Skip to main content
Access provided by

Mitchell A. Orenstein

Mitchell A. Orenstein

12 commentaries

Mitchell A. Orenstein, Professor of Russian and East European Studies and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and author of The Lands in Between: Russia vs. the West and the New Politics of Hybrid War (Oxford University Press, 2019.

Sort by: Show:
  1. Why Orbán Won Again
    szikra2_FERENC ISZAAFP via Getty Images_orban voting FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Orbán Won Again

    Apr 5, 2022 Dorottya Szikra & Mitchell A. Orenstein say that Hungary’s strongman can rely on more than media control and a rigged electoral system.

  2. Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?
    ghodsee3_NIKOLAY DOYCHINOVAFP via Getty Images_bulgairavaccineprotest Nikolay Doychinov/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Won't Eastern Europeans Get Vaccinated?

    Nov 8, 2021 Kristen Ghodsee & Mitchell A. Orenstein argue that low inoculation rates reflect not the legacy of communism, but rather the legacy of its collapse.

  3. Will Women Overthrow Europe’s Last Dictator?
    orenstein9_Natalia FedosenkoTASS via Getty Images_belaruselectiontsikhanouskaya Natalia Fedosenko/TASS via Getty Images

    Will Women Overthrow Europe’s Last Dictator?

    Aug 4, 2020 Mitchell A. Orenstein & Valery Yakubovich ask whether Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus’s first and only president since 1994, has finally met his match.

  4. Revolutions for Whom?
    ghodsee2_Spencer PlattGetty Images_romaniapovertydadchild Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Revolutions for Whom?

    Nov 1, 2019 Kristen Ghodsee & Mitchell A. Orenstein note that in many post-communist countries, GDP per capita remains below its level 30 years ago.

  5. The Russians Are Coming
    op_orenstein_2_GettyImages490751590 Getty Images

    The Russians Are Coming

    May 24, 2019 Mitchell A. Orenstein reviews three recent books on the origins and conduct of the Kremlin’s political war against the West.

  1. samadashvili3_ GIORGI ARJEVANIDZEAFP via Getty Images_georgia elections GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    The End of Georgia’s European Dream?

    Salome Samadashvili

    Initial evidence suggests that the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the recent parliamentary election reflects widespread fraud. If the West fails to support democratic opposition parties in challenging the results, Georgia’s 30-year-old democracy could come to an end.

     urges Western leaders to take steps to halt the country’s slide into authoritarianism.
  2. grigaitedaugirde1_Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images_icc Alex GottschalkDeFodi Images via Getty Images
    0

    Belarus in the Dock

    Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė & Aarif Abraham explain why Lithuania is requesting an International Criminal Court investigation into its neighbor.
  3. jschwartz1_EonerenGetty Images_sustainabilityfinance Eoneren/Getty Images
    0

    Where Financial Innovation Meets Sustainable Development

    Jordan Schwartz explains why new instruments must be standardized and integrated into developing countries’ economic policies.
  4. rzlawrence1_MEGAN JELINGERAFP via Getty Images_us manufacturing MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    No President Can Revive US Manufacturing Employment

    Robert Z. Lawrence explains why there is no going back to the heyday of middle-class factory jobs for low-skilled workers.
  5. bailey1_The Washington PostContributorGettyImages_election_polling_screen The Washington Post/Contributor/Getty Images
    0

    Is Political Polling Broken?

    Michael A. Bailey urges pollsters to stop thinking in terms of random samples and instead focus on diagnosing non-response bias.
  6. fischer221_MAXIM SHIPENKOVPOOLAFP via Getty Images_BRICSputinxi Maxim Shipenkov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Don’t Dismiss the BRICS

    Joschka Fischer thinks it would be a serious mistake for Western strategists to ignore the bloc and what it represents.
  7. krueger80_PUNIT PARANJPEAFP via Getty Images_india PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images
    0

    Can India Become a Developed Economy by Mid-Century?

    Anne O. Krueger urges policymakers to resume key structural reforms and streamline regulations that stifle business activity.
  8. posner36_Scott OlsonGetty Images_trumpsupporters Scott Olson/Getty Images
    2

    Why Many Workers Now Vote Republican

    Eric Posner explains how the failures of neoliberalism came to benefit the traditional party of business.
  9. ito41_Takashi AoyamaGetty Images_japan election Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images
    0

    Japan’s Electoral Stalemate

    Takatoshi Ito considers the political and economic implications of the ruling bloc’s loss of its parliamentary majority.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.