Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Belarus’s anti-Kremlin Tilt: Why Europe’s Last Dictatorship is Drifting Away from Russia
On January 1, 2016, Ukraine acceded to the trade-related provisions of its association agreement with the European Union, ratified by President Petro Poroshenko in June 2014. Ukraine’s entry into Europe’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) was met with scathing opposition from the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin signed a decree...
Belarus’s anti-Kremlin Tilt: Why Europe’s Last Dictatorship is Drifting Away from Russia
On January 1, 2016, Ukraine acceded to the trade-related provisions of its association agreement with the European Union, ratified by President Petro Poroshenko in June 2014. Ukraine’s entry into Europe’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) was met with scathing opposition from the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin signed a decree...
Russia’s Litvinenko Is Just One Of Many Silenced Kremlin Critics
While a report by a British judge found that Russian president Vladimir Putin probably approved of the Russian security service’s plan to kill Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer turned Kremlin critic, justice remains far for many other dead, disappeared or jailed Putin critics. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 56...
Russia’s Litvinenko Is Just One Of Many Silenced Kremlin Critics
While a report by a British judge found that Russian president Vladimir Putin probably approved of the Russian security service’s plan to kill Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB officer turned Kremlin critic, justice remains far for many other dead, disappeared or jailed Putin critics. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 56...
5 Ways Social Media Is Changing “Business As Usual” for Governments
Social media is changing “business as usual” for governments, opening up democratic processes, delivering services both to understand and surveil constituents, managing threats and conducting direct diplomacy. Even so, adoption of social media is slow and uneven, with vast differences both between and within states. As more and more...
China Syndrome Tops Davos Agenda This Week
Too bad Donald Trump isn’t going to deliver a keynote at next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos. But the Americans have been less keen on Davos for years. Barack Obama has never attended (and Democratic front runner Bernie Sanders wouldn’t be caught dead at Davos) because, frankly, a head of state hanging out with...
Climate Adaptation Is Key to Managing Interconnected Global Risks
The consequences of climate change are causing growing concern among global leaders as they intersect with a large number of interconnected global risks.The Global Risks Report 2016, published by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group and other leading institutions, found that while geopolitical risk such as...
What Has the US Leading the World from Behind Achieved?
The last State of the Union address of the 44th US President Barack Hussein Obama was lackluster compared to the global hype that accompanied his election to the White House 7 years ago. Obama today seems crushed, admitting that the US has become more skeptical, divided and begrudged under his tenure, and expressing regret for failing to bring...
Is 2016 the Canary in the Coal Mine of Global Risks?
Recent months have seen many unexpected manifestations of global risks that the Global Risks Report has been warning about over the past years. A number of seemingly disparate events make us think that a wide range of global risks are looming larger on the radar screen than ever before. Have we reached a new level of risk? On New Year’s...
Turkey and Central Asia, a Slow-burn Story to Watch
Turkey has been much in the news lately, most recently with the suicide bombing at the very heart of Istanbul. Its relation with Syria, Islamic State, Europe, and Russia has properly been the focus of attention in past months. But even in times of crisis, an observer needs to keep longer stories and trends also in view. One slower-burn story...
