Articles and Commentary - New Eastern Europe - A bimonthly news magazine dedicated to Central and Eastern European affairs

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Category: Articles and Commentary

Belarus. Who will win?

President Lukashenka is facing the biggest challenge of his rule. This time the dissent started long before the elections with additional participation of the Belarusian elites and periphery.

July 2, 2020 - Vitali Shkliarov

E-voting: securing the franchise Estonian-style

Could e-voting be the answer to the challenges brought on by the pandemic and foreign interference in elections? Estonia with its approach to digital solutions could provide a useful blueprint.

July 1, 2020 - Samuel Kramer

Gone with the virus. How the pandemic makes Russian strategy evanescent

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in three major blows to the Kremlin’s international strategy, thus making it adjust to much less favourable circumstances than when Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea and disrupted relations with the West.

July 1, 2020 - Andrey Makarychev

Poland readies for a second round of a presidential election

After a highly contested first round, candidates Andrzej Duda and Rafał Trzaskowski will go head-to-head on July 12th for the presidency.

June 30, 2020 - Daniel Gleichgewicht

Georgia moves closer to Europe or just away from authoritarianism?

The reforms of Georgia's electoral system are entering a crucial phase as they have to be completed no later than six months before the elections.

June 29, 2020 - Krassen Stanchev

Belarusian spring? What we know about Belarusian society

Self-organisation, solidarity and politicisation – these are so far the three key words of the Belarusian Spring of 2020.

June 24, 2020 - Olga Dryndova

Occupied Crimea faces a critical water shortage

The lack of a clean water supply is worsening the humanitarian situation on the Crimean peninsula. Russia is increasingly blaming Ukraine for the problem as part of its overall attempts to lift sanctions.

June 23, 2020 - Maksym Skrypchenko

Trying to assess Zelenskyy’s values

Not much was known about Volodymyr Zelenskyy's values before his sudden rise to the presidency of Ukraine. A year later they have become easier to pinpoint thanks to his political choices.

June 22, 2020 - Valerii Pekar

Calling for a quality public discourse in Armenia

Public discourse in Armenia today remains beset with problems and the behaviour of the authorities is hardly a role model. If the government does not commit to improving the quality of discourse and its own behaviour, the country may be faced with a long-term challenge affecting other areas of public life.

June 18, 2020 - Valentina Gevorgyan

Generation war: Russia’s militarised children

Through propaganda, special training and a systematic educational approach, young Russians are becoming part of the Russian government’s offensive policy.

June 16, 2020 - Oleksandr Kraiev

Belarus presidential election 2020: (un)obvious choices

The surprisingly calm start to the presidential election campaign in Belarus featured the gathering of signatures in public. Within a few weeks police provocations and arrests have forced the candidates to adapt.

June 15, 2020 - Maxim Rust Yahor Azarkevich

Kyiv should stay out of US politics

It was and remains an imperative that Ukraine has a stable relationship with the United States. The deterioration of American support might seriously undermine Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russian pressure.

June 10, 2020 - Volodymyr Dubovyk

Partners

Issue 1-2/2020: Bound to Explode?

Uncertainty, volatility and the relationship between Russia and the West.

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Issue 6/2019: New (Old) Faces?

A true makeover or cosmetic change?

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Issue 5 2019: The Black Sea region

The Black Sea region is quickly becoming a geopolitical battleground which is gaining the interest of major powers, regional players and smaller countries – and the stakes are only getting higher.

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Issue 3-4/2019: Eastern Partnership turns 10

This issue is dedicated to the 10 year anniversary of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership as well as the 30 years since the 1989 revolutions in Central Europe.

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Issue 2 2019: Postmodern Geopolitics

The consequences of the emerging multipolar world.

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Issue 1 2019: Public intellecturals

This issue takes a special look at the role and responsibility of the public intellectual in Central and Eastern Europe today.

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Issue 6/2018: 1918. The year of independence

In the eastern parts of the European continent, 1918 is remembered not only as the end of the First World War, but also saw the emergence of newly-independent states and the rise of geopolitical struggles which are felt until this day.

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Issue 5/2018: What's new with Belarus?

It often seems, at least from the outside, that Belarus remains isolated from the West and very static in its transformation. Yet, despite its relative isolation, Belarus is indeed changing.

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Issue 3-4/2018: Para-states. Life beyond geopolitics

The Summer 2018 issue of New Eastern Europe tackles the complexity of para-states in the post-Soviet space.

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Issue 2/2018: The many faces of Putin

Vladimir Putin is set to win a fourth term as president of the Russian Federation. The March-April 2018 issue takes a deeper look at the consequences of Putin’s presidency and what could eventually come after…

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Issue 1/2018: The growing generation gap

The first issue of 2018 looks at the rise of a new generation in the post-Soivet space – one that may be radically different than previous Soviet and immediate post-Soviet generations.

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Issue 6 2017: Central Asia. The forgotten region?

Central Asia is an ethnically, geographically and culturally diverse region, covering a similar land mass as the European Union. Yet, it remains one of the least familiar to the general public in the West.

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Issue 5 2017: Homo Post-Sovieticus

We cannot deny there is something idiosyncratic about the former Soviet bloc which links its societies together. Either through common experience or history (or both).

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Issue 3-4 2017: The Balkan Carousel

“The price of Europeanising the Balkans is much higher than the price of the Balkanisation of Europe,” claims Zagreb-based writer Miljenko Jergović in the opening essay to this issue of New Eastern Europe.

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