On June 2, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili signed into law the controversial bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” as the parliament overrode Salome Zourabichvili’s presidential veto (see EDM, May 13, 22). The Russian-style “foreign agents” bill was originally withdrawn in 2023 under intense public pressure but was …

In our modern world, most states are democracies or at least call themselves “democratic.” The adoption of democracy is hailed as one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Once upon a time, humanity broke out of the shackles of monarchies and has never looked back since. Nowadays, all citizens in democratic countries …

The petrodollar system, the bedrock of global finance since the 1970s, faces an uncertain future. The recent expiration of the U.S.-Saudi petrodollar pact in June 2024 marks a turning point, prompting a reassessment of the dollar’s role in oil trade and the broader geopolitical landscape. This article delves beyond the …

(CORDIS) — The 2024 European elections – the world’s largest multi-country vote – saw the rise of nationalist and Eurosceptic parties. Going back a few years, there was Brexit and the debt crisis. How have these and other major events negatively impacted European identity? A report by the University of …

The United States ended conscription, the military draft, in 1973. The all volunteer military came about because of mass protest over the Vietnam war. Richard Nixon believed, and not without reason, that opposition to the war would wane, and his re-election chances would improve, if young men didn’t fear being …

Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine was a seismic event for the Republic of Moldova. The war upended Chișinău’s long-held belief that constitutional neutrality would protect the country. Additionally, the invasion focused Brussels’s attention on Moldova, which the European Union has often regarded as an afterthought. Moscow’s war catalyzed Moldova’s politics …

The Soviet-China partnership at the beginning of Cold War, and the present quasi-alliance between China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea all have much in common. Their overriding goal is to topple the United States. This means that the U.S. cannot simply withdraw behind its oceans and adopt a posture of …

Neither the West not its enemies are prepared to fight. Some 30 years ago, I coined the phrase “post-heroic warfare” to acknowledge a new phenomenon: the very sharp reduction in the tolerance of war casualties. My starting point was President Clinton’s 1993 decision to abandon Somalia after 18 American soldiers …

Le monde est confronté au danger d’une grande guerre. Pour comprendre l’ampleur de cette menace, il faut aller au-delà des nouvelles en provenance d’Ukraine. Il faut aussi, d’une part, essayer d’apprécier de manière équilibrée le facteur variable de la volonté humaine dans la gestion des crises internationales et, d’autre part, …

Zelensky’s only use right now is to legitimize radical policies and he’ll then be cast aside once he’s done what’s needed of him, though it’s unclear when that’ll be since everything depends on whether NATO conventionally intervenes in Ukraine. President Putin shared his view during a press conference in Hanoi …