In The News

The Guardian: Report Says Foreign States May Have Interfered in Brexit Vote

Rajeev Syal April 12, 2017
A British parliamentary committee report suggests that “Foreign governments such as Russia and China may have been involved in the collapse of a voter registration website in the run-up to the EU referendum,” Rajeev Syal reports for the Guardian and describes a denial-of-services attack. “The committee does not identify who may have been responsible, but has noted that both Russia and China use...

BBC News: G7 Seeks United Front on Assad, Russia and Syria War

April 10, 2017
G7 leaders want to unite around a strategy for ending civil war in Syria while convincing Russia to abandon support for President Bashar al-Assad. “Allies will also be seeking clarity from the US on its Syria policy, after some apparently mixed messages,” notes a BBC report. US officials continue to offer divided assessments on Assad’s future, even after air strikes on an air base in retaliation...

Spiegel Online: Alexei Navalny Shakes Up a Slumbering Russia

Christian Esch April 5, 2017
Russia’s young are no longer staying quiet about the country’s corruption. “A singular wave of protests hit 82 cities across the land on Sunday, March 26, from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg, as people took to the streets to protest corruption,” reports Christian Esch for Spiegel Online. He goes on to describe angry confrontations between police and crowds. The Russian legal system is harsh on...

France-Amérique: NATO and the Trump Enigma

Guy Sorman April 3, 2017
French diplomats and pundits admit to confusion over US President Donald Trump's goals and opinions about NATO. An essay goes on to pose multiple questions and suggests that longstanding US allies such as France do not expect clear answers, with analysts wondering whether Trump deliberately presents two stances, one specifically for his followers and another for the world at large. “No...

Financial Times: Brexiters Must Lose if Brexit Is to Succeed

Martin Wolf March 30, 2017
The British government officially notified the EU of its intention to leave – an admission that a prominent and pragmatic member could not influence the larger governing structure or find agreement with other European members. The decision is a tragedy for both sides “Even if the exit negotiations go well,” explains Martin Wolf for the Financial Times. “Economically, [the UK] will lose favourable...

Foreign Policy: Erdoğan’s International Network of Muslim Cleric Spies

Paul Hockenos March 29, 2017
A diplomatic incident involving Germany and the Netherlands on one side and Turkey on the other revealed deep fault lines between Turkish immigrants and the nations where they reside. Members of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, or AKP, wanted to campaign in the two countries for a constitutional referendum transforming Turkey’s parliamentary system into a...

The Atlantic: Would-Be Coalition of Christian Traditionalists

Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Brittany Pheiffer Noble March 28, 2017
Supporters of secularism criticize government leaders who prioritize personal religious beliefs over government policies. In 2014, Steve Bannon, now chief strategist in the White House, urged cross-border religious partnerships in opposing Islamic extremism. Religious traditionalists also join forces to battle for other causes including opposition to marriage equality or women’s reproductive...