Η εναλλακτική της Αλγερίας

Εκπαιδευόμενοι του στρατού της Αλγερίας σε στρατιωτική ακαδημία κοντά στο Αλγέρι, τον Ιούνιο του 2012. (Reuters / Ramzi Boudina)

Οι αναταραχές της Αραβικής Άνοιξης φάνηκε να προσπέρασαν μια χώρα: Την Αλγερία. Στα ανατολικά της, η Λιβύη ξέσπασε σε εμφύλιο πόλεμο, ενώ η Τυνησία υπέστη ένα κύμα τρομοκρατίας που έθεσε σε κίνδυνο την δημοκρατική μεταστροφή της και την οικονομική της ανάκαμψη. Προς τα νότια, το Μάλι μένει ακόμα ενωμένο, αν και μόλις μετά βίας, χάρη σε μια γαλλική δύναμη σταθεροποίησης. Όλο αυτό το διάστημα, όμως, η Αλγερία έχει παραμείνει ένα αξιόπιστο προπύργιο -αν και αποτελεί επίσης ένα είδος αινίγματος.

Is Iran Overstretched in Syria?

For the majority of Arabs, Syria symbolizes all that is wrong with Iranian influence in the Middle East. Since 2011, Tehran and its regional proxies have poured men, money, and weapons into Syria to prevent President Bashar al-Assad’s military defeat. In June 2013, Hezbollah’s intervention in the western city of Qusayr single-handedly turned the tide of the war in Assad’s favor.

Vorsprung durch Grexit

The German political and bureaucratic class is preparing for Grexit, and thinks the risks are containable. Angela Merkel should resist this emerging consensus in Berlin, and make every effort to keep Greece in the euro.



The brinkmanship between Greece and the euro group is entering a decisive phase. Amidst escalating threats – default by Greece, financial cut-off by the eurozone – the most pressing issue is whether Germany would allow a Greek exit from the eurozone, either on purpose (‘Grexit’) or by accident (‘Greccident’). Most of the key decision-makers in Berlin say that unless Greece starts implementing real reforms, it should leave the euro. But Chancellor Angela Merkel needs to consider the geopolitical dimension, as well as pressure from the US and the ECB to keep Greece in – in addition to the unwillingness of the Greek people to leave. For Europe’s sake, she should go the extra mile to avoid Greece departing the eurozone. But the odds of Grexit happening are rising.

Why Russia Will Send More Troops to Central Asia

Russia is making a concerted effort to increase its military and security presence throughout Central Asia, just not for the reasons it would have you think. Though the Kremlin is concerned with the threat of spillover violence from Islamist militancy in Afghanistan — its purported motive for deploying more troops — it is far more alarmed by what it sees as Chinese and Western encroachment into lands over which it has long held sway. It is this concern that will shape Moscow's behavior in Central Asia in the years to come.