Brookings Today, 7/18/14

A roundup of some of the content published today by Brookings.

• MH17 caught in the midst of Ukraine-Russian tensions. Steven Pifer and Hannah Thoburn discuss the circumstances and implications of the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

• Islamism and democracy in the Middle East. Shadi Hamid explains the motivations and goals of Islamists in Egypt and across the Middle East.

• The success of Xi’s leadership. Cheng Li suggests that the effectiveness of Xi Jinping’s policies and the political legacy of his leadership will depend significantly on the political positioning of Xi’s own protégés.

• Africa in the News. Jessica Pugliese highlights recent events in Africa that affect both regional and international politics of the continent.

Elina Saxena contributed to this post.