Azerbaijan Between Triumph and Turbulence

A poster of President Ilham Aliyev on a shopping mall in the Baku suburbs. Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Over the course of 33 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan has transformed into an independent regional player. Its neighbors in Armenia fear that Azerbaijan’s ambitions will eventually lead to another war. Average Azerbaijanis, meanwhile, wonder when the military achievements will translate into economic prosperity.  Regaining Territory Through War It’s impossible to […]

Eastern European Views of the Upcoming US Presidential Elections

President Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, December 2019. Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque.

Despite Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Eastern Europeans feel secure today. They have confidence in NATO as an organization led by the United States and thus appreciated in Moscow as strong. At the same time, some politicians and diplomats in Eastern Europe wonder what might happen to their countries if Donald Trump wins the presidential elections […]