Did the Fall of the Berlin Wall Produce Trump?

Posted by on Dec 5, 2019 in Featured, Russia and Eastern Europe, Uncategorized | 0 comments The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago. It was one of the few unambiguously joyous moments in modern history. This popular, nonviolent explosion of dissent effectively toppled East Germany’s despotic regime. And it signaled, if only symbolically, the end of the Cold War that had divided Europe for nearly half a century. Thirty years later, a united Germany remains far and away the largest economy in...
read more

Trump’s Fantasy Ukraine

Posted by on Dec 5, 2019 in Articles, Featured, Russia and Eastern Europe | 0 comments In fantasy sports, participants draft their own dream teams out of the rosters of existing players. That’s what Donald Trump has done with Ukraine. He and his advisors have created a fantasy team involving a number of key players, including the Ukrainian president, the former U.S. ambassador, and the former vice president’s son. Then they’ve created a fictitious narrative that brings these...
read more

Trump’s Undeclared State of Emergency

Posted by on Oct 24, 2019 in Articles, China, Featured, Russia and Eastern Europe | 0 comments Trump’s public appeal to China last week to help with uncovering dirt on the Biden family was both a brazen flouting of the law and (it pains me to say) an astute political tactic. “China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine,” Trump announced to reporters only moments after saying, about trade talks...
read more

The New Age of Protest

Posted by on Oct 5, 2019 in Articles, China, Featured, Russia and Eastern Europe | 1 comment Led by young people, climate strikers blocked traffic on two mornings at the end of last month in Washington, DC. On the first day, protestors chained themselves to a boat three blocks from the White House, and 32 activists were arrested. On the second day, activists targeted the EPA and Trump International Hotel. It was a not-so-subtle suggestion to commuters stuck in their cars on those...
read more

Democracy Desperately Need a Reboot

Posted by on Aug 27, 2019 in Articles, Featured, Human Rights, Russia and Eastern Europe | 0 comments If you’re a supporter of Donald Trump — or Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil or Matteo Salvini in Italy — you probably think that democracy has never been in better health. Recent elections in these countries didn’t just serve to rotate the elite from the conventional parties. Voters went to the polls and elected outsiders who promised to transform their political systems. That demonstrates that...
read more

Russia and the Future of Europe

Posted by on Aug 27, 2019 in Articles, Featured, Russia and Eastern Europe | 0 comments Europe is gearing up for much-anticipated elections this week to the European parliament. Austria, however, now has to deal with a very unexpected snap election — thanks to a drunk politician, a Russian honeypot, and a leaked video. This scandal currently rocking Austria may ultimately play a decisive role in the European elections as well. Heinz-Christian Strache was once the ambitious,...
read more