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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. BP inflation hawks China News Service / Contributor via Getty Images
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    The Flight of the Inflation Hawks

    Though the US Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike of 2023 is smaller than those that preceded it, policymakers have signaled that more increases are on the way, despite slowing price growth. But there is good reason to doubt the utility – and fear the consequences – of continued rate hikes, on both sides of the Atlantic.

  2. boly1_Giovanni MereghettiUCGUniversal Images Group via Getty Images_agriculture rwanda Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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    How to Transform African Agriculture

    Safia Boly & Omid Kassiri identify four principles that could help governments across the continent boost food security.
  3. borrell19_ FADEL SENNAAFP via Getty Images_ukrainewar Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
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    Making Ukrainian Victory Possible

    Josep Borrell

    Exactly one year ago, it was still unclear whether Europeans would be able to come together to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. But, following the latest announcements of stepped-up military aid, there can no longer be any doubt about Europe's willingness to furnish what Ukraine needs to win.

     explains why continued military support and other forms of assistance remain critical.
  4. zizek13_OLGA MALTSEVAAFP via Getty Image_russian soldier OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images
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    Death or Glory in Russia

    Slavoj Žižek

    The Russian state’s ideological madness and reversion to warlordism have been abetted by a religious fundamentalism that openly celebrates death in the name of achieving a god-like status. As Vladimir Putin’s propagandists are telling Russians, “Life is overrated.”

     traces the religious and intellectual roots of the Kremlin’s increasingly morbid war propaganda.
  5. johnson159_Bill O'LearyThe Washington Post via Getty Images_congress ukraine Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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    Only the US Congress Can Stop Ukraine from Winning

    Simon Johnson explains why Russia’s best hope now lies with House Republicans’ nonsensical position on the US debt ceiling.
  6. emmott42_TORU YAMANAKAAFP via Getty Image_japannavy Toru Yamanaka/AFP via Getty Images
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    What Japanese Deterrence Would Look Like

    Bill Emmott explains what it will take to discourage aggression by North Korea, Russia, and especially China.
  7. duran8_ Getty ImagesGetty Images_argentina brazil union Getty Images/Getty Images
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    Getting to Monetary Integration in Latin America

    Camila Villard Duran explains why the vision of a regional unit of account, advanced by Brazil and Argentina, is achievable.
  8. subramanian35_erhui1979Getty Images_speechbubbles erhui1979/Getty Images
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    The Age of Verbiage

    Arvind Subramanian blames today’s nonstop inundation of expert opinion for undermining the quality of public discourse.
  9. haldar17_ FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_davos FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
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    Davos Man Has a People Problem

    Antara Haldar suspects that the socially “disembedded” economic logic of globalization has gone as far as it can go.

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