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Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Africa
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.
Asia & Pacific
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
Georgia has shown the world that a Kremlin project can be defeated
Over the past few days, the world’s attention was on Georgia. We saw massive protests fueled by anger, concerns and fear, and eventually, we...
Europe & Eurasia
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...
Economy & Business
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.
Armenia
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.
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
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....
Africa
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...
Democracy & Human Rights
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.
Invasion of Ukraine
What a difference one year makes
Ukraine’s steadfastness has shown Putin's dreams of a post-Soviet Russian Empire are pure fiction.
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
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.
Energy
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...
Democracy & Human Rights
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,...
Iran
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.
EU Institutions
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.
EU Institutions
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.
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
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.
Iran
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.
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...
Iran
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
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.
Newsletter
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.
Newsletter
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.
Democracy & Human Rights
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.
Newsletter
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...
Africa
Mozambique can become a major energy partner for Europe in return for governance & security support
The government of Mozambique recently hosted the 42nd Joint Parliamentary Assembly, a collection of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, along with the EU, as...
Refugees & Migration
Unexpected migration woes
Brussels has, in the case of the migrant problem, proven that the EU's feckless bureaucrats are persuasive only when they carry a big stick against those that openly mock them.
Africa
Ethiopia’s peace deal is critical for Africa on many levels
Ethiopia is one of the few countries in Africa with the food production potential to help meet the shortfall in the continent’s imports of cereal crops from Ukraine.
Invasion of Ukraine
How the US midterm elections could impact Ukraine
Ukrainians understand that only they can win the war. The country does not need foreign intervention to defeat Putin. But to win, they need the help of the US.
Newsletter
One rule for life & what maps mean: Keep Jordan Peterson away from Ukraine
For Peterson to refer to Russia's invasion as an ‘incursion’ is nothing more than insulting. The word does not make allowances for the wholesale destruction of cities, the occupation of territory and the murder of the inhabitants.
The Middle East
The most expensive World Cup in history – 6,500 deaths and $220 bln
Widespread stories of human rights violations have dogged Qatar's authorities since the Gulf nation was awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Newsletter
Helping women lead across the Mediterranean
Female unemployment rate remains well below the global average. More than half of working women are employed informally, with low-wage jobs and fewer rights than men.
Invasion of Ukraine
Nine months is enough
Getting Russian civil society to converge on peaceful alternatives and a different narrative than the Kremlin’s is the key to de-concentrating political power.
Disinformation & Propaganda
Cryptocurrencies: The new age of terror financing
The misuse of cryptocurrencies by violent extremist groups and individuals has emerged as a new and additional financing technology.
Democracy & Human Rights
Musk plans to profit from Twitter, not create a town square for global democracy
As a privately owned company, Twitter will now only answer to Musk and his underlings, not to shareholders.
Europe & Eurasia
The regulation of crypto-assets is not enough to prevent the risks facing investors
Europe is on the verge of regulating the cryptocurrency industry, a long overdue and necessary step that will offer greater protection to investors, while...
Democracy & Human Rights
Ukraine and the establishment of a new European order
Once beholden to various empires throughout its history, Ukraine has morally discredited the notion of empire-building in Europe.
Energy
Full speed ahead speed towards digital & green transition in Lisbon
Transport plays a key role in reaching a global carbon-neutral economy, with climate change progressing faster than expected and countries struggling to meet the...
Democracy & Human Rights
The Iranian people have committed to a revolution, so where is the West?
Huge changes have occurred in Iran's political landscape since the start of the protests two months ago. Western governments, however, need to unequivocally and immediately back the movement instead of playing lip-service to vague notions of solidarity and outrage.
Austria
Late Red Bull tycoon left an indelible mark on Austrian society & politics
He was described as the “most famous unknown” in Austria, Dieter Mateschitz was one of the richest people in the country – according...
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.
Disinformation & Propaganda
Democracy in the Republic of the Internet is backsliding
The internet has become a powerful enemy of any authoritarian regime; one that these regimes have increasingly fought to weaken.
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Election deniers and defenders poised for next phase in voting wars
There is little doubt that pro-Trump Republicans are going to challenge voters and contest results that they do not like in 2022’s general election....
Democracy & Human Rights
Human rights abuses are becoming commonplace in Sudan
The Sudanese government has introduced some reforms but nothing to improve the existing legal base with regard to compliance with international human rights.
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Could there be dark days ahead for buyers of solar panels?
A landmark ruling is casting a shadow over Europe’s booming solar industry with manufacturers and buyers of solar panels facing a potential stand-off over...
Economy & Business
Time to listen to the voice of freelancers
It is of utmost importance that politicians do not create a legislative framework which forces all workers into an outdated 9 to 5 model.
Democracy & Human Rights
The South Caucasus peace process should address war crimes issues
The EU must do more to ensure peace in the South Caucasus.
Africa
How Maasai women are resisting land grabs
In Mwanza, Tanzania, Nairukoki Leyian-Naisinyai tells me that here, “Corporations come with papers from the government claiming that they have the right to our...
Invasion of Ukraine
Contemplating evil in Ukraine
According to the Geneva Conventions, Russia is perpetrating genocide against the Ukrainian people.
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