Defense & Security
United Kingdom
Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda
David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a surprise move by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his cabinet reshuffle on November 13, is...
Armenia
Russia’s powerful economic levers over Armenia
Armenia's relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West....
ASEAN
Why China’s new map has stirred regional tensions
In the waning days of summer, closely following a BRICS summit and mere days ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group...
Economy & Business
US slaps new separate sanctions on Iran, Russia and Hamas
On October 18, the US Department of State announced new separate sanctions packages against Iran and Hamas; they are not directly connected. A number...
Armenia
With Armenia defeated tensions between Yerevan and Russia reach a turning point
Relations between Armenia and its traditional strategic partner Russia are deteriorating fast. With Yerevan's fundamental defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh - the 30-year-old Moscow-backed separatist region...
Africa
Private military companies continue to expand in Africa
In the wake of the July 26 coup in Niger, the world’s spotlight has once again turned to the expansion of private military and...
Afghanistan
The global impact two years after the Taliban’s takeover
Two years ago, the world saw the return of a repressive Taliban regime. The rapid fall of the Afghan government sent shockwaves throughout neighbouring...
Iran
Iran’s ruling mullahs have demanded that European governments crackdown on opposition groups
As European and Iranian officials actively work to reduce tensions, some diplomatic sources privately say that Tehran has demanded from France that it silence...
Defense & Security
White House support for F-16s to Ukraine is a major momentum shift in the 18-month war
After months of waffling and amid increasingly desperate pleas from Kyiv, the White House has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Belgium’s prisoner swap with Iran proves the EU is unwilling to punish state sponsors of terror
An Iranian terrorist, Asadollah Assadi, is heading home from Belgium just two years into a 20-year sentence. He is the beneficiary of the Islamic...
Kosovo
Serb boycotts, protests trigger new unrest in Kosovo
The latest cycle of unrest in Kosovo, a direct result of Serbian interference in Kosovo’s April 23 municipal elections, exploded into violence on May...
Finland
Finland joins NATO
Before the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, only a third of Finns supported joining NATO. Russia’s war, however, led to almost unanimous overnight support amongst Finnish voters for membership in the alliance.
Defense & Security
When it comes to defense, the politicians must listen to those who know best – the generals
The halls of power are walked by people who know little, care even less and yet have the right to supersede and ignore the advice of those who know better.
Defense & Security
Providing Ukraine with advanced Western fighters is a logical step towards battlefield success
While Ukraine may have weathered the storm of Russia’s initial onslaught and retaliated with a force and determination largely thought to have been beyond...
The Philippines
US & Philippines agree to ramp up defense cooperation
The US and Philippines announced on February 2 a substantial expansion of their existing military cooperation arrangements, increasing the number of facilities that American...
Columns
Putin threatens global security with renewed nuclear saber rattling
Putin's maniacal compulsion to start a nuclear war is not just a sinister ultimatum to world peace, it is simply mad.
Defense & Security
Neutral but not neutered: Ireland’s security needs to be nurtured
The Irish people have been a beacon of light against darkness, hatred and genocide. But Ireland needs to do more to contribute to the dismantling of autocracies, the self-determination of peoples still shackled by remnant empires and the emancipation and empowerment of all underprivileged people.
Europe & Eurasia
Poland is going its own way
The leader of Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, continues to attack Germany, the main focus of his ire in Europe. Kaczynski...
Interviews
Italy sees close cooperation with NATO as key to Europe’s strategic defense
Europe needs to avoid, at all costs, any form of decoupling between EU defense cooperation and the transatlantic alliance.
Defense & Security
The West’s past foreign policy mistakes have extended the Iranian regime’s lifespan
Middle Eastern misadventures have affected the West’s political psyche. With thousands dead and trillions wasted, any protracted military campaign abroad will be considered doomed to fail before it has even begun.
Defense & Security
What do Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership mean for the alliance’s future innovations?
On May 18, Finland and Sweden officially applied for NATO membership––a markedly historical decision. While the two countries have long maintained military non-alignment positions,...
Defense & Security
Why the West must ditch the JCPOA and instead focus on its critical diplomatic objectives
Negotiations to restore the Iran nuclear deal have reached a complete standstill. After fifteen months of diplomatic back and forth, Iran is refusing to sign...
Defense & Security
NATO’s new Nordic members gives the alliance previously unthinkable flexibility
To paraphrase Churchill on the Americans, you can always expect the Scandinavians to get it right – but only after they've tried everything else...
Invasion of Ukraine
Will ‘no-fly’ zones fly over Ukraine
During a recent news conference, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was confronted with a plea for establishing a ‘no-fly zone’ This suggestion was quickly dissected...
