Black Sea

NATO’s Fast Approaching “Moment of Truth” on Ukraine

In April, not long after NATO marked its 75th anniversary, during a little-noticed press conference at the Alliance’s Headquarters in Brussels, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared, “if Allies face a choice between meeting NATO capability targets and providing more...

Read more »

Ukraine: Where Are We Now, and What’s At Stake?

The following conversation has been edited for clarity.  Robert Hamilton: After a delay of many months, US assistance to Ukraine is flowing again. However, Russian forces are making gains in Northeastern Ukraine, around Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv, and...

Read more »

China, Russia, and Power Transition in Central Asia

    “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this inspired in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Thucydides, 5th Century BCE   Since the days of Thucydides, scholars have written about—and policymakers have wrestled with—the dangers...

Read more »

Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law and Resulting Protests

For weeks, tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets of Tbilisi and other cities to protest their government’s attempt to pass a so-called “foreign agents law,” which they claim is intended to neutralize civil society and...

Read more »

Russia Has Opened Up a New Front. What Comes Next?

Russia Launches New Offensive in Ukraine

Russia launched a new offensive near Kharkiv, amidst continuing questions about Ukraine’s ability to mobilize enough manpower to blunt Russian advantages. FPRI President Aaron Stein sat down with Senior Fellow Rob Lee on May 13, 2024 to discuss the...

Read more »

The Baltic States Mark Two Decades of NATO Membership

Indra Ekmanis: Hello, and welcome to Baltic Ways, a podcast bringing you interviews and insights from the world of Baltic studies. I’m your host, Dr. Indra Ekmanis. And today we speak with Dr. Lucas Milevski, a tenured assistant professor...

Read more »

Government vs. the People in Georgia

In April of this year the Georgian government submitted to parliament a controversial “foreign agents law,” sparking massive anti-government demonstrations in Tbilisi. Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets protesting what has been dubbed the “Russian law,”...

Read more »

The Visegrád Four: From Troubled to Broken

Since the Foreign Policy Research Institute published “The Visegrád Four: Disunity in Central Europe” on February 23, 2024, the group of Central European nations has experienced a complete breakdown in relations. Despite efforts to display some semblance of cooperation...

Read more »

The Technological Pivot of History: Power in the Age of Exponential Innovation

Just as Halford Mackinder, in his seminal work The Geographical Pivot of History, argued that control over the Eurasian heartland held the key to global mastery, the world stands at the precipice of another pivotal shift—one driven not by...

Read more »