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Op-Eds & Guest Contributors

Tariff Trouble in Trump Town

President Trump has had many a cartoon about him as a child throwing toys and anything to hand out of the playpen. Now, of...

The New Face of an Old Enemy: The renewed dangers of ISIS and al-Qaeda

A dangerous cocktail of indifference and complacency enabled al-Qaeda to evolve from a shadowy fringe network in the early 1990s into one of the...

Insights from the recent UN-Turkmenistan Dialogue on the International Year of Peace and Trust

The modern world stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges that range from political conflicts to environmental crises. At the heart of these issues...

Stock Market or Not Market

So, what is a market? Obviously, it is somewhere where you can buy and sell “stuff.” In a successful economy having a market to...

Transforming Central Asia from a frontier market to a stable investment

Central Asia is considered a frontier market. However, at least two of the five countries that constitute this region, namely Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are...

A Christmas Carol for the new European Commission

In the novel “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens it is noted that “there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter...

Resources for the Common Good: New Taxation in Times of Crisis

Do you wonder whether the world is crumbling before your eyes? If so, you are not alone. The global human rights map is alarming:...

Europe’s Vaping Policy Needs Education, Not Heavy-Handed Bans

Europe’s vaping crackdown is about to backfire spectacularly. As countries across the continent gear up to ban disposable vapes and puff devices in an...

Starvation in Sudan

Aid workers have warned that one of the worst famines in decades could be under way in Sudan, a country in the middle of...

The Key Issue for a new Government

After 14 years in the political wilderness, the new UK Labour government could be excused for being somewhat rusty when it comes to running...

Maia Sandu’s slim win: Moldova struggles between Europe and tradition

The results of Moldova’s recent presidential elections and referendum are final. President Maia Sandu won a re-election bid, while a referendum to cement the...

Kazakhstan’s bold leap towards establishing an academic hub

The ConnectED 2024 conference, held in Astana on October 17-18, marked a significant milestone in Kazakhstan’s ambition to become a leading academic and research...

How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism

France raised one billion euros "for the people of Lebanon," with a declared goal “to provide humanitarian aid." French President Emmanuel Macron even made...

The complex politics of Caspian gas

For the countries bordering the Caspian Sea, gas has always been a major economic resource and, in most cases, one of the biggest contributors...

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar

It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...

The 10 most significant consequences of climate change

The most significant threats of climate change in the year 2024 are of environmental, economic and social actions that could change significantly the way...

Development of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions: an integrative future vision

When the issue at hand is as significant as the integration between world religions in terms of shared values and collective thinking, it is...

Supplying Russia and Iran, Armenia emerges as a new sanctions black hole

For the past two years, Armenia has been attempting to demonstrate its shift towards the West, all the while maintaining its geopolitical role as...

A Source of Growth?

The most overused word at the moment has to be “growth.” From the politically naïve (or stupid) and thankfully short UK premiership of Liz...

Europe’s climate policy isn’t working. It’s time for a new approach

The EU faces two inescapable truths: it’s falling behind on growth and angering the European public and farmers with some of its climate policies....

The role of open talent in raising European competitiveness

The American poet Claudia Rankine once said that the past is a life sentence: a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow. This is particularly true...

The European Legion’s Activities in Libya

NATO seems to be seeking to intervene in Libya’s internal affairs and impose its control over the Libyan people’s oil and gas capabilities using...

Kazakhstan: The Middle Kingdom Gains from Neutrality and Oil

Kazakhstan is established as the premier investment location in the Eurasia region for multinational corporations and strategic investors. The country’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has...

EU must strengthen financial protections for Hong Kong activists

Imagine leaving your homeland to escape tyranny, only to find the oppressive regime you fled can still reach you, manipulating your financial lifelines. This...

Living on the Fulcrum Point

In the summer of 2024, we are on a fulcrum point, namely, the key balancing point of a vital situation, and if we were...

Time for Mandatory Climate Change Disclosures by GCC States?

From wildfires in New Mexico, to droughts in Vietnam, and extreme temperatures and historic flooding in China, it is clear that urgent action must...

