http://www.rferl.org/archive/Commentary/latest/747/747.html Commentary by RFE/RL staff and outside contributors http://www.rferl.org/img/rssLogo.gif http://www.rferl.org/archive/Commentary/latest/747/747.html en-US Copyright 2009 - RFE/RL, Inc. 60 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:32:07 +0000 Pangea CMS – RFE/RL It was Gogol I turned to in my search for an image of Ukraine. It is a tabula rasa; this is both an advantage and a weakness. http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Bird_Over_The_Dnieper/1885942.html http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Bird_Over_The_Dnieper/1885942.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:06:43 +0000 Commentary Although experts in the West generally agree that the Lisbon treaty won’t change the dynamic of relations between the EU and Russia, analysts in Moscow differ. The prevailing view in Russia is that the treaty could ultimately thwart Russia’s tactic of dealing with EU countries separately and of playing them against one another to promote its own interests. The biggest fear in Moscow is that EU consolidation will mean that Russia will have to play by the EU’s rules in the future. http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_And_The_EU_After_Lisbon_/1882830.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_And_The_EU_After_Lisbon_/1882830.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:12:53 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_And_The_EU_After_Lisbon_/1882830.html#relatedInfoContainer The international community must act swiftly to impose itself as an equal stakeholder and partner in tackling corruption in Afghanistan. It must come up with intelligent strategies, accompanied by clear benchmarks and mechanisms to monitor those benchmarks every step of the way. http://www.rferl.org/content/From_Words_To_Deeds_In_Afghanistans_Corruption_Fight/1881737.html http://www.rferl.org/content/From_Words_To_Deeds_In_Afghanistans_Corruption_Fight/1881737.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:28:50 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/From_Words_To_Deeds_In_Afghanistans_Corruption_Fight/1881737.html#relatedInfoContainer Regardless of how the current political standoff plays out, the Alliance for European Integration has a window of opportunity to push ahead with real reforms and set Moldova on the path of democratic and economic development. But it needs the active support of the international community to do so. http://www.rferl.org/content/Moldova_Keeps_Fighting_For_Attention/1875344.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Moldova_Keeps_Fighting_For_Attention/1875344.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:48:35 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Moldova_Keeps_Fighting_For_Attention/1875344.html#relatedInfoContainer The 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall helped transform global geopolitics by triggering the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. But it also set in motion Asia’s dramatic economic rise -- the speed and scale of which have no parallel in world history. http://www.rferl.org/content/When_The_Wall_Fell_Asia_Rose/1875046.html http://www.rferl.org/content/When_The_Wall_Fell_Asia_Rose/1875046.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:08:51 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/When_The_Wall_Fell_Asia_Rose/1875046.html#relatedInfoContainer Before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, Radio Free Europe provided listeners with comprehensive information and coverage about the changes sweeping Eastern Europe. It was partly thanks to RFE that the communist regimes were unable to keep the various protests isolated from one another or to restrict the circulation of ideas. http://www.rferl.org/content/RFERL_And_The_Curtain_Of_Silence_/1873048.html http://www.rferl.org/content/RFERL_And_The_Curtain_Of_Silence_/1873048.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:34:47 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/RFERL_And_The_Curtain_Of_Silence_/1873048.html#relatedInfoContainer In November 1989, we were given a chance, and we are doing relatively well. We are part of the broader world. Our children are growing up in a sort of democracy. They can travel and study abroad. They speak many languages and so hold the keys to open other worlds. Nonetheless, all is not right. http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_Later_And_The_Communists_Are_Still_With_Us/1871049.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_Later_And_The_Communists_Are_Still_With_Us/1871049.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:18:27 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Twenty_Years_Later_And_The_Communists_Are_Still_With_Us/1871049.html#relatedInfoContainer Last week’s announcement that the next Russian census will be held in 2010 as originally scheduled is welcome news indeed. There had been considerable speculation that the census had been delayed largely for political reasons, and it is encouraging to think that the opinions of experts who say the census information is crucially needed were heeded in this case. http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_Is_Dying_To_Learn_Its_Census_Data/1869329.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_Is_Dying_To_Learn_Its_Census_Data/1869329.