Reports

Thanks to vast oil and gas resources, Azerbaijan’s regime has been able to keep a tight lid on the opposition while increasing its influence in the South Caucasus in recent decades. However, the shock in oil prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic comes at a time of political instability. Recent ...

Two years ago, a citizens’ movement led to the ouster of Armenia’s president sparking hopes for sturdier democratic institutions and even a turn toward the West. The new leadership, however, has thrown cold water on those aspirations, taking an ever-more authoritarian path and maintaining the country’s heavy dependence on Moscow.

The coronavirus crisis has had a profound effect on Europe, not only bringing changes that no one thought possible just months ago but deepening divisions and intensifying acrimony between EU countries. With these ruptures laid bare, the bloc again faces an existential crisis. It should survive for now, but a ...

Worrisome trends have emerged during the eight-year rule of the Georgian Dream party. Unless the opposition manages to form a coalition in the upcoming October elections, Georgia faces further democratic backsliding and an increasingly corrupt judiciary system – potentially leading to weaker ties with the European Union and closer relations ...

For years, corruption has been one of the biggest hurdles holding Romania’s progress back. Recently, however, several developments indicate the country may be headed in the right direction: corrupt leaders have been jailed, a referendum limiting moves to undermine the rule of law passed overwhelmingly, and the new, transitional government ...

Estonia is one of Europe’s star performers in terms of economic growth and development, technological advancement, freedom and education. It faces three big dilemmas: defensive vulnerability, the non-integration of its Russian minority and rising nationalism. Yet the country seems well-placed to meet all three of these challenges.

At the peak of the European migrant crisis, Germany and Sweden took what they considered “moral leadership” in welcoming refugees. Wedged in between its two morals-driven neighbors, Denmark made it abundantly clear that refugees were not welcome. The Danish example may serve as a crucial reminder to other European nations ...

Sweden may be nearing a political realignment of historic proportions. The mainstay, center-left Social Democrats can no longer deny that public safety problems stemming from mismanaged immigration are real or ignore the alarming erosion in the quality of education, healthcare and social security systems. The future of the party’s alliance ...

The Eastern Partnership has lacked a strategy since its creation in 2009. Designed to promote European values in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the project has done little to reduce poverty and corruption in participating countries. Furthermore, the latter have often found themselves struggling to balance allegiances to ...

Sweden’s defense budget is to grow by about one third in the next three years, as the country reverses its decades-long policies and aims to rebuild its once impressive territorial defense capabilities. The plan hardly surprises in today’s neo-Cold War context, but given the scope and nature of the challenges ...

Russian ambitions to bypass Ukraine’s gas infrastructure are obviously rooted in political motives, yet Germany insists on backing the project. By doing so, it could reap the economic benefits of becoming a European hub for Russian gas imports, but serious conflicts over the matter are likely to arise within the ...

With its vast expanses, its undeveloped areas and its need to connect east and west, one might think Russia would have ample incentive to develop a world-class rail system. But that has not happened, even after it agreed to work with China on an ambitious Moscow-to-Beijing rail project. Bureaucracy, corruption ...

An unexpected alliance between Russia, the United States and the European Union helped broker a political breakthrough in Moldova – sending corrupt local oligarchs packing. There is no reason to discount the latest developments in Chisinau, which could prove a new dawn for Europe’s poorest country. Yet the West has ...

Detaching and protecting a part of the territory of a weaker state has become a surrogate for traditional armed conflict, played with open cards. As amply demonstrated in the cases of Ukraine, Cyprus, Serbia, Georgia or Moldova, pseudo-state entities emerging in such detachments have considerable staying power, even though they ...

For two decades, oil and gas have been the focus of Russia’s economy. While fossil fuels will retain a key role for the foreseeable future, agriculture is booming and quickly gaining prominence. The Kremlin is touting grain exports as a path for the country to regain superpower status. A close ...

As relations with the West continue to deteriorate, Russia has tried to build a future in which it does not belong to Europe — by looking to Asia. But economic weaknesses, an alienating foreign policy and the rise of China have stunted Russia's pivot to Asia. A reset with Europeans, ...

For over a century, Central Asian countries have been considered theaters for great power competition, not players on the geopolitical chessboard in their own right. That may be about to change, as these nations begin to resolve their many differences and cooperate to pool their strength. They have much to ...

Since President Donald Trump reestablished the U.S. military’s Space Command, plenty of ink has been spilled on the potential for space-based weapons. While satellites are playing a larger role, the battle for dominance in space will remain earthbound for the long term. The question is whether the U.S., China and ...

The evident stalemate in Ukraine is as much in Western policymakers’ heads as on the Donbas battlefront. Since the European Union has framed the conflict in moral terms that do not allow it to admit failure, it must maintain the pretense of success – giving Russia and Ukraine ample leeway ...

The Central Asian rollout of China’s infrastructure construction program, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has become a boon to Kyrgyzstan. There are big plans for the future, but also troubles on the horizon. Mounting anger over China’s predatory practices as a lender and investor, and concern for the abused ...

Long neglected by all but devoted regional specialists, Turkmenistan has recently begun to matter in international politics. The reason is a sharp drop in energy prices, which has turned the gas-rich country into an economic basket case, and the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. Both developments have Russian and Chinese ...

Russia’s special forces have gained prominence and valuable combat experience in recent years playing crucial roles in Crimea and Syria. Now they are training to engage their NATO counterparts. As a result, Western militaries have been forced to change the way they approach this threat. Though Russian special forces are ...

The rise of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to power in Uzbekistan has brought with it economic reform and billions of dollars in new investment. The country desperately needs foreign partners, both to diversify its economy and strengthen its military. China and Russia, respectively, have stepped in to play these roles. At ...

The Strategic Rocket Forces branch of Russia’s military is getting upgrades for its missiles and improved methods for delivering them. Moscow’s key goal is to maintain the ability to “escalate to deescalate” – likely with nuclear weapons – in case of any confrontation with NATO. With Cold War arms control ...