Iran’s military and economic investment in Syria

Since the early 1980s, Iran has invested substantial political and economic capital into Syria. Tehran will continue to support the Assad regime, acting as a counter-point alongside Russia to the international community’s largely anti-Assad solutions for the Syria crisis.

It was announced last week that Iran would be invited to attend the upcoming peace talks in Vienna on the Syrian crisis, which took place among major powers from Oct. 30th to Oct. 31st. Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif attended the discussions, which ended without significant progress towards a solution to the crisis, as was anticipated.

Law and Justice in Poland. But what about the EU?

Law and Justice Party (PiS) is the absolute ruler in Poland. Couple of months ago Andrej Duda, also coming from PiS, secured the presidential seat, while last Sunday in parliamentary elections Beata Szydlo, Kaczynski's political chosen one, led the party to a landslide.  ​

Especially after this year's twin win for PiS, old-school, veteran Kaczysnki is undeniably Poland's most influential leader. Appeared in the front scene in 1989 after achieving to form the first non-communist post-war government, his comeback is associated with his country's big step in Brussels' decision-making inner room. With Donald Tusk serving as President of the European Council -in spite of his political rivalry with Kaczysnki - Poland increases its influence in the European soft and power politics block. This does not go alone as during the previous years Warsaw's political leadership has proved to be a strong pro-European voice in Eastern Europe, demonstrating a bold stance during CAP talks, assuming a pro-US stance in NATO intervention in Middle East and Central Asia, while balancing efficiently between its Soviet-friendly past and the stakes of European unity when confronted with Russia's interest in the neighborhood.

Russia is creating a global nuclear power empire

Russia is moving to create a global nuclear power empire — a bold power play that elicits opportunity and risk far beyond the nuclear reactors themselves.

With its ploys in Ukraine and Syria coming largely unanticipated in Western eyes, Russia has cultivated a tendency to pursue foreign policies that are not immediately obvious to surface-level observers.

The Anatomy of AntiCorruption

The tradition of abusing political power for personal gain goes back to antiquity, as does the debate over whether corruption is a necessary cultural vice in a country's development or a cancer that must be obliterated for a society to progress. A topic less covered, however, is what is behind the counter-corruption current.



 In the past year or so, a striking number of scandals have been exposed, anti-corruption campaigns launched, probes deepened and leaders toppled over corruption charges. Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras, now the most indebted company in the world, is at the center of the biggest corruption scandal in the country's history; dozens of business executives and politicians, including the heads of the upper and lower houses of Brazil's legislature and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, are under investigation. In Mexico, President Enrique Pena Nieto has been heavily scrutinized for granting big contracts to companies that also sold him houses on favorable terms and for abruptly canceling a contract with a Chinese-led consortium for high-speed rail because of corruption allegations, as well as after the brazen escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from federal prison. In Guatemala, a U.S.-backed anti-corruption investigative committee forced the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, while in Honduras, another U.S.-led anti-corruption investigation has taken down one of the country's wealthiest and most politically connected families.

Η τουρκική πολιτική της τρομοκρατίας

Διαδηλώτρια δίπλα σε σημαία του ΡΚΚ σε πορεία στην Μασσαλία προς τιμήν των θυμάτων της βομβιστικής επίθεσης αυτοκτονίας στην διαδήλωση φιλοκούρδων ακτιβιστών και ομάδων πολιτών στην Άγκυρα. 17 Οκτωβρίου 2015. JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER / REUTERS

