NATO
Defense & Security
NATO Summit: “Trump-proofing” Ukraine support while Biden appearances under a microscope
The July 9-11 NATO Summit was originally envisioned as a celebration of the alliance’s 75th anniversary at the organization’s founding venue in Washington D.C.,...
Interviews
Tackling new threats to critical energy infrastructure
The explosions that targeted the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany in September 2022 and the suspected sabotage of Baltic-connector pipeline, which supplies...
Interviews
Wider Middle East regional conflict must be avoided
In a moment of growing tensions in the Middle East, NE Global sat down for an interview about the Iran-Israel crisis with Giuseppe Manna,...
The Negroni Diaries
With Sweden now a NATO member, what’s next?
Sweden completed the necessary diplomatic formalities on March 7, depositing its instrument of accession with the U.S. State Department in Washington, which manages the...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
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...
Albania
Kosovo-Serbia tensions fading after deal reached
The slow-motion crisis between Kosovo and Serbia over automobile license plates that began with little notice on September 20 escalated into a tense show...
Afghanistan
Why the fall of Afghanistan sllows Iran to expand its influence
Since 2020, the United States has been working to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The Americans' announcement emboldened the Taliban, who recently took control...
Analysis
Canada’s election and its meaning for Ukraine
Though it is hard to say, the recent election in Canada was a waste of money. After the expenditure of over $600 million (CDN),...
Analysis
Germany and its neo-imperial quest in Bosnia
When rumors first began to swirl in January about the possible appointment of Christian Schmidt as Europe's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I...
Afghanistan
With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners
In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...
Afghanistan
Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?
Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...
Afghanistan
On 9/11, it’s time for a reckoning and reflection of decades of failed US national security policy
A reckoning with America’s failed national security policy is long overdue.Our calamitous misadventures in the Middle East and the global financial collapse of 2008...
Afghanistan
What next after 20 years of war in Afghanistan? Anatol Lieven on the U.S.’ legacy and the Taliban’s rise
On August 30, 2021, a C-17 transport plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, signaling the end of America’s longest war....
Afghanistan
Europe willingly forfeited a leadership role in Afghanistan
If Winston Churchill were alive today, I imagine he might have said something like “Never in the history of human conflict have so few...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan 2021: An extremist ‘stammtisch’
Everybody has a favorite bar or coffee house. A place you can go to seek solace or connect with old friends. In some cases,...
Analysis
Are Turkish investors falling for Hamas’ games?
Recent reports have revealed the extent of investments and assets controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, within Turkey.
Hamas has long maintained a strong...
Afghanistan
How Erdogan will “manage” the Afghan refugee crisis
Images of Afghan refugees scrambling to escape Kabul following the Taliban’s seizure of power will haunt the international community for decades. According to the...
Afghanistan
Mikheil Saakashvili – The post-Soviet space’s once and future buffoon
It isn't every day you find yourself talking to a major figure of recent history, especially not one who has staged both a successful...
Analysis
An EU diplomatic ‘bâdgir’ in Vienna: The Iran nuclear deal 2.0
When things get hot, you look to cool them down. Persian culture is too familiar with heat with scorching Middle East temperatures. One of...
Analysis
The EU’s plans for stabilizing Libya via democratic elections alone are set to fail
The European Union has for years invested its diplomatic efforts, as well as millions of Euros, into bringing a sense of security to Libya,...
Afghanistan
An Afghan coda
Very rarely, if ever, do I ever write in the first person when offering an opinion or analysis of either a current or past...
Afghanistan
The EU is nothing but a feckless spectator in the unfolding Afghan crisis
The surprising speed by which the Taliban seized control, with relative ease, of the whole of Afghanistan is a major geopolitical debacle for the...
Afghanistan
A monster miracle from a cave
In the history of sport, there have been many unforgettable victories. True testaments of teams achieving the unthinkable. The 1980 Winter Olympics men’s hockey...