Section: The American Interest (USA)
Betraying Magnitsky
Last week, an official British inquiry concluded that the 2006 murder of the exiled Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko by polonium poisoning was ordered by the head of the FSB, “probably” with the approval of President Vladimir Putin. Despite the dramatic accusation, the report, by Sir Robert Owen, added little to what was already known—that a...
China Plays In Russia’s Backyard
With Kazakhstan expecting its first recession since 1998, the president has called for early parliamentary elections in the hopes that he can reaffirm the government’s mandate before things deteriorate too much. Kazakhstan is important to keep an eye on because, behind the domestic headlines, the country is fast becoming a battleground for...
The Eight Great Powers of 2016: Iran Joins the Club
Overall, 2015 was a year in which most of the great powers saw their ability to control events beyond and sometimes within their boundaries decline. With the exception of Iran, which gained strength during the year thanks to its diplomatic successes and the consequences of Russian intervention in Syria, 2015 was a year in which policy missteps...
Europe Commits to U.S. Shale Gas
America is now exporting our glut of shale gas, and despite some shaky market conditions we’re finding European buyers keen on importing these new LNG supplies. The WSJ reports: On a gross basis, [European imports of American LNG] don’t make much sense. One key European gas price, known as NBP, was Monday trading at about $4.25 per...
How the West Misjudged Russia, Part 3: Shades of Pragmatism
Editor’s Note: How do Russia and the West see one another? What are the experts’ views on the confrontation between Russia and the West? How do the pundits explain the Russo-Ukrainian war and Russia’s Syrian gambit? What are the roots of the mythology about Russia in the West, and why has the West failed to predict and...
Under the Long Shadow of the Holocaust
Two significant statements about the relations between Jews and Christians were published toward the end of 2015; both were widely reported by both religious and general media. On December 3, 2015, the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding, an Orthodox institution located in Efrat, Israel, published a statement on the relation between the two...
How the West Misjudged Russia, Part 2: The Pragmatists
Editor’s Note: How do Russia and the West see one another? What are the experts’ views on the confrontation between Russia and the West? How do the pundits explain the Russo-Ukrainian war and Russia’s Syrian gambit? What are the roots of the mythology about Russia in the West, and why has the West failed to predict and...
Gazprom’s Spinning Wheels
Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom has seen its market value drop by nearly 90 percent over the past six years, and it has itself to blame. As the FT reports, Gazprom’s decision (twice) to turn off gas to Ukraine in recent winters has pushed Europe into seeking ways to blunt Putin’s energy weapon: The cut-offs...
The Kremlin’s Western Lawyers
In Syria, as in Ukraine and Georgia before, Russia is using warfare to achieve its goals, operating through brute force and fear. In the West, it uses lawfare, exploiting the rule of law to launch politically motivated cases that are factually or legally meritless in order to terrorize individuals in the Kremlin’s sights.Over the past 16...
We Still Need NATO
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, critics have questioned U.S. membership in and support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They have argued that NATO successfully accomplished its original Cold War mission and thus is no longer needed. The charge that NATO is obsolete, however, overlooks the fundamental importance to U.S....
