The Cable

Voters in Slovakia go to the polls next week in the first parliamentary elections since anti-corruption protests over the murder of an investigative reporter helped catapult the progressive Zuzana Caputova to the presidency last year. But many believe this month's vote will do more to determine the country's democratic future, with a new wave of pro-European liberals competing against an increasingly extremist far right in a contest that will have ripple effects across Central Europe.

Most foreign policy is carried out by governments and their diplomats. But elected members of national legislatures also play important roles influencing foreign policies, especially in democracies. Joining Susan and Greg are the presidents of the parliamentary assemblies of NATO and the OSCE to discuss what they do, the state of the transatlantic alliance and challenges for both organizations.

The United States established Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty during the Cold War to broadcast news and information into countries behind the Iron Curtain in their own languages. Today, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty—which reports news in 22 countries and 26 languages—is about to relaunch its Hungarian service for the first time since it was shut down following the collapse of communism. RFE/RL's new president, Jamie Fly, joins Greg from Prague to discuss that and what else RFE/RL is doing three decades after the fall of the Soviet empire.

The Open Society Foundations of the financier and philanthropist George Soros has given tens of billions of dollars to civil society groups around the world, promoting democracy in some 120 countries. Now OSF is starting a new effort to build a progressive grass-roots constituency among Americans for pressing issues in foreign policy such as climate change and human rights. Greg speaks to the program's founder Stephen Rickard about his plans and why he thinks they will succeed.

Starting three decades ago this Sunday, people in Czechoslovakia threw off communism with remarkable speed in the heady days of 1989. The Velvet Revolution soon swept out one of the most rigid of Soviet Bloc regimes, in place since the crushing of the Prague Spring two decades earlier. But thirty years on, the euphoria and seeming certainties that came with the ensuing integration into the European Union and NATO are gone. The former student activist leader Vaclav Bartuska joins Susan and Greg to look back at the birth of a free society in Czechoslovakia and discuss the Velvet Revolution's significance today.

Three decades ago in 1989, people in East Germany took to the streets to protest communist rule. The "Peaceful Revolution" led to the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, paving the way for German reunification the following year. But the euphoria soon wore off for many in the former East, and it's having political consequences today: eastern Germany has become the bastion of the far-right Alternative for Germany party. Karen Donfried and Jeff Gedmin join Susan and Greg to discuss the legacy of 1989 and serious challenges facing the country's political establishment today. Then ICWA fellow Emily Schultheis reports from Germany, where she speaks to young eastern Germans born in 1989 about their identity.

Anti-Semitism is rising together with the wave of right-wing populism on both sides of the Atlantic. The context is also changing, with Israel turning away on a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis and accusations in Europe of a so-called new anti-Semitism by Muslim immigrants. Joining Greg to discuss the growing regional developments and political debates affecting what had recently seemed a relatively straightforward battle against anti-Semitism are Stacy Burdett, Andrew Baker and Susan Corke.

As Turkey steps up air strikes and a ground offensive launched this week against Kurdish-held areas of northern Syria, we take a look at the context of Turkish domestic politics. Greg talks to Jonathan Katz about the military campaign, then Jonathan speaks to Turkey experts Lisel Hintz and Ozgur Unluhisarcikli about what's driving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Voters in Poland and Hungary are taking part in parliamentary and local elections this week that could add significant momentum to the right-wing populist movements in both countries. Joining Greg to explain what's at stake, likely outcomes and the latest state of affairs in both Central European countries are Susan Corke, Melissa Hooper and Dalibor Rohac.

When Vladimir Putin first became Russian prime minister two decades ago in 1999, few people had even heard of him. But the stern-faced former KGB officer soon triggered a love affair with the Russian population. Two decades on, after re-imposing authoritarian rule and a new confrontation with the West, he shows no sign of leaving. Ekaterina Egorova joins Greg to discuss his character traits and those of other authoritarian-minded rulers currently having their day.

Ekaterina Egorova is a founder and the president of the Niccolo-M Strategic Communications Agency, the leading Russian political consulting and public relations firm. She is also head of the Political Profiler, a political and psychological consulting firm based in Washington.