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Op-Eds & Guest Contributors

How countries prepare for population growth and decline

Early this year, India surpassed China as the most populous country in the world, with the latter having 850,000 fewer people by the end...

Moldova’s Maia Sandu is the ‘Iron Lady’ of Eastern Europe

As the war in Ukraine passes the year-and-a-half milestone, a critical ally for Kyiv and Washington is the tiny nation of the Republic of...

What’s the end game for the military men seizing power in West Africa?

As socio-economic problems and the inefficiency of civilian governments in the region have made recent coups popular, coup makers are eventually going to become...

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...

Uzbekistan’s remarkable resurgence is a tale of growth, reform, potential

In an era characterized by global turbulence and uncertainty, there are few stories as compelling as that of Uzbekistan. A country that has weathered...

Cambodia’s Hun Manet is a puppet prime minister; his father will still pull the strings

The handing over of power by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to his son Hun Manet is an attempt to maintain the old regime,...

Turkmenistan signals major change in energy-export stance

A big shift is brewing for Caspian Basin energy exports. In a diplomatic about-face, Turkmenistan has signaled its readiness to develop a Trans-Caspian pipeline...

Can Central Asia escape China’s debt trap?

While Washington focuses on the war in Ukraine, Russia and China seek to expand their influence in regions where the US is not sufficiently...

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...

The Beleri case as bellwether for democracy in Albania

The standard definition of a political prisoner is: “One imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for...

The ecological collapse we were warned about has begun

In 2023, different climatic anomalies have been recorded that set new historical records in the tragic progression of climate change at the global level. Thus,...

Europe needs every clean energy tool it can get to deliver net-zero

Remaining steadfast in its commitment to addressing climate change, the European Union is in the midst of an unprecedented transformation to meet climate and...

The accidental harm-reduction champion

Sweden is set to become the world’s first officially smoke-free country. This will save lives, reduce health costs, and improve the quality of life...

Working against Ukraine’s own interests

As the Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, maintaining American support is absolutely vital to Kyiv’s success. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven their courage, but even...

Reimagining policy on the future of work

In 1986, the American pop group The Bangles had a hit with “Manic Monday”, where singer Susanna Hoffs laments the start of another working...

The fear of AI is overblown

The unprecedented popularity of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022, has turbocharged the AI hype machine.We are...

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...

Spain’s solution to the current high energy prices may end up costing it dearly

The announcement in mid-May by the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, that Spain and Portugal have reached a “political agreement” with the European...

New study finds strong public support for advanced nuclear energy

A new, multinational report released today found that there is widespread public support for using advanced nuclear energy technologies to generate electricity. Based on...

Countering online extremism online: Can New Zealand’s Ardern make the Christchurch Call live up to its potential?

On May 15, 2019, two months after the horrendous Christchurch massacre, policymakers led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel...

The unfiltered truth about recent Serbia-Russia relations

Although Moscow perceives Serbia as a trading currency in the geopolitical market of great powers. Serbia believes that its destiny is not to be betrayed by beliefs, friends, allies or history.

France’s policies in Africa diminish its influence; inevitably opening the door to Russia & China

In a recent story titled "How Russia and China are trying to drive France out of Africa", what was not lost on the reader...

Africa’s porous borders promote transnational crimes rather than deeper integration

For positive continental regimes to succeed, there must be both conscious and concerted efforts, as well as political will, from all states to help eliminate transnational crimes while fostering integration across the whole of Africa through trade.

A plea to strengthen the Single Market

Unprecedented geopolitical disturbances call for a more united European Union, not for more trade barriers that would ultimately harm the EU's economy and its citizens.

The Iranian regime is becoming ruthlessly paranoid about ethnic Azeri demands for civil rights guarantees

Complete disregard for the well-being of Iran’s Azeri minority has sparked a wave of intense anger within the community.

Cambodia’s current government is the face of tropical Fascism

There is no hope that the authoritarianism that the world sees in places like Russia, China and Cambodia can ever be interpreted as a peaceful and benign phenomenon, or that it should be accepted by an implicit racist or discriminatory assumption that some cultures just don’t have a democratic tradition and aren’t quite capable of ever developing one.

Georgia has shown the world that a Kremlin project can be defeated

In early March, the world’s attention was on Georgia. We saw massive protests fueled by anger, concerns and fear, and eventually, we witnessed a...

