Outside the Beltway

The rebels in eastern Ukraine continue to suffer setbacks, and Russia is massing troops on the border again.

Institutional reform does take place in other democracies.

Scottish independence may be more likely than many think.

The U.S. and Europe have announced a new round of sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, but it’s not clear that the Russians will be motivated to change course.

History matters.

If you live in Russia, you’re getting a different version of the story of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Vladimir Putin has become immensely popular in Russia again, and its not hard to figure out why.

Yesterday’s events are likely to be a game changer, but how the game plays out depends largely on how Europe reacts.

Basically, the answer is that nobody really thought there was much of a risk that a plane could be shot down.

Someone took down a Boeing 777 over Ukraine today.

Another incident involving a Malaysia Airlines 777, but this one could be far more serious.

The English-speaking and Scandinavian countries are very different.

My latest for The National Interest, “Europe’s Free Ride on the American-Defense Gravy Train,” has posted.

Judging by the early results, the so-called “Right To Be Forgotten” recently created by Europe’s highest court is creating more problems than it will solve.

There’s a new round of allegations about American spying on Germany.

A piece at Foreign Policy provides a chance to give some thought to institutions.

A US-EU free trade zone is a no-brainer. But the devil is in the details.

A century later, the shots fired in Sarajevo 100 years ago still echo.

While the world watches Ukraine, Central Asia could also be an area where Russia may seek to expand its territory.

They’ve got a new President, but there’s still much to do.

Parties described as “far right” or “extreme right” have done very well in Europe’s most recent elections.

Not surprisingly, Russia’s acquisition of Crimea comes with quite a potential bonanza in natural resources.

Vladimir Putin wants to put the Internet genie back in the bottle.

The future may hold a lot of vehement arguing over insignificant bits of territory.

As everyone anticipated, the Crimean referendum came out in favor of secession from Ukraine and union with Russia. What happens next is another question entirely.