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Mitchell A. Orenstein

Mitchell A. Orenstein

12 commentaries

Mitchell A. Orenstein, Professor of Russian and East European Studies and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of The Lands in Between: Russia vs. the West and the New Politics of Hybrid War (Oxford University Press, 2019.

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  1. Why Orbán Won Again
    szikra2_FERENC ISZAAFP via Getty Images_orban voting FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Orbán Won Again

    Apr 5, 2022 Dorottya Szikra & Mitchell A. Orenstein say that Hungary’s strongman can rely on more than media control and a rigged electoral system.

  2. Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?
    ghodsee3_NIKOLAY DOYCHINOVAFP via Getty Images_bulgairavaccineprotest Nikolay Doychinov/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?

    Nov 8, 2021 Kristen Ghodsee & Mitchell A. Orenstein argue that low inoculation rates reflect not the legacy of communism, but rather the legacy of its collapse.

  3. Will Women Overthrow Europe’s Last Dictator?
    orenstein9_Natalia FedosenkoTASS via Getty Images_belaruselectiontsikhanouskaya Natalia Fedosenko/TASS via Getty Images

    Will Women Overthrow Europe’s Last Dictator?

    Aug 4, 2020 Mitchell A. Orenstein & Valery Yakubovich ask whether Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus’s first and only president since 1994, has finally met his match.

  4. Revolutions for Whom?
    ghodsee2_Spencer PlattGetty Images_romaniapovertydadchild Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Revolutions for Whom?

    Nov 1, 2019 Kristen Ghodsee & Mitchell A. Orenstein note that in many post-communist countries, GDP per capita remains below its level 30 years ago.

  5. The Russians Are Coming
    op_orenstein_2_GettyImages490751590 Getty Images

    The Russians Are Coming

    May 24, 2019 Mitchell A. Orenstein reviews three recent books on the origins and conduct of the Kremlin’s political war against the West.

  1. berglof40_Geoff RobinsGettyImages_trade_tariffs_cars Geoff Robins/Getty Images
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    How to Lose a Decade

    Erik Berglöf & Nahom Ghebrihiwet warns that a trade war will harm economic growth and decarbonization, with developing countries hit hardest.
  2. tharoor200_Jim WatsonGettyImages_trump_modi_trade Jim Watson/Getty Images
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    Will Trump’s Tariffs Derail India’s Economy?

    Shashi Tharoor

    The US administration’s plan to impose “reciprocal” import tariffs could severely curtail key Indian exports, including chemicals, metals, auto parts, and pharmaceuticals, leading to job losses and undermining fiscal stability. India has little choice but to lower its own tariffs while negotiating improved access to the US market.

     urges policymakers to brace for the impact – known and unknown – of the US administration’s trade policies.
  3. hamada69_The Washington PostGettyImages_trump_speech The Washington Post/Getty Images
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    Countering Trump’s Politics of Fear

    Koichi Hamada calls for a new set of policies that responds to, rather than dismisses, US voters’ legitimate fears.
  4. galen5_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpcongress Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Where Are the Democrats?

    Reed Galen lambasts the party for sitting by and watching America implode, in the misguided hope of winning the midterms.
  5. moyo34_Spencer PlattGetty Images_NYSE Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Signs of a US Recession

    Dambisa Moyo

    While it appears unlikely that US GDP will contract in the first quarter, the economy could enter recession territory in the second or third quarter of 2025. If a recession does materialize, its magnitude and duration would depend largely on factors that remain impossible to predict – notably, tariffs and geopolitics.

     catalogues several indicators suggesting that the world's largest economy is headed for a slump.
  6. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Trade War

    Less than two months into his second presidency, Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners, with much more to come. This strategy not only lacks any credible theoretical foundations; it is putting the US on a path toward irrevocable economic and geopolitical decline.

  7. ruf1_MANAURE QUINTEROAFP via Getty Images_data center Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images
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    Why Frugal AI Alone Won’t Fix AI’s Energy Problem

    Boris Ruf explains why shifting the responsibility for reducing AI’s carbon footprint to end users is counterproductive.
  8. GettyImages-2176801438 TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Global South’s Path to Economic Resilience

    Anwar Ibrahim explains how Malaysia and other middle powers are navigating increasingly uncertain geopolitical terrain.
  9. buchholz23_UCGGettyImages_ozempic_wegovy UCG/Getty Images
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    America’s “HIP” Economy

    Todd G. Buchholz sees developments and breakthroughs in health, information, and power as grounds for optimism.

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