russia and Eurasia Program at Chatham House, and Xenia Wickett, project director for the United States at Chatham House, probably put it best in their...

Seabasing is a valid strategic concept that has been simultaneously under-defined, over-defined and vaguely defined.  It has become anchored to contradictions: it is officially a joint concept, but one that is widely perceived as a parochial tool to justify...

Much of the world’s great promise, and many of the world’s greatest challenges, lie in Africa. The continent is home, on the one hand, to seven of the 10 fastest growing economies on the planet, and has the potential...

It appears that a significant portion of the Washington policy community is dismissing Russia’s Vladimir Putin either as merely a tactician, rather than a strategist, or as President Obama would have it, a fool who has injected his forces...

“We have learned that history is something that takes no notice whatever of our expectations.” — Oswald Spengler ___________________________________________ Much has been written about the human exodus streaming into the European Union’s southeastern flank through a two-pronged corridor — an...

Much has been said about a perceived steady decline of U.S. influence in the Middle East, and American weakness in the world more generally. Though there is some truth to the assertion that the United States’ ability to project...

When two great powers jostle, their allies watch. Not out of enjoyment for the spectacle but out of selfish interest, they monitor the development of that rivalry to decide how to align themselves. Alliances often change following the outcome,...

There were few surprises in the Democratic debate. Hillary Clinton was by far the most polished speaker, though whether she said much of substance was an entirely different matter. Her major message, oft repeated through the evening, was “vote...

Nearly two millennia ago, the Romans built the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria. According to Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, published in 1881, “The wonder in these ancient ruins is not that so much has fallen, but that anything...

Executive Summary The Euromaidan movement that emerged in late 2013 on Kyev’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (“Independence Square”) first crystalized around opposition to increasingly authoritarian rule by President Viktor Yanukovych, especially his government’s effort to reverse the pro-Western policies of his...