Africa
Cautious optimism for peace in Ethiopia
International mediators hope that with the recent decision by Ethiopia to end the state of emergency in the country, the first green shoots of...
NATO
Why it’s time to take the Russian-led military alliance seriously
The Russian-led military alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), created headlines in January 2022 after 2,500 of its troops entered Kazakhstan to assist in restoring...
Defense & Security
The West’s disunity stems from the latent Russophilia; anti-Anglo-Americanism of key EU nations
If you personify countries by combining their politics with their national identity, it's amazing how representative the characters are. For example, the UK is...
Defense & Security
An appeasement policy: How Georgia lost its friends and got closer to its enemy
As tensions on the Ukrainian border have reached a fever pitch over the last several weeks, the overwhelming majority of NATO and the members...
Defense & Security
Ukraine is the big loser in the new Cold War between Russia and the West
The above is without question a provocative headline. The main question, however, is 'why draw such a negative conclusion from the current geopolitical confrontation...
Albania
Conflict in Ukraine and Kosovo are connected
Vladimir Putin claims that protecting ethnic Russians justifies military action against Ukraine. Putin’s concern for Ukraine’s Russian minority is bombastic. His greater global goal...
Archive
It’s time to rebrand or put the idea of a European Defense Force to rest
There are a few reoccurring issues that come up around the EU water cooler and that is the idea of a European Defense Force,...
Analysis
The Korean Peninsula should remain a security concern
With both South Korea and the United States focused on domestic matters – 2022 presidential race and 2022 midterm elections respectively, it will be...
Analysis
Why China cannot invade Taiwan
China’s recent aerial incursion in Taiwan air defense zone and President Xi Jinping’s confrontational remarks re-prompted a debate on whether or not Beijing is...
Archive
Why Biden shouldn’t use the ‘Summit for Democracy’ to start more Cold Wars
On December 9 and 10, President Biden will host a virtual “Summit for Democracy.” The gathering will bring together leaders from 110 countries who...
Defense & Security
The ‘European Army’ scheme is just a cover for France to get back into the big power game
The idea of a so-called 'European Army' has come in and out of fashion in the Brussels bubble for about 20 years. After each...
Analysis
Is Lukashenko setting a new trap for Europe?
One can hardly imagine the misery of the refugees at the border between Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. Thousands of people from Iraq, Syria and...
Archive
The EU and the hijab
Given my relentless, savage, repetitive and – if I may say so – eminently fair criticism of the European Union, I could easily forgive...
Archive
Following election flop, Zaev announces resignation plans
North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced his planned resignation on November 1 after his social-democratic party massively lost the second round of municipal...
Analysis
International courts are more vital than ever to protect human rights
There’s a disturbing trend sweeping Europe, as policymakers and judicial authorities alike attempt to skirt the authority of transnational courts. First, in keeping with...
Analysis
New political patterns in the South Caucasus
Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...
Archive
A dash of UK Hubris: Containing China
Hubris is a fickle emotion. Too much of it can be deadly, while too little of it can be crushing. A country with a...
Afghanistan
In US foreign policy, realists are finally on the rise
During the autumn of 2020, the United States lost one of its most brilliant, incisive, yet unheralded thinkers in Sherle R. Schwenninger.One of Schwenninger’s...
Albania
Greece again agrees to expand US defense cooperation
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to Washington October 13-14 to participate in a scheduled session of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, where he met...
Analysis
The need for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
A coercive China and a nuclear North Korea are peripherally affecting the U.S.’ security interests in the Indo-Pacific. With increasingly well-developed power derived from...
Analysis
Defense pacts and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean
The Greeks have finally come to the realization that despite a period of relative calmness Turkey is not about to abandon its assertive behavior...
Afghanistan
Athens rocked by Biden’s nomination of political operative
After an extended period of uncertainty over who would be tapped, on October 8 US President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate influential...
Analysis
The West needs to unite to fight for human rights
Human rights seem nonexistent in today’s world. That’s because the world’s democracies are not fighting for it.
While the world’s dictatorships always seem to have...
Afghanistan
Why the Taliban’s promise to stop the opium trade rings hollow
One of the first announcements the Taliban made after seizing power in Afghanistan in August was that they were going to “ban the production and sale...
Analysis
The road to conflict resolution in Karabakh
Events are moving quite quickly in the South Caucasus, although they have not yet reached a breakthrough. Nevertheless, the first anniversary of the outbreak...
Archive
AUKUS: A French ‘beurre noisette’ in the Indo-Pacific
Any fan of French haute gastronomy understands the prominent role that noisette beurre, or burnt butter, plays in their recipes. As the speciality adds...
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