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:38:55 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Russia_Is_Dying_To_Learn_Its_Census_Data/1869329.html#relatedInfoContainer What has transpired in Afghanistan begs a key question. In a situation where popular support for the Afghan war and reconstruction aid is already dwindling in most NATO member states, can support for the "necessary evil" of Hamid Karzai be maintained when the lives of NATO soldiers are at stake, and given the huge financial cost? http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzais_Victory_And_The_Opportunities_Lost_In_Afghanistan/1868378.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzais_Victory_And_The_Opportunities_Lost_In_Afghanistan/1868378.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:30:04 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Karzais_Victory_And_The_Opportunities_Lost_In_Afghanistan/1868378.html#relatedInfoContainer Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has appeared in The Hague tribunal's courtroom for the first time since his trial began last week. Gordana Knezevic, director of RFE/RL's Balkan Service, was a journalist in Sarajevo during the bloody siege of the city. She remembers life during the war and her struggle to understand the motivations fueling Karadzic. http://www.rferl.org/content/Karadzic_Looking_For_A_Monster_And_Finding_Only_A_Man/1868086.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Karadzic_Looking_For_A_Monster_And_Finding_Only_A_Man/1868086.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:34:24 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Karadzic_Looking_For_A_Monster_And_Finding_Only_A_Man/1868086.html#relatedInfoContainer A government plane was waiting to carry the released convict from prison to a hero’s welcome in Belgrade. Journalists clustered around her, eager for any statement. Not bad for a convicted war criminal returning home. http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:26:14 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/A_Land_Where_War_Criminals_Are_Heroes/1865935.html#relatedInfoContainer Even before his promotion from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's special adviser to foreign minister in April, Ahmet Davutoglu was regarded as the eminence grise behind Turkish foreign policy, and was occasionally even referred to as "Turkey's Kissinger." The 51-year old professor of political science is considered the architect of the new active foreign policy that the Justice and Development party has been pursuing since coming to power in 2002: "zero problems" with ... http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkeys_Kissinger_Leads_ForeignPolicy_Balancing_Act/1865343.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkeys_Kissinger_Leads_ForeignPolicy_Balancing_Act/1865343.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:35:28 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Turkeys_Kissinger_Leads_ForeignPolicy_Balancing_Act/1865343.html#relatedInfoContainer Both U.S. General Stanley McChrystal and President Barack Obama have affirmed the need for "economic" and "governance" measures in Afghanistan. They're right, of course. Without them Washington's stated goals -- to destroy Al-Qaeda and cripple the Taliban -- remain purely negative and not compelling to most Afghans, to the countries neighboring Afghanistan, or even to its NATO allies. But what are these "economic" and "governance" measures? http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Could_Be_Key_For_Afghanistan_And_Entire_Region/1865262.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Could_Be_Key_For_Afghanistan_And_Entire_Region/1865262.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:21:24 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Trade_Could_Be_Key_For_Afghanistan_And_Entire_Region/1865262.html#relatedInfoContainer The Eurasian region continues to disintegrate, and neither Russia nor the West has been able to arrest the destabilizing dynamics. The West's attempts to secure and stabilize Eurasia after the end of the Cold War must be recognized as a failure. http://www.rferl.org/content/Working_With_Russia_To_Prevent_Eurasian_Collapse/1864322.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Working_With_Russia_To_Prevent_Eurasian_Collapse/1864322.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:33:32 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Working_With_Russia_To_Prevent_Eurasian_Collapse/1864322.html#relatedInfoContainer Russia enjoys dabbling in the domestic politics of its neighboring countries, publicly supporting its favorite politicians and demonstrating its contempt for those whom it dislikes. But it rarely -- at least among its European neighbors -- gets the result it is seeking. The most recent example is Moldova. http://www.rferl.org/content/Moving_Beyond_Russias_Embrace_/1864127.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Moving_Beyond_Russias_Embrace_/1864127.html Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:51:48 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Moving_Beyond_Russias_Embrace_/1864127.html#relatedInfoContainer After nearly three decades of conflict and foreign interference, Afghans who had begun to see a ray of hope in a post-Taliban era are now more suspicious than ever of the motives of the international community in their homeland. http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistan_Needs_More_Than_Just_A_Second_Round/1862285.html http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistan_Needs_More_Than_Just_A_Second_Round/1862285.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:01:54 +0000 Commentary http://www.rferl.org/content/Afghanistan_Needs_More_Than_Just_A_Second_Round/1862285.html#relatedInfoContainer