When Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych was ousted over a helmet featuring athletes killed in Russia’s invasion forty-five minutes before his competition and just about one week into the Games, it was not the only reminder in Milano Cortina that the Olympics do not unfold in a political vacuum. Anti-ICE protests, Russian athletes again competing […]
Tag: Russia
Estonia’s Iron Lady Takes Center Stage in European Politics
At just 1.4 million people, Estonia’s entire population is smaller than the city of Paris. As a quiet, reserved country, Estonia may be unassuming, but its people are formidable. For leaders like Kaja Kallas, it is that calm, fierce, and profoundly underestimated spirit that drives her courageous leadership. Numbers are never a deciding factor when […]
Russia’s Human Assembly Line
Russia has never been busier — or more exhausted. After three years of war, the Kremlin boasts record-low unemployment and record-high labor shortages. Factories can’t find welders, farms can’t find drivers, and the defense industry is devouring what’s left of the civilian workforce. The result is an economy that runs without advancing — its motion […]
Geopolitical Tug-of-War: Moldova Decides Between an EU or Russian Future
Between Romania and Ukraine, a tiny country in Eastern Europe is choosing its path for the future in historic parliamentary elections. The neighboring war in Ukraine and the country’s own ongoing challenges mark this collective choice as especially important. The Republic of Moldova held critical parliamentary elections on Sep. 28 for all 101 seats in […]
Diplomacy as Performance in Trump’s Saudi Strategy
Unlike most U.S. presidents who traditionally make their first foreign trip to Canada or Mexico, Donald Trump broke precedent in 2017 by choosing Saudi Arabia and returning again in 2019. These visits signaled a dramatic recentering of U.S. foreign policy around Riyadh, reflecting Trump’s fascination with Saudi wealth, spectacle, and geopolitical leverage. Yet, as Saudi […]
Where is Trump leading NASA?
When the world watched Neil Armstrong take mankind’s first steps on the moon in 1969, the United States solidified its place in leading the push into the great unknown of space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in turn, not only elevated humanity’s collective knowledge but also America’s international reputation for scientific innovation. However, […]
Dismantling U.S. Economic Dominance, BRIC by BRIC
The greatest threat to the U.S. dollar isn’t a rival currency–it’s a financial system that doesn’t need one. And that’s exactly what the BRICS alliance–originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa–is trying to build. What started as a loose economic partnership has evolved into a strategic alliance bent on dismantling U.S. economic dominance. But […]
The Shadow Fleet’s Hidden Hand: Russia’s Sabotage of Underwater Infrastructure
The Cold War might be over, but the cables beneath the Baltic Sea suggest otherwise. In a world increasingly dependent on digital connections and undersea infrastructure, Russia’s maritime behavior feels less like routine navigation and more like a game of cloak-and-dagger warfare. The culprit? Russia’s elusive “shadow fleet”—a murky network of commercial-looking vessels suspected of […]
With Fear for Democracy, the World Dissents: The Authoritarian Surge
Reflecting on the historical tides of American politics, resisting Russian influence was a bipartisan imperative, with conservatives leading the charge against Soviet expansionism during the Cold War. Today, however, that dynamic has shifted, with segments of the American right increasingly willing to align themselves with the Kremlin, a development that would have once been unthinkable. […]
The Middle East’s New Great Game—and America’s Moment To Lead
History is a story of great power rivalries. In our time, the competitors are the United States, Russia, and China. As I’ve previously argued, the United States must pursue its interests pragmatically in order to retain global supremacy. However, abstract ideas and goals rarely ever translate to results. Actions are needed to bridge our vision of […]