Russia

Moldova and Ukraine: Diverging Neighbors?

To a casual observer, Moldova and Ukraine appear quite similar with their common Soviet histories, heavily corrupt domestic politics, and a frozen conflict on their eastern borders. However, while Ukraine remains entrapped in a war with Russia over eastern...

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Frozen Conflicts Put Solutions on Ice

With the U.S. presidential elections and flurry of executive orders coming from the Trump administration, many seem to have forgotten about the protracted conflicts in Eastern Europe. This is the nature of frozen conflicts. They continue simmering even as...

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Trumping Up Baltic Foreign and Security Policies

The Baltic states appear to be underestimating President Donald Trump, just as others have before. Baltic elites should use caution when dealing with Trump’s America. The elite in America underestimated Trump’s ability to win and underestimate his ability to...

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Darker Shades of Gray: Why Gray Zone Conflicts Will Become More Frequent and Complex

The United States has long fielded the world’s most capable armed forces. It spends more on its military than the next nine nations combined, of which five are U.S. treaty allies. It fields more active-duty military personnel than...

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Are the Baltic States Really Indefensible?

KyivPost One of the great canards of our time is that the Baltic states are indefensible. Although the reasons for making this argument are rarely spelled out, they revolve around the presumption that Russia not only enjoys local conventional...

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The Strategic Suicide of Aligning With Russia in Syria

Foreign Policy Donald Trump wants to make a partner of Russia in Syria. One of Trump’s most consistently expressed foreign policy ideas, both during the campaign and now since his election, is that the United States and Russia are...

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Crimea and the Art of Non-Recognition: A Baltic Analogy

Throughout his campaign, transition, and brief tenure in the White House, President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to repair ties with Vladimir Putin and Russia. One potential requirement for a “reset” may involve recognition of...

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Bulgaria’s Presidential Election: Uncertainty Looms

Bulgaria is a parliamentary representative republic, in which the president, elected by Bulgarian citizens, serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The President of Bulgaria is also responsible for determining and implementing the country’s...

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What Does Russia Want From President Trump?

As the Trump administration begins to formulate its policies, it is clear that both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin want to improve ties between Moscow and Washington. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev correctly described U.S.-Russia relations as having hit...

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What Will Shape the Caucasus in 2017?

This month marks the launch of the Caucasus Cable, a new publication series from the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The publication is designed to provide in-depth analysis of countries that only occasionally make it into...

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