Peace in Ukraine may depend on Vladimir Putin's friends telling him to back down. It turns out, however, that he doesn't have a lot of friends left.
Category: War and peace
War for Russia
Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine stakes the future of civilisation on the prospects of regime change in Russia.
Putin blinks?
Russia moves towards annexation of the rebel-controlled Donbas. It's a gross violation of international law, but it's probably also a step away from the threat of full-scale war.
War for Donbas?
The drums of war in Ukraine beat perhaps a little more softly this week. But could Russia be planning a limited operation in eastern Ukraine?
War for Ukraine?
Some of the war talk about Ukraine seems to be coming off the boil. There are good reasons why it should.
Mr Putin’s Ukrainian gambit
Many people who should know better are talking up the chances of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Putin on two fronts
Just as he's busy with a game of bluff with the west over Ukraine, Vladimir Putin finds himself distracted by a crisis in Kazakhstan.
No, not Libya
The electoral year ends with Libya's presidential election postponed again, in a symptom of the country's failure of governance.
Taiwanese independence revisited
An embarrassment over Taiwan at the democracy summit raises again the question of how to think about Taiwan's ambiguous status.
War fears in the Balkans
Kosovo's prime minister warns of warlike Serbian intentions, raising fears of a return to the 1990s in the Balkans.
The World is Not Enough 