In April 2014, Russia began a covert armed invasion of the Ukrainian Donets Basin. However, many politi­cians, jour­nal­ists and even some academics still follow the Russian propa­ganda narrative of an alleged “civil war” in eastern Ukraine at the time. An analysis by Julia Kazdobina, Jakob Hedenskog and Andreas Umland.

As Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, the question about the efficacy of sanctions is more pressing than ever: Have they been effective and what more can be done? Maria Shagina argues that it is best to focus on the Russian energy sector.

Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, Russian propa­ganda in the West and in Germany has taken on a different dimension. It is aimed at under­mining Western democracy, stirring up fear and weakening support for Ukraine. An article by Khatia Kikalishvili for GEOpolitics.

Russia is unlikely to disin­te­grate soon, but its current lead­er­ship can no longer guarantee stability. The war against Ukraine and the Wagner mutiny have shown that Putin’s regime is both...

The failed Wagner rebellion has dras­ti­cally revealed the weakness of the Putin regime. Supporting Ukraine is now the West’s most effective lever to promote political change in Russia, argue Maria...

The geostrategic potential of the Black Sea region has often been over­looked. Natalia Stercul analyses why this is changing in the face of the war, what economic perspec­tives are open to the EU and what part the Republic of Moldova plays in this.

The West must consis­tently punish sanction viola­tions, lower the price ceiling for Russian oil and make itself inde­pen­dent of the Russian nuclear industry — Sergiy Petukhov on the effect and future of sanctions against Russia.

Lukaschenka präsen­tiert sich seinem Volk als Garant des Friedens, sein Regime scheint gefestigt – solange Russland den Krieg in der Ukraine nicht verliert. 

Russia’s war against Ukraine has upended not just relations with the West but is testing the inter­na­tional system as a whole. The urgent need for new thinking has prompted the Center of Liberal Modernity to set up its Expert Network Russia, which met in Vilnius under the headline “Rethinking Russia” for the first time on 31 October.

Half a year after the start of the large-scale Russian invasion, the West should continue to support Ukraine with further arms deliveries.

The Tehran-Moscow axis seems threat­ening, but it was born out of necessity and does not change much for Israel and the Middle East. However, the Russia-Israel rela­tion­ship has already deteriorated...

In Sri Lanka, demon­stra­tors have taken over the pres­i­den­tial palace, partly because the prices of wheat and petrol have risen immea­sur­ably as a result of the war in Ukraine. Russia is...

EU research has shown that a credible member­ship perspec­tive is an effective means of anchoring liberal democracy from the outside. That is why Ukraine must now be granted candidate status.

Just a day after the first videos of the Bucha massacre were posted to social media, on 3 April 2022, Hungary’s FIDESZ-Christian Demo­c­ratic alliance won its fourth consec­u­tive landslide victory with 54,10%,...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reaching a perilous stage. The West needs to step up efforts to make Putin’s war unwinnable. Conces­sions will only prolong his regime and increase Moscow’s appetite...

Moldova, a country in the heart of Europe, its current lead­er­ship and first and foremost its people, opened not only its borders but also their homes for the suffering neigh­bours. The...

Military expert Gustav C. Gressel on the war in Ukraine: The outcome will depend in part on whether the West supplies Ukraine with the weapons it needs. It is also...

By waging a war against Ukraine, Putin has badly miscal­cu­lated. The Russian leader has become victim of his own propa­gan­distic visions and failed to antic­i­pate the Western respo­nse, writes Vladislav Inozemtsev.

French election campaigns are usually desper­ately navel-gazing. Foreign policy issues are all but absent from the debate. And even in ‘ordinary’ times, all main­stream evening news programmes consider inter­na­tional news...

After failing to agree on exclusive spheres of influence in Europe with the Trump admin­is­tra­tion, the Kremlin is chal­lenging Washington’s ability to keep unity among Euro-Atlantic allies and protect European...

How should the West counter Russian threats of war? We document Ralf Fücks’ OP ED at DIE WELT, 21.12.2021.

This Wednesday, the Eastern Part­ner­ship Summit will take place for the first time in four years. On this occasion, Iryna Solonenko, Senior Fellow at the Center for Liberal Modernity, sheds...