Putin’s New START withdrawal has broad implications

Vladimir Putin continues to persuade Russians that the West provoked his imperialist war of aggression against Ukraine. His announcement that he would no longer...

Free Trade: The magic potion against economic decline

Despite rising internal and external nationalistic pressure, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic should remember that in a time of increasing hostilities from bad actors, retaliatory protectionism toward our allies will do nothing but ensure mutual decline.

Turkey’s seismic shift

This breakthrough in normalization between Armenia and Turkey comes amid a much wider context, well beyond the simple validation of earthquake diplomacy to elevate crisis response over conflict retention. 

Voluntary prisoners of history

By now it should have been clear to everyone that we are contemporaries of another - I would say, 'revolutionary' - transformation of humanity....

Sudan’s progress towards reform

Sudan's Forces of Freedom and Change, a wide coalition of civilian and rebel parties that opposes military rule in the country, is working with...

NE Global interviews Iran’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

Iranians have tried every other possible way to work for change, for many years. Those who thought they could reform the regime have continually been disappointed. Now they know that they have no other solution.

What a difference one year makes

Ukraine’s steadfastness has shown Putin's dreams of a post-Soviet Russian Empire are pure fiction.

The world will plunge into chaos if we don’t tax windfall profits

Over half the world’s population lives under authoritarian regimes, and movements that clearly call individual and public freedoms into question and foster xenophobia persist at the ballot box.

Is “cable diplomacy” shaping energy policy in the Mediterranean & Middle East?

The transition towards a carbon neutral economy has become a priority for many governments around the world. Using the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals...

Sudan is unlawfully prolonging ex-president Al-Bashir’s trial

The 1989 coup in Sudan, known in the country as the National Salvation Revolution, is still awaiting a final decision from the Sudanese judiciary,...

Political prisoners in Iran do not bow to the absolute authority of the Supreme Leader

The legal system of the Islamic Republic is in no way compliant with the requirements of modern international laws or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Iran’s influence peddling at the European Parliament

The Iranian dictatorship is able to use the services of agents disguised as “political advisors” to serve the interests of a foreign and hostile power that is out to undermine the very core of European democracy.

The end of Europe

The European Union is simply too big; it is composed of too many cultures and political perspectives; and, despite Brussels' claim that it values diversity over all other issues, this does not include a deviation from what it considers its own norms. As matters currently stand, the EU runs the risk of collapsing under its own weight.

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. 

Has Armenia killed the South Caucasus peace process?

Despite the issuance elaborate diplomatic statements detailing the various policy spheres in which discussions were held, Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, publicly stated that “no concrete results” had been reached regarding a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Ignored for too long, Europe should realize a democratic Iran is closer than ever

The unity of urban intellectuals and the more underprivileged sectors of Iranian society poses a unique challenge to the regime.

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...

Iran’s protests underscore the strength and viability of a democratic alternative

The mullahs are struggling to maintain their hold on power. Western nations should support the people’s will by further isolating the regime, closing Iranian embassies and halting diplomatic relations. The clerical regime may have once seemed an immovable fixture of the Middle East landscape, but this isn’t the case any longer.

Azerbaijan’s opening of an embassy in Israel is a major tectonic shift on the regional geopolitical map

With the regional geopolitical situation as it is, and amidst pressure and threats on multiple fronts, Azerbaijan has responded with a key decision to bolster relations with a key ally by formally opening an embassy in Israel.

How running on mainstream ideas won the day in the US midterm elections

The Democratic Party succeeded in winning the mainstream by backing candidates from the center-left and running on an agenda that made progress one of the priorities of American voters.

Election deniers still don’t know how democracy works

Trump Republicans, whose candidates lost, claim the results are inaccurate and illegitimate. Their criticism and demands, including calls for new elections, are based on misperceptions of how ballots are obtained, cast, and counted.

We are fighting for the freedom of all Iranians. Where does Europe stand?

Western governments should recognize the Iranian people’s right to defend themselves, and they should isolate the regime completely.

Human pre-history experienced transformative changes that fundamentally altered our evolution

We live in a fast-moving, technology-dominated era. Happiness is fleeting, and everything is replaceable or disposable. It is understandable that people are drawn to...

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