After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, governments in the former Soviet Union were immediately forced to deal with difficult geopolitical realities. In this report for the ELN, YGLN member Daniel Shapiro uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to show there is increased heterogeneity in geopolitical positioning among post-Soviet states and offers key lessons from this for Western policymakers.
Ahead of the NATO Summit, five members of the ELN’s senior network share their views and analysis
The EU, the UK and the US should come out in support of fundamental freedoms and human rights in Belarus. Doing so would mean not only staying true to their own values, but could help avoid European security being compromised by another protracted conflict on the EU’s frontier.
In the first episode of the East-West Coffee Shop podcast, European Leadership Network (ELN) Policy Fellow Ben Challis sits down with Yauheni Preiherman and Katia Glod to discuss the developing situation in Belarus following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been described as the last dictator in Europe.
As Belarus heads into its most turbulent elections in decades on 9th August, Ben Challis warns that there is an urgent need to avoid a dangerous competition for influence there between Russia and the West.
Deteriorating relations between Russia and NATO and the increasing capacity for rapid deployment and concentration of forces increases instability and the risk of military escalation, namely in the Baltic region. Against this background, the countries concerned could be interested in a conventional arms control regime that helps to prevent destabilising build-ups of forces and to enhance maritime security.