As 2021 draws to a close, we look back on this year’s important events. Among them is the Crimea Platform, which was launched in August at Ukraine’s initia­tive to shore up...

The political crisis in Georgia continues after the municipal runoff elections. The close election result exac­er­bates the polar­iza­tion between the supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition...

When Angela Merkel took office as German Chan­cellor in 2005, she was better prepared for the chal­lenges on the EU’s eastern border than any other West European head of government....

The reactions in Ukraine to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recent visit to the United States vary widely and are often politi­cized. They range from state­ments that the visit lifted relations to...

A year ago protests began against electoral fraud in Belarus. Dictator Lukashenko responded with a wave of harsh state violence, which led to the country being further isolated and sanc­tioned internationally....

The impact of the Biden-Merkel-Agreement on Nord Stream 2 in Ukraine is simply disas­trous. Espe­cially among western oriented, reform-minded people trust in Germany and the US fell at a record low. China...

In this analyses Dmytro Shulga argues for the EU and specif­i­cally Germany to consider it’s own strategic gains in offering Ukraine a way to full EU member­ship over an extended amount...

The recent visit of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Kyiv has generated some interest in Ukraine and beyond. This face-to-face meeting was a good oppor­tu­nity for the United...

The protests in Belarus in 2020 did not lead to a change in gov­ern­ment. But Lukashenko’s chosen way of brutal suppres­sion will not gain him any popular support — and is...

In late March 2021 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revoked a decree made by runaway president Viktor Yanukovych appointing Oleksandr Tupytsky and Oleksandr Kasminin to the Consti­tu­tional Court. This raised eyebrows in...

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is facing protests and requests to resign after Armenia lost the war with Azer­baijan for Nagorno Karabakh. Richard Giragosian, Director of the inde­pen­dent Think­tanks Regional...

While violence thrives in silence, it has no chance to persist if brought to public attention. Inter­na­tional attention and support to the people in Belarus are now more crucial than...

A four-month stand-off between Belaru­sian strongman Alexander Lukashenko and the pro-demo­c­ratic protesters posed a serious challenge for the EU. The block that had announced its ambition to become a geopo­lit­ical actor, has...

In Germany, a majority favour closer ties with Russia despite new autho­ri­anism under Putin, military aggres­sion against Ukraine and bombing in Syria. Where does the desire for a special rela­tion­ship with Russia...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of arti­cles about the three EU asso­ci­a­ted states. The authors from the region (Mikheil Benidze, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Victor Gotisan)...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of arti­cles about the three EU asso­ci­a­tion states. The authors from the region (Mikheil Benidze, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Victor Gotisan)...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of arti­cles about the three EU asso­ci­a­tion states. The authors from the region (Mikheil Benidze, Volodymyr Yermolenko, Victor Gotisan)...

Ahead to the Past – The World in the Mind of Putin Эту статью можно читать и на русском

Tradi­tional oppo­si­tion parties and movements has long seized to be a polit­i­cally mean­ingful force in Belarus. It is time for Western decision-makers to finally admit this unpleasant reality and shift its...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of articles about the three EU asso­ci­a­tion states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova). Three authors from the region (Veronika Movchan, Irina...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of articles about the three EU asso­ci­a­tion states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova). Three authors from the region (Veronika Movchan, Irina...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship 2.0” we publish a series of articles about the three EU asso­ci­a­tion states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova). Three authors from the region (Veronika Movchan, Irina...

For decades, Sinol­o­gists who were largely blind to China’s expansive power politics have dominated Germany’s political advice circles, culti­vating an image of China that our author calls “Late Orien­talism”. Shaped...

A summary of the elections in Bavaria, one of the major German states with more then 9 million voters.

Sandra Detzer und Sebastian Schaffer of the German Greens travel to Sweden where the right-wing-populist “Sweden Democrats” could win the election in September. But where danger is, rescue also grows:...

During the election campaign, appealing to people’s anger and demo­nizing the opponents is the most common strategy. Political programs hardly matter. The political landscape is highly frag­mented. In election polls,...

Karen Horn reminds us of forgotten, pioneering thinkers on liberty and high­lights the necessary contra­dic­tion within which a modern liber­alism exists: the tension between limiting state influence and recog­nizing that influence...