I recently visited two metropolitan regions in Scandinavia — Stockholm and Copenhagen — that both are anticipating steady rates of growth similar to Washington, D.C., where I work as a regional transportation planner.   Between now and 2030, these metropolitan areas expect their populations to increase between one and two percent every year.   Where [...]

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Russia has never been easy. Will the present global financial and economical crisis nonetheless pave the path to a new period of thaw or even to some change of the”System Putin”? Last week, in discussions with a group of Americans and Germans in Moscow organized by GMF, representatives of the declining number of still active [...]

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One week after  Dennis  Blair, U.S. Director of National Intelligence declared the economic crisis the primary threat to U.S. national security Latvia fell victim to the political instability caused by the economic turmoil. Without a strong, coordinate response  shoring  up Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies, we are risking further political instability in other countries [...]

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The following is a response to the UK Department for International Development Permanent Secretary’s entry on the Ideas4Development blog on social projection programs to help the poor manage the food, fuel, and financial crises. Minouche Shafik provides us with a compelling case for increasing investments in social protection programs. Owen Barder’s point about child mortality, [...]

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My colleague John Glenn gives an interview to the Associated Press about the relationship between President Obama and Europe during the first 100 days.

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My colleague Thorsten Klassen has just published his dissertation on, naturally, U.S.-German relations. He focuses on “Continuity within Change: The German-American Foreign and Security Relationship during President Clinton’s First Term.” Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned for the new U.S. administration in working with one of its foremost allies in Europe.

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