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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.

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    How to Rebuild Trust in Public Institutions

    Eleanor Carter & Carolyn J. Heinrich highlight the value of face-to-face interactions at a time when governments are phasing out in-person services.
  2. isenberg1_TIMOTHY A. CLARYPOOLAFP via Getty Images_trumptrial Timothy A. Clary/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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    Is Trump Above the Law?

    Nancy Isenberg

    Contrary to what former US President Donald Trump would have the American public believe, no president enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. To suggest otherwise is to reject a bedrock principle of American democracy: the president is not a monarch.

     explains why the US Supreme Court must reject the former president's claim to immunity from prosecution.
  3. deryugina1_BEN BIRCHALLPOOLAFP via Getty Images_ukraineflagsoldier Ben Birchall/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
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    Ukraine Is Far From Doomed

    Tatyana Deryugina & Anastassia Fedyk

    When comparing Ukraine’s situation in 2024 to Europe’s in 1941, Russia’s defeat seems entirely possible. But it will require the West, and the US in particular, to put aside domestic political squabbles and muster the political will to provide Ukraine with consistent and robust military and financial assistance.

     compare Russia's full-scale invasion to World War II and see reason to hope – as long as aid keeps flowing.
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    The Pandemic Financing Developing Countries Need

    Rachel Glennerster urges multilateral development banks to establish mechanisms that enable at-risk vaccine purchases.
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    The Geopolitics of Africa’s Debt Crisis

    Anne O. Krueger urges developed countries to back efforts by the IMF and the World Bank to promote growth-enhancing reforms.
  6. palacio156_ Georg Moritzpicture alliance via Getty Images_immigation Georg Moritz/picture alliance via Getty Images
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    Why the EU’s New Migration Pact Matters

    Ana Palacio applauds the pragmatic coalition-building, especially by Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, that enabled the deal.
  7. kirchschlager1_Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_AI Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images
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    AI Needs UN Oversight

    Peter G. Kirchschläger calls for the creation of a watchdog – similar to the IAEA – that employs a human rights-based approach.
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    The West Is Hastening Its Own Decline

    Brahma Chellaney argues that the unprecedented US and European sanctions against Russia are backfiring.
  9. zizek29_Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images_palestine congress germany Sebastian Gollnowpicture alliance via Getty Images
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    Canceling Palestine

    Slavoj Žižek worries that the double standards applied on Israel’s behalf will lead to an anti-Semitic backlash.

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