Around the bloc: Russian Pilot: Turkish Jets Fired Without Warning
Russia slaps restrictions on agricultural imports in first concrete action against Ankara.
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Russia slaps restrictions on agricultural imports in first concrete action against Ankara.
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Until recently, anyone over 18 could buy deactivated guns in Slovakia, no license required.
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After legalizing blocking of internet, telephones during ‘counterterrorism’ operations, Dushanbe targets SIM cards.
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During the presidency of George W. Bush, the United States became involved in a number of initiatives aimed at the democratisation and economic stabilisation of the Middle East. The change of the poitical system there, the propagation of political and economic liberties were assumed to alleviate extremism and anti-Americanism in the region, thus translating into increased security both in the Middle East and the United States. The author of this paper analyses the assumptions of key initiatives imple- mented during the first term of George W. Bush, accounting for the strengths and weaknesses of these programmes and problems implementing them. She also presents the critical opinions and responses by Arab and European states to US proposals.
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The author has adopted the assumptions based on the theory of political realism. This allowed him to analyse the Ukraine crisis as powers rivalry on Ukraine. In this competition, on the one hand, attending West, the United States and the European Union and Russia, on the other hand. The paper presents reasons of both sides, taking into account within the position of the West the motives of Poland’s involvement. To make the analysis objective it shows the position of a third party, i.e. Asian powers India and China, and independent experts from Western countries. Then the paper points the Ukraine crisis consequences for international security in Europe. In the last part attempts to show the chances of reaching an agreement between the West and Russia to solve the Ukraine crisis. It states that it is necessary and possible, but subject to the abandonment by the parties involved „absolute satisfaction” and decide on a compromise solution.
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Hybrid warfare, even while posing a challenge as a combination of different methods of conducting conflicts, is not the surprising, new phenomenon it is sometimes depicted as. Public international law, even without labelling conflicts as “hybrid wars,” contains norms which deal with the various aspects of hybrid warfare. International humanitarian law, for instance, regulates a substantial scope of hybrid wars by imposing humanitarian obligations also on non-state actors. Moreover, one can refer to international law regulations on new types of weapons, propaganda and information warfare. These examples confirm that international law embraces the mechanisms.
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“Little green men” play an important role in hybrid conflicts. The term emerged during the Crimean crisis, when the international community was faced with the activities of unmarked armed forces whose nature did not necessarily correspond with the image of “Crimean self-defense forces.” “Little green men” might just as well be soldiers dressed as civilians. In the Crimean conflict