Policies on Deforestation Show Europe’s Internal Splits

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once famously asked the question “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?” to highlight...

Jeffrey Sachs: three times a traitor

An economist with an international reputation, Professor Jeffrey Sachs has increasingly raised his profile in the world media. A U.S. citizen, he accuses his...

Uzbekistan: A Key Player in the (Central Asian) Great Game

Uzbekistan has had considerable success in attracting billions of dollars of aid, concessional debt, and co-investment, which has helped transform the economy since 2017....

The UK Economy – Another Twist in The Tale

Around the world most nations have been trying to recover their financial strength and where possible find some growth. Above all, they have been...

Genocide Rears its Ugly Head in Sudan’s Brutal War

The UN Security Council has called for a halt to the siege of the city of el-Fasher in the Darfur region, where 1.5 million...

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan open path for integrating energy systems with the EU

On May 1, during the Tashkent International Investment Forum in Tashkent, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of cooperation on merging the energy...

Good news – the UK is not in recession; Bad news – it doesn’t feel like it

One of the greatest problems that both economists and politicians face is the key element of communication. Yes, they may indeed be trying to...

A Green 5+1, regional water issues in Central Asia and previewing next year’s Astana International Forum

Kazakhstan’s Astana International Forum (AIF) has been postponed to 2025, as Astana is diverting financial resources to assist the relief efforts after massive flooding hit several regions....

Navigating the climate challenges for COP29

The impacts of climate change have become more evident as greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from human activities cause increased heat, drought, floods etc. Changes...

The empty seat in Strasbourg

 When the newly elected European Parliament convenes this year on July 16 there will be an empty seat in the plenary hall within the...

COP 29: Azerbaijan takes the spotlight

The next global climate conference, COP 29, will occur in November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The gathering is essential to continue discussing and developing strategies...

Platform work: getting the right approach for consumers and workers

With an agreement finally reached by the European institutions on the Platform Worker Rights Directive after two years of fractious discussions, attention turns to...

EU-Armenia-U.S. High-level Meeting: A Critical Moment for the South Caucasus

On April 5, an EU-Armenia-U.S. trilateral meeting was held between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and U.S....

Western corporations must be held accountable for their role in China’s Uyghur genocide

In recent testimony before the Senate, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that “the Biden Administration should be sanctioning human rights violations” there and...

Can Innovation Diplomacy End the Climate Gamble?

With today’s global challenges urging equally global responses, an overlooked subset of diplomacy emerges as potentially pivotal: innovation diplomacy, a discipline related to the...

Moldova’s 2024 elections: Why it matters

Since the war in Ukraine commenced, the neighboring Republic of Moldova, led by President Maia Sandu, has strongly supported Kyiv. As the tiny, landlocked...

Clear Direction or Misleading Headlines

In a world full of stories all noisily striving for attention, the individual importance of some of them will be exaggerated through scary headlines...

Canada and aiding the democratic cause in Ukraine

Though the funding of Ukraine’s war against Russia remains the main topic of the American Congress, Ukraine’s relationship with its other key Western partners,...

A chance to embrace the Future of Work

The Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles stated that without labor, nothing prospers. In the rapidly evolving landscape of the modern workforce, a seismic shift is...

The Internet of Everything and smart cities

The 10th International Symposium on Networks, Computers, and Communications was the site of many vibrant debates concerning contemporary Information Systems, Communication Networks, and Computing...

Myanmar’s instability deepens as the world watches silently

Myanmar’s stability has eroded significantly since the 2021 military coup. But the coordinated attacks by multiple separatist and pro-democracy groups in late 2023 has...

For Turkey, the Kurds are always considered terrorists

“Hamas is a reality for Palestine. It is a political party … it entered the elections as a political party and won,” said Turkey’s...

Why Africa must be concerned about nuclear threats in Europe

Russia's threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, in response to Finland's membership in NATO has,...

Spare a thought for the environment this Christmas

In the run up to the festive season many people will be travelling by plane to visit family and friends. Spending time with loved...

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