On Newsweek.com, EWI�s Director of Public Policy Andrew Nagorski argues the President Obama will need plenty of help from world leaders in tackling a host of current crises, everything from the economy to Afghanistan and Iran. Russia�s Channel One TV also interviewed Nagorski about Obama�s call for U.S.-Russian arms reductions. In several related commentaries, EWI staffers and fellows offer their recommendations on a broad range of issues confronting the new team in Washington.
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A new EWI effort is shaping more effective international action to stabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are initiating a new security dialogue with local, national, regional, and remote stakeholders to devise and implement innovative, inclusive, and practical strategies for peace in the region. (Photo: )

Meanwhile, EWI Vice President Greg Austin, writing on , argues that military strategies in Afghanistan cannot succeed without direct assistance to Afghanistan's farmers.

In a new online column, Going Global, EWI Distinguished Fellow Mark Gerzon examines the claims of any number of countries that they represent �the greatest nation on earth.� His conclusion: a bit of humility could go a long way towards developing cross-boundary leadership. Gerzon spearheads the , a network of think tanks around the world that lives by the cross-boundary credo.

Mahmoud Labadi, member of the Palestinian Authority, and Dror Ze'evi, an Israeli professor, weigh in on the crisis in Gaza and its potential solutions. Both commentators are residents of the region and have been engaged with EWI since our Middle East Bridges project of 2003-2005.
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EWI experts analyze potential solutions to the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine. EWI Deputy Director of Policy Innovation Jacqueline Miller, who was quoted in the , argues that the conflict has adverse consequences for all stakeholders. Meanwhile, Project Manager for Energy Security Danila Bochkarev suggests in the that the EU can temper the crisis with an economic approach that employs public-private partnerships and is aware of political sensitivities.
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Foreign Policy magazine includes the EastWest Institute in its annual ranking of the top 30 U.S. think tanks, listing it as number 21. EWI�s 2008 budget of $9.2 million is smaller than many of the think tanks listed higher. By comparison, the Brookings Institution has a budget of $60.7 million and the Council on Foreign Relations $38.3 million. The report notes that the number of think tanks in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1980, and the total now stands at 1,777.

On December 8 and 9, EWI convened the third annual Trialogue21 meeting of public and private sector leaders from China, Europe and the U.S. in Washington, DC. The meeting generated essential strategies for the three powers to address the global financial crisis. The meeting was an essential step to ensure that these powers coordinate their responses to this period of global change.
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Leading figures from Afghanistan, including Dr. Zia Nezam, Afghan ambassador to the EU and NATO, called for new strategies to address the country's problems in an EWI meeting conducted under Chatham House rules. Speakers recommended concrete next steps, including new command and control arrangements for the wavering operations of the International Security Assistance Force and honest evaluations of effectiveness and efficiency of development funding.
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Dmitry Rogozin, Russian Ambassador to NATO, challenged Western leaders to work with Russia on new European security arrangements. Ideas emerging from the meeting included: a proposal for a European summit that includes political leaders and heads of all relevant regional security and economic organizations; a new joint command structure of relevant actors in Southeast Europe and the Caucasus; and a proposal for renovation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
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Hundreds of media outlets around the world gave prominent play to the recent EastWest Institute conference on Weapons of Mass Destruction, which featured appeals for dramatic reductions in nuclear arsenals. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered the keynote address, which included a five-point proposal to eliminate nuclear weapons and an unprecedented endorsement of an international convention against such weapons
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Despite difficult economic times, EWI friends and supporters came together to meet the $500,000 goal for the first year of the 2008 Kathryn W. Davis Peace Initiatives Challenge Grant. In 2009, Kathryn Davis will again match new and increased contributions up to $500,000.
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