Υπάρχει ένας μακρόχρονος μύθος στην Τουρκία για τους αξιωματικούς της εγχώριας Υπηρεσίας Πληροφοριών -ότι η πεμπτουσία της μεταμφίεσης ενός νέου πράκτορα στο πεδίο είναι να υποδύεται τον μικροπωλητή Simit (τουρκικά κουλούρια) ενώ κατασκοπεύει σε ένα κολέγιο ή σωματείο ύποπτο για υπονομευτική δράση. Αφού βρει ένα βολικό σημείο για να πωλεί κουλούρια κοντά στον τόπο που του έχει ανατεθεί, ο κατάσκοπος-πωλητής στην συνέχεια θα πραγματοποιεί μια καθημερινή ρουτίνα λαθρακρόασης και επιτήρησης. Είτε πρόκειται για γελοιοποίηση της Εθνικής Υπηρεσίας Πληροφοριών της Τουρκίας (ΜΙΤ) από την Αριστερά είτε όχι, από τις 11 Σεπτεμβρίου 2001 υπήρξε μια εκθετική αύξηση του αριθμού των προμηθευτών κουλουριών και λαχειοπωλών γύρω από την παλιά πολυκατοικία μου στην Άγκυρα, η οποία εφάπτεται της πύλης του προξενείου της πρεσβείας των Ηνωμένων Πρεσβεία.

Why Obama Should Just Let Putin Have the Mess in Syria

You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Nor can Vladimir Putin broker a political solution in Syria. In fact, as a result of his recent attempts to play diplomatic power broker in the Middle East, he will lose credibility. That will only grow more apparent later this week when officials from Iran — like Russia, a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — meet with their American and Russian counterparts in Vienna to discuss a political resolution to the Syrian conflict. Russia has reportedly been pushing for Iran’s inclusion in these high-stakes talks.

Thailand and the TPP: Exports at Risk

What will the recently-struck TPP agreement mean for Thailand?

With a final agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership reached and ratification at the national level pending, concerns over lost competitiveness are growing among nations excluded from the mega trade deal.

Viktor Orban Wades into Hungary’s Dark Waters

 

A specter is haunting Europe — the spirit of reactionary populism. Xenophobic parties are deeply entrenched in the politics of such staunchly democratic nations as France and Holland; but the greater danger lies to the east. Earlier this month, the anti-immigrant Freedom Party almost won provincial elections in reliably left-wing Vienna; in elections held Sunday, Poles gave a parliamentary majority to the right-wing Law and Justice party.

Κουρασμένος από τον κόσμο

Γάλλοι της ειρηνευτικής δύναμης του ΟΗΕ καλύπτουν τα αυτιά τους κατά την διάρκεια άσκησης εκπαίδευσης στο νότιο Λίβανο, τον Δεκέμβριο του 2008. HAIDAR HAWILA / REUTERS

Κρίμα για τα Ηνωμένα Έθνη, τα οποία γίνονται 70 ετών αυτόν τον μήνα. Αντί να απολαμβάνει μια ξέγνοιαστη συνταξιοδότηση, ο ΟΗΕ αντιμετωπίζει αδυσώπητες απαιτήσεις [1] για τον χρόνο και τους πόρους του, από απειλές που είναι και παλιές (βίαιες συγκρούσεις, διάδοση των πυρηνικών όπλων [2] και μολυσματικές ασθένειες) και νέες (κλιματική αλλαγή, τρομοκρατία και κυβερνοπόλεμος, μεταξύ άλλων). Εκ πρώτης όψεως, τουλάχιστον, ο ΟΗΕ έχει κρατηθεί σε ικανοποιητικό επίπεδο απέναντι σε αυτές τις προκλήσεις, παραμένοντας το πιο σημαντικό πολυμερές φόρουμ στον κόσμο, χάρη στην δεσμευτική Χάρτα του και την καθολική συμμετοχή. Αλλά αν σκάψετε λίγο βαθύτερα, καθίσταται σαφές ότι ο ΟΗΕ αντιμετωπίζει μια τετραπλή κρίση: Ταυτότητας, συνάφειας, εξουσίας και επιδόσεων.

China divided: Beijing struggles for control

The 60th anniversary of the establishment of the autonomous region of Xinjiang has been saluted by Beijing as a great step toward a stronger national unity. However, rising tensions and incidents seems to jeopardize Beijing’s control over one of its most strategic regions. 

This October, the massive celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Urumqi were disrupted by the dreadful news of an attack in a coal mine that is believed have claimed the lives of 50 workers.