Rethinking US Military Aid to Georgia or How to Stop Rewarding Democratic Backsliding
Giorgi Shaishmelashvili Giorgi Shaishmelashvili

Rethinking US Military Aid to Georgia or How to Stop Rewarding Democratic Backsliding

Built with years of American funding, training, and strategic engagement, the Georgian Defense Forces (GDF) were once considered a showcase of successful post-Soviet military reform. That legacy is now in jeopardy. While Washington debates democratic standards, it risks overlooking the quiet erosion of a key US security investment.

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A Long and Winding Road to Nowhere? Georgia’s Perennial Quest for Security and Belonging
Report Robert Hamilton Report Robert Hamilton

A Long and Winding Road to Nowhere? Georgia’s Perennial Quest for Security and Belonging

As a small country in an unstable but strategically important region, finding sustainable security and a geopolitical “home” was always going to be a challenge for Georgia. The location of the South Caucasus at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East meant that external powers have long vied for influence there, often stoking conflict among regional states. In Georgia’s case, its search for security was further complicated by internal divisions in Georgian society, which often made the country easy pickings for larger neighbors with predatory designs.

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Russia’s Western Aggression Pathways: Baltic or Danube Corridor?
Serghei Ostaf Serghei Ostaf

Russia’s Western Aggression Pathways: Baltic or Danube Corridor?

The brief assesses Russia’s strategic options for continued westward aggression, concluding that the Danube Mouth axis represents the most rewarding, probable, and operationally realistic path. Since 2022, the US has strengthened its security posture in Romania, recognizing the region's strategic vulnerability, while the EU maintains its conflict-averse posture, emphasizing negotiation over deterrence.

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