Umut Korkut, Glasgow Caledonian University Having held power continuously since 2010, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is the longest serving prime minister in Europe. Now, as the dust settles on the latest election, he is beginning yet another four-year term. Orbán faced down a challenge from a six party-strong opposition during the election campaign to
The Russian leader’s dreams of imperial conquest have shocked the West – but on this side of Europe, we have long memories – and know what vengeful dictators are capable of. The day that Russia invaded Ukraine I was teaching my class: “Tales of political dystopia: storytelling after the Berlin Wall”. That’s a
Historic ties, military equipment, geopolitical imperatives and a trust deficit between Indian and American ruling parties lie behind India’s UN abstentions. On February 26, the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution proposed by the United States. Of the 15 members of the Security Council, 11 voted in favor and Russia unsurprisingly
Con il conflitto russo-ucraino si accendono preoccupazioni per un’altra questione territoriale, quella di Taiwan, negli ultimi tempi al centro di discussioni nei delicati rapporti tra Cina e Stati Uniti d’America. Ospite di questo appuntamento con Bruno Carenini, nella sua rubrica Windows Interview, è il giornalista Lorenzo Lamperti, Direttore editoriale di China Files, curatore
The McDonald’s flagship restaurant at Pushkinskaya Square – the first one of the chain, opened in the USSR on Jan. 31, 1990 – in central Moscow on March 13, 2022, McDonald’s last day in Russia. AFP via Getty Images Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Colorado State University and Evgeniya Pyatovskaya, University of South Florida While Russia
There are lots of official photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin shirtless, including this one from August 2017.Alexey Nikolsky/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images Maurizio Valsania, Università di Torino President Vladimir Putin of Russia loves shows of machismo. He constantly pumps up his swagger. He is wont to disparage women. And he has repeatedly appeared
Two men speak in the backyard of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda Valerie Morkevicius, Colgate University War is always a tragedy. It sometimes seems inevitable. But is it ever justified? Philosophers, theologians, politicians and military leaders have wrestled with
Frank Ledwidge, University of Portsmouth Ukraine’s ramshackle military offered no resistance to the Crimean annexation in February 2014. Since then the poorly equipped but well-motivated Ukrainian Army has taken thousands of casualties while fighting separatist forces in the eastern Donbas region. In the meantime, the country has embarked on an often haphazard reform
Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has overstepped an important line. The west sat by and did little when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 and annexed Crimea in 2014. But the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that is currently underway is impossible to ignore. Putin’s actions and
The Russian and Ukrainian governments both blamed forces aligned with the other for mortar fire in eastern Ukraine and for using the accusations as justification for increased aggression. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda Scott Radnitz, University of Washington In the past few weeks, U.S. officials have warned several times that Russia plans to create the