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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. krueger84_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UStrade Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Tariffs Will Hurt Mexico – and America

    Anne O. Krueger thinks the US administration’s trade restrictions will end up undermining its stated immigration goals.
  2. mahroum23_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_elon_musk_cabinet_meeting Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Americans Will Miss Their Government When It’s Gone

    Sami Mahroum explains what will follow from the indiscriminate gutting of federal agencies and mass firings.
  3. frankel169_Alex WongGettyImages_trump_gulf_of_america Alex Wong/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Imaginary Victories

    Jeffrey Frankel says that to call the US president a “transactional” leader is to ignore his utter lack of strategic thinking.
  4. johnson184_Picture AllianceGettyImages_greenland_flag Picture Alliance/Getty Images
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    Greenland’s Future Must Be Decided by Greenland’s People

    Simon Johnson dismisses the argument that US national security depends on gaining control over the island.
  5. mpaxton1_jonathanfilskov-photographyGetty Images_mangrove jonathanfilskov-photography/Getty Images
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    Nature Needs Its Own ID

    Midori Paxton shows how digital tools can drive a data-driven approach to protecting our planet’s environmental health.
  6. fedyk9_Oleg PalchykGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images_ukrainedrone Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
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    Ukraine’s True Value

    Anastassia Fedyk & Emilia Marshall

    Ukraine’s immense industrial and human resources once helped make the Soviet Union a global power, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on them to achieve his neo-imperialist dream. With the US now behaving like a Kremlin proxy, supporting Ukraine has become an existential imperative for Europe.

     warn that abandoning the country could hand Vladimir Putin the opportunity to restore Russia’s imperial status.
  7. sierakowski116_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpvancezelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    America Is Gone – Europe Must Replace It

    Sławomir Sierakowski

    Donald Trump and J.D. Vance’s verbal assault on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office was shocking but not surprising. As the Trump administration rapidly destroys America's credibility and international standing, Europe must mobilize its ample resources to replace America as a global leader.

     says the Trump administration's Oval Office fight with Ukraine's president is a moment that will live in infamy.
  8. yu80_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_us_trade Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images
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    Can America Maintain External Sustainability?

    Yu Yongding explains why demand for foreign capital inflows to offset the country’s savings shortfall may go unmet.
  9. rodrik232_ ROBERTO SCHMIDTAFP via Getty Images_trumpflag Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
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    The Coming Showdown in Trumpworld

    Dani Rodrik points out that a coalition comprising incompatible financial and ideological interests cannot last.

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