Unlike most other parts of Europe, many Americans generally know nothing about Latvia. Two years ago, if someone had told me I would be spending a year there, I would have replied simply, “where’s that?” That’s the same reaction I received when I was telling family and friends about my trip.
When I explained it was [...]

Most Greek tragedies center on a tragic hero: a figure of noble standing who eventually falls victim to an inherent tragic flaw such as arrogance or hubris. That downfall, and the suffering it causes to the hero and others, cautions the theatergoer about displaying similar character flaws of their own.
In the theater of euro politics, [...]

I did something unusual yesterday — I stopped to smell the roses. That’s not some soppy cliché. As I was walking past the flower stalls on Terbatas Street alongside Vērmanis Park, I physically stopped and smelled the roses (well, some flowers anyway). For someone like me, this was just uncharacteristic.
What caused this abnormal behavior? The [...]

Latvia holds elections to the Saeima every four years, but the country’s government changes much more frequently. Since 1990, Latvia has had 13 governments, an average of one every year and a half, or so.
These governments have fallen for any number of reasons. For one, this is the nature of the parliamentary beast. Latvian politics, [...]

In an early test of her readiness to be High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton stumbled.
In the last few weeks, the international community’s attention has focused on Haiti, an impoverished Caribbean country wrecked by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010. Countless are dead and the [...]

In 2010, both the EU and Latvia will try to regain stability after a tumultuous 2009. But the new year will hardly be smooth sailing.
The EU’s Lisbon Treaty will enter into full force, bringing changes to the Union’s structure and functioning. Since not all the kinks have been worked out, Brussels technocrats and leaders will [...]

For its economic problems, Latvia cannot catch a break.
After passing one of the tightest post-Soviet budgets for 2010 in early December, the Constitutional Court will add further strain to the Latvian economy. The country’s highest court ruled last week that the government’s cutting down pensions violated a basic human right to social security.
In July 2009, [...]

Guarded statements about the ethnic Russian minority population by Latvian President Valdis Zatlers suggest an improvement in the troubled relations that are a legacy of the Soviet Union, yet the message is a bit more mixed.
In speaking to a Russian-language newspaper this week, he denounced using the term “occupiers” to refer to the ethnic Russian [...]

Earlier this week, the Latvian parliament voted 64-30 to pass the 2010 budget, including sharp cuts in public spending and increased taxation.
Such an austere budget will undoubtedly leave no one happy. Even in a country reluctant to protest students, trade unions, and even bikers have held demonstrations outside the Saeima against some of its measures.
Yet [...]

European leaders will gather Thursday evening in Brussels to select who will fill two top jobs created by the recently-ratified Lisbon Treaty.
A new, permanent president of the European Council replaces the rotating presidential system currently used. Further a high representative for foreign affairs and security policy will merge two positions, from the Council and Commission, [...]