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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. johnson185_Artem PriakhinSOPA ImagesGettyImages_tussian_oil_tanker Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/Getty Images

    A US Tariff Idea That Makes Sense

    Simon Johnson touts the benefits of a bipartisan Senate bill that would target Russian oil exports.
  2. basu111_Justin SullivanGetty Images_UScartariffs Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Trump’s Tariffs Will Accelerate America’s Economic Decline

    Kaushik Basu draws parallels between the administration’s policies and those that led to Argentina’s decades-long slump.
  3. blyth3_Chip SomodevillaGettyImages_trump_reciprocal_tariffs Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump, Tariffs, and the Fate of the Dollar

    Mark Blyth

    Donald Trump’s attempt to reindustrialize the US economy by eliminating trade deficits will undoubtedly cause pain and disruption on a massive scale. But it is important to remember that both major US political parties have abandoned free trade in pursuit of similar goals.

    argues that America’s protectionist policies reflect a global economic reordering that was already underway.
  4. davutoglu1_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpzelensky Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Trump’s Old World Order

    Ahmet Davutoğlu warns that the US administration’s reckless conduct may destroy the last vestiges of multilateral cooperation.
  5. op_janeway19_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trumpmusk Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    Crippling America’s Innovation Economy

    William H. Janeway

    Donald Trump and Elon Musk's reign of disruption is crippling research universities’ ability to serve as productive partners in innovation, thus threatening the very system that they purport to celebrate. The Chinese, who are increasingly becoming frontier innovators in their own right, will be forever grateful.

    warns that the pillars of US dynamism and competitiveness are being systematically toppled.
  6. muzikarova8_NurPhotoGettyImages_chip_manufacturing NurPhoto/Getty Images

    America’s AI Iron Curtain

    Soňa Muzikárová explains how US export controls are harming allies and potentially helping Russia and China.
  7. hubbard5_SpencerPlattGettyImages_bessent_economic_club_of_new_york Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    What Rebalancing the US Economy Really Requires

    Glenn Hubbard thinks US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is neglecting the need for spending cuts in major federal programs.
  8. rasoolayub1_Alex WongGettyImages_voa_building Alex Wong/Getty Images

    America’s Voice No Longer Speaks for Democracy

    Heela Rasool-Ayub explains why authoritarians worldwide are celebrating Donald Trump’s renunciation of democratic advocacy.
  9. durostu1_Apu GomesGetty Images_LAfire Apu Gomes/Getty Images

    Insurers Must Embrace Geospatial AI

    Pierre du Rostu touts the technology’s benefits for an industry that must shift its focus from paying claims to managing risk.

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