Section: The American Interest (USA)
Gazprom Loses Court Battle With Ukraine
Ukraine got a much-needed victory in international arbitration court this week, after the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ruled that Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz had the right to re-export Gazprom supplies. The court also shot down Gazprom’s “take-or-pay” contracts, which require customers to...
Trump’s Transactionality on Display in Brussels
It was a day full of mixed signals and tense handshakes in Brussels on Thursday. President Trump began the last leg of his world tour, making the rounds at NATO, where he failed to articulate a strong U.S. commitment to Article 5, while at the same time lecturing allies for not living up to their commitments to defense spending over the...
Award-Winning Russian Director Detained, Theater Raided
At the Cannes Film Festival this year, Russian film director Andrey Zvyagintsev’s masterpiece Loveless is getting a rapturous welcome from critics. Meanwhile in Russia, a former Cannes winner, film and theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, is being hauled off for interrogation at the Investigative Committee, after security personnel raided...
Our No-Fault Russia Policy
Looming over both Moscow’s blatant intervention in the U.S. election and the Trump Administration’s continued struggle to develop a coherent Russia policy is the simple, but persistent question: Who lost Russia? How did Russia go from a fledgling democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union to the authoritarian bully we grapple with...
Russia House (of Cards)
Hardly a week has passed since November’s election without some new media revelation about ties between Team Trump and Russia. Trump himself engaged at various times in business dealings with shady Russians. Carter Page traveled to Russia and gave a speech. Michael Flynn spoke to Russian Ambassador Kislyak and even discussed policy matters...
Through the Mist
The Mist Procession: The Autobiography of Lord VansittartHutchinson, 1958 “A sure way of seeing ahead is to look back.” A cliché, perhaps, yet coming from a memoir by Lord Robert S. Vansittart, top British diplomat and resolute anti-appeaser of Hitler, it carries a powerful message. Principal Private Secretary at Number Ten from 1928 to 1930 and...
The Macedonian Crisis is Far From Over
On the afternoon of April 27 several hundred Macedonians stormed the parliament building in downtown Skopje. Most were state employees, some wrapped in Macedonian flags, others wearing balaclavas, a small number armed with knives and handguns. They had spent their mornings driving busses or grading papers or directing traffic. One of their...
Making Diplomacy Great Again
The profession of diplomacy—which is the execution of foreign policy—is in crisis in the United States today. The rise of near peer competitors threatening the U.S.-led global security system, the disappointing results of U.S. Middle Eastern engagement—Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, even the Iran nuclear agreement—and the Trump Administration’s...
Putin’s Isolation on Display at Victory Day
Yesterday Russia celebrated its main holiday, Victory Day—the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. Victory Day has of course been celebrated since Soviet times, but upon taking power, Putin set out to revive the day’s significance, refashioning it to be a constant source of national pride for...
Putin’s Isolation on Display at Victory Day
Yesterday Russia celebrated its main holiday, Victory Day—the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. Victory Day has of course been celebrated since Soviet times, but upon taking power, Putin set out to revive the day’s significance, refashioning it to be a constant source of national pride for...
