On the first day of the 2014 Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Syrian anti-Assad group called the “Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)”[1] announced that it would be establishing a caliphate[2], or Islamic State (IS, which also became the organization’s new name), on the territories it controls in …

For many analysts, geopolitics offers a useful framework to assess current events and evolutions in and around Ukraine, especially the movements of the power actors which have historically decided about its fate. The new feature that adds to Ukraine’s specific geopolitical position is independence, because Ukraine is an independent and …

Not earlier than 2011, the Arab world appeared to undergo a historic revolution that was supposed to define Islam in the 21st century, an Islam compatible and at ease with the democratic values of free speech and tolerance. With Osama bin Laden dead and al-Qaeda in disarray, moderate Muslims were …

At the beginning of 2014, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee[1] that he “can’t say the threat from the terror network is any less than it was a decade ago”. He further added: “Al-Qaeda probably poses an even bigger challenge today, because its franchises …

After Croatia’s accession to the European Union in July 2013 and the “Enlargement Report” for 2014 of the European Commission – which recommended granting the EU candidate status to Albania and the Western Balkans’ countries including, for the fifth time in a row, the opening of accession negotiations with the …

1. The Western Balkans area is situated along the main fault line of the Huntington-type “clash of civilizations” in Europe: a) Between Christianity and Islam – resulted in the main Muslim enclave in Europe (Albania + Kosovo) b) Between Western Christianity (Catholic/Protestant) and Orthodoxy – resulting in splitting the Slavic …

In the Balkan region, new geopolitical forces are playing an increasingly role and old actors seem to be losing their influence. The gradual decline of U.S. leadership coincides with the Eurozone recession that makes the EU to be perceived as less disposed to offer to the Balkan states a form …

The evolution of the Syrian crisis and its influence upon the neighboring states and the major world actors, the regional consequences of the “Arab Spring” and, not least, the recent announcements about the beginning of the exploitation of the gas resources of the Leviathan offshore deposits are only a few …

The recent developments in Egypt and Turkey, as well as the May 11, 2013 general election in Pakistan, that marked the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its history, brought to the attention the complex phenomena resulting from the …

Introducere Politica externă a Federaţiei Ruse a fost întotdeauna structurată pe cinci mari linii directoare de acţiune, dintre care două, de altfel şi cele mai vizibile în ultimii douăzeci de ani, vizează relaţia cu Occidentul: Statele Unite ale Americii şi Uniunea Europeană. Celelalte trei direcţii au ca ţintă Asia de …