Anatol Lieven: Freeze NATO expansion now or risk war (VIDEO) | Responsible Statecraft

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Analysis | Europe

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The Russians want NATO to close its doors to Ukraine and all further expansion into Eastern Europe — this is the red line Moscow as declared. Quincy Institute senior fellow Anatol Lieven talks here about why the U.S. and NATO must decide whether denying Russia is worth the bloody conflict that it might cause. He also talks about the imperative of revisiting the Minsk II agreement, resolving the Donbas dispute, and Ukraine neutrality as a longterm solution.

He also explains why he believes negotiations should take place between the U.S. and Russia only, how Europe is divided, and the consequences of U.S. military intervention (directly or indirectly) in anticipation of, or after a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Analysis | Europe

European Union

Top photo credit" Roberta Metsola, Ursula von der Leyen,Charles Michel in Solemn Moment on the European Parliament in Solidarity of the Victims of the Terror Attacks in Israel. Brussels, Belgium on October 11, 2023 (Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis)

Sorry, the EU has no right to cry 'McCarthyism'

When the Trump administration announced that Thierry Breton — former EU commissioner and a French national from President Emmanuel Macron’s party — and four more EU citizens faced a U.S. visa ban over accusations of "extraterritorial censorship," official Brussels erupted in fury.

Top EU officials condemned the move as an attack on Europe's sovereign right to regulate its digital space. Breton himself depicted it as an expression of McCarthyism." The EU vowed to shield its digital rules from U.S. pressure.

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Tech billionaires behind Greenland bid want to build 'freedom cities'

Top image credit: The White House Marcn 2025

Tech billionaires behind Greenland bid want to build 'freedom cities'

This past week, President Trump removed any remaining ambiguity about his intentions toward Greenland. During a White House event, he declared he would take the Arctic territory “whether they like it or not.” Then he laid down what sounded like a mobster’s threat to Denmark: “If we don’t do it the easy way we’re going to do it the hard way.”

Trump also reportedly ordered special forces commanders to come up with an invasion plan, even though senior military officials warned him it would violate international law and NATO treaties. In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said, “I don’t need international law.”

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Iran protests

Top photo credit: A member of the Iranian police attends a pro-government rally in Tehran, Iran, January 12, 2026. Stringer/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Iran regime is brittle, but don't count out killer instinct to survive

Political and economic protests have long been woven into Iran’s political fabric. From the Tobacco Movement of the 1890s which ultimately created the first democratic constitution in the Middle East, to labor strikes under the Pahlavi monarchy, to student activism and localized economic unrest in the Islamic Republic, street mobilization has repeatedly served as a vehicle for political expression.

What is new, however, is the increase in frequency, geographic spread, and persistence of protests since 2019, an episode which took the lives of more than 300 Iranians. That year marked a turning point, with nationwide anti-government demonstrations erupting across Iran in response to fuel price hikes, followed by repeated waves of unrest over economic hardship, and political repression.

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