Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The current status and the future of the war in Ukraine

Person i jacket that reads "War Crimes prosecutor"

A war crimes prosecutor examines the consequences of a Russian missile attack in central Odesa, Ukraine, on Nov. 25.

Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ukraine is in the crosshairs of politics, domestically and globally. What is the status of this war, and what does the future hold for the Ukrainian people?

On Nov. 18, the Network for Responsible Public Policy hosted a virtual discussion to answer these questions and many more about the current situation on the ground, U.S. political sentiments and challenges, Russia’s threats to the region, its cozy relationship with some American leaders and more.


The speakers addressed the current situation, options and future for Ukraine.

The speakers were:

  • Timothy Frye, the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy at Columbia University. He received a B.A. in Russian language and literature from Middlebury College, an M.I.A. from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia. His research and teaching interests are in comparative politics and political economy, focusing on the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. His most recent book is “ Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia. He also edits Post-Soviet Affairs.”
  • Oxana Shevel is an associate professor of political science at Tufts University and director of the Tufts International Relations program. She is co-author (with Maria Popova) of a book on the root causes of the Russo-Ukrainian war, “ Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States.” Shevel serves as vice president of the Association for the Study of Nationalities and of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies.

Gideon Rose, the moderator, is the Mary and David Boies Distinguished Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He was previously editor of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2021. He served as associate director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council in 1994 and 1995.

Enjoy this insightful and important discussion and analysis of the war in Ukraine in which the speakers discussed the current situation (attitudes, strengths and weakness) in both Ukraine and Russia on the ground and politically, as well as scenarios that may be initiated by the Trump administration.

www.youtube.com

Read More

Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules
white concrete dome museum

Hands Off Our Elections: States and Congress, Not Presidents, Set the Rules

Trust in elections is fragile – and once lost, it is extraordinarily difficult to rebuild. While Democrats and Republicans disagree on many election policies, there is broad bipartisan agreement on one point: executive branch interference in elections undermines the constitutional authority of states and Congress to determine how elections are run.

Recent executive branch actions threaten to upend this constitutional balance, and Congress must act before it’s too late. To be clear – this is not just about the current president. Keeping the executive branch out of elections is a crucial safeguard against power grabs by any future president, Democrat or Republican.

Keep ReadingShow less
Why free speech rights got left out of the Constitution – and added in later via the First Amendment

Supporters of free speech gather in September 2025 to protest the suspension of 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!', across the street from the theater where the show is produced in Hollywood.

Why free speech rights got left out of the Constitution – and added in later via the First Amendment

Bipartisan agreement is rare in these politically polarized days.

But that’s just what happened in response to ABC’s suspension of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The suspension followed the Federal Communications Commission chairman’s threat to punish the network for Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pam Bondi Made a Mockery of Congressional Oversight
President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Attorney ...

Pam Bondi Made a Mockery of Congressional Oversight

Checks and balances can only work if government officials are willing to use their authority to check abuses of power by others. Without that, our Constitution is an empty promise.

And without the will to stand up to such abuses, freedom and democracy also become empty promises. As James Madison wrote in Federalist 51, the Constitution was designed to ensure that “the interior structure of the government as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places.”

Keep ReadingShow less
From Nixon to Trump: How Scandals Reshape Power, Not Justice

Richard Nixon circa 1983.

(Photo by Images Press/IMAGES/Getty Images)

From Nixon to Trump: How Scandals Reshape Power, Not Justice

The American political system flatters itself with tales of enduring resilience. We are told that each scandal is a crucible, a test from which the republic emerges tougher, wiser, and better fortified. The institutions bend, the story goes, but they do not break. The narrative is comforting because it suggests that corruption is always self-limiting, that crisis is always purgative, that turmoil survived is justice fortified.

But the record tells another story. Scandal after scandal has not made American democracy sturdier. It has hollowed it out, teaching the powerful not restraint, but ever-shrewder ways to transgress.

Keep ReadingShow less