After more than 25 years working in Ukraine, Brian Mefford has witnessed the country through revolution, reform, and war. He began working in Ukraine in 1999 with the International Republican Institute, supporting democratic development and political reform, and later served as an adviser during the presidency of Viktor Yushchenko. He is the founder of Wooden Horse Strategies LLC, a boutique government and public affairs firm, and has also been heavily involved in humanitarian assistance efforts throughout Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, delivering over $6 million in humanitarian and medical aid to date. In this interview, he outlines how the war has accelerated long-standing reform challenges. He argues that corruption and national security are deeply intertwined, and that Ukraine’s changing public attitudes and strengthening institutions offer cautious optimism, provided international partners maintain both support and pressure in the years ahead. “Now, in the middle of war, is the time for the kind of structural changes Ukraine needs to make to prepare for eventual EU accession. We don’t know exactly when accession will happen. Perhaps it will be part of negotiations or a future peace settlement, but Ukraine needs to be ready. It shouldn’t wait until after the war to pass this legislation. Now is the time to do it, and it will likely be easier to do it now than later.” To read the full conversation, click on the image above.

Tensions are rising in Iran and across the Middle East, uncertainty hangs over Donald Trump’s commitment to the Euro-Atlantic security umbrella, and war continues along Europe’s eastern border. Against this backdrop, commonspace.eu spoke this week with Dr. Jamie Shea, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), about what lies ahead. He held several senior positions during a 38-year career at NATO, and represented the Alliance on the international stage as its spokesperson during the 1999 Kosovo War, when he briefed the international press throughout NATO’s air campaign against Yugoslavia. Since retiring from NATO in 2018, he has continued his work as a professor, lecturer, speaker and adviser on European and transatlantic security affairs. Dr. Shea discusses the strategic consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine for NATO’s future, the need for the Alliance to adapt to a rapidly changing battlefield shaped by drones and technological innovation, and the importance of cooperation between NATO and the European Union in strengthening Europe’s defence capabilities.  He argues that instability in the Middle East could reshape the strategic balance for Europe: “The one who smiles is Vladimir Putin, because an oil price of over $100 a barrel for a long period of time is going to refill the Russian war chest, as Putin funds a lot of his Ukraine war effort from his energy resources. You can see that the Americans have already lifted sanctions on Russia to allow Russia to export oil to India to keep international markets flowing. This is what we call ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. Yes, it helps the situation in the Gulf temporarily. It removes pressure on the oil market. But the impacts of the war will also mean more inflation, higher energy prices, and higher gas prices in Europe. You are then going to get a lot of European countries saying, ‘well, sorry, but I can’t spend 5 percent of GDP on my defence any longer.’” To read the full interview, click on the image above.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, commonspace.eu spoke with Fidan Namazova, an Azerbaijani peace-building practitioner and researcher, about women’s inclusion in regional dialogue, environmental cooperation as a pathway to confidence-building, and her work on gender-sensitive urban development in the South Caucasus. She was joined in conversation by Alexandra Dumitrescu, Program Manager and International Coordinator at LINKS Europe. Ms. Namazova has been closely involved in LINKS Europe’s Thematic Groups for a New Armenian–Azerbaijani Dialogue, serving as Chair of the Thematic Group on Environment. In this capacity, she contributed to shaping the Report of the Thematic Group on Environment, advancing the idea that environmental cooperation can provide practical entry points for rebuilding trust and fostering sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Read the full interview by clicking on the image above.