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Mitchell A. Orenstein

Mitchell A. Orenstein

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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. rodrik209_Helen H. RichardsonMediaNews GroupThe Denver Post via Getty Images_inflationreductionact Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
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    National Sovereignty’s Silver Lining

    Dani Rodrik

    Despite the dire predictions that have accompanied the decline of global governance, less international cooperation does not necessarily mean disaster. In fact, national governments can prioritize domestic prosperity and social cohesion over multilateralism without harming the global economy.

     explains how countries can help the global economy by pursuing their own economic-policy agendas.
  2. khrushcheva167_SERGEI ILNITSKYPOOLAFP via Getty Image_prigozhin Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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    Russia’s New Rasputin

    Nina L. Khrushcheva suggests that Yevgeny Prigozhin's escalating attacks on the country's elites reflect the regime's decadence.
  3. fofack17_LUDOVIC MARINAFP via Getty Images_macron LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
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    Macron and the Future of Françafrique

    Hippolyte Fofack urges France to abandon its extractive colonial model as it seeks to rebalance relations with the continent.
  4. op_michnik5_ Piotr LapinskiNurPhoto via Getty Images_polandprotestdonaldtusk Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    The View from Poland

    Adam Michnik interviewed by Irena Grudzińska Gross

    Although Russia's war in Ukraine has galvanized Polish society and elevated the country's status internationally, it is also obscuring some deeply troubling domestic political developments. Whether liberal democracy will prevail over reactionary authoritarianism in Poland is now an open question.

     about recent domestic and geopolitical developments that will shape the country's future.
  5. buruma200_Omer MessingerGetty Images_turkish voting erdogan Omer Messinger/Getty Images
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    Nationalists Abroad

    Ian Buruma explains how displacement can make expatriates and minorities more susceptible to extremist ideologies.
  6. maude1_ROSLAN RAHMANAFP via Getty Images_chinadefenseminister Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images
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    All Talk, No Dialogue on Asian Security

    Richard Maude considers the implications of the complete collapse of defense diplomacy between the US and China.
  7. gomera6_wayraGetty Images_AIsustainability wayra/Getty Images
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    How AI Can Even the Climate Playing Field

    Maxwell Gomera shows how artificial intelligence can strengthen low-income countries' hand in global negotiations.
  8. owhite8_cemagraphicsGetty Images_worldeconomy cemagraphics/Getty Images
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    Strengthening the Global Balance Sheet

    Olivia White, et al. outline four medium-term scenarios for the world economy, each implying dramatically different outcomes.
  9. gorodnichenko6rtur WidakNurPhoto via Getty Images_russian culture Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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    The Ukraine-Russia Culture War

    Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Ilona Sologoub survey the heated battles that have been playing out far from the physical battlefield.

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