Putin resembles more a Russian ultranationalist with a shaky grasp of history than a pragmatic master strategist. The West must assume his ambitions are loftier than ever before.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced sanctions against Russia, imposed in line with those of Australia’s major allies the United States and the United Kingdom.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, right, signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics on February 21, 2022.
Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS via Getty Images
Russia sent troops to two Moscow-allied breakaway regions in Ukraine, after President Vladimir Putin recognized the regions’ independence. Five stories provide background to the growing conflict.
Sergei Magnitsky’s legacy lives on through sanctions in his name.
Andrey Smirnov/AFP via Getty Images)
Named after a tax expert who died in police custody after uncovering fraud by Russian officials, Magnitsky sanctions target individuals accused of human rights violations.
Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
The Biden administration hopes the threat of harsh sanctions from a united West will deter Putin from invading Ukraine. But Russia has a long history of using energy to divide the US and Europe.
Colonel Assimi Goita has stepped back from undertakings that there would be a return to civilian rule soon.
Photo by Habib Kouyate/Xinhua via Getty
Kai M. Thaler, University of California, Santa Barbara
The rule of Daniel Ortega has become increasingly authoritarian. Sanctions and repression could destabilize the region and result in increased numbers of refugees.
US President Richard Nixon’s decision to end the US promise to convert dollars into gold changed the global financial system.
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Nixon’s decision left the IMF without a clearly defined role. Under the leadership of the industrialised countries, it began to fashion a new more intrusive and ideological role.
A road sign directs traffic to the entrance of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Lubmin, north-east Germany.
Odd Anderson/AFP
Sophie Marineau, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
By waiving sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline linking Russia and Germany, the United States is paving the way for the controversial project to go ahead.
Police arrest a protester at a Moscow rally in support of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who fell ill while in prison and is now hospitalized.
Alexander Demianchuk\TASS via Getty Images
There’s not much the world can do to stop authoritarian rulers from persecuting their political opponents, as shown by the standoff over Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is ill and imprisoned.
Russian police officers beat people protesting the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Jan. 23, 2021 in Moscow.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
The international community has gained a much greater understanding of the Myanmar military’s transnational revenue streams. Targeted sanctions can work if the world just follows the money.
Demonstrators in Zimbabwe chant slogans and wave flags during a rally to denounce EU and US sanctions against the country on October 25, 2019.
Jekesai Njikizana/AFP
Sophie Marineau, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain)
Countries or international organizations regularly enact sanctions against individual states. But how can the effectiveness of these measures be evaluated?
After years of civil war, the Syrian people are now suffering from the coronavirus pandemic and a crashing economy. And there is no end in sight.
Liang Hua, CEO of Huawei poses during a stay in Paris in December 2019. The smartphone giant could well lose many European markets because of American sanctions.
Joel Saget/AFP
Sanctions against Huawei by the US Commerce department have been followed by other countries. How can the company’s business thrive with so few avenues left?
Mike Pompeo: on his own on Iran.
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Zimbabwe wants to issue a sovereign bond to raise $3.5 billion it has agreed to pay as compensation to white farmers, but the economic and political conditions aren’t conducive to such an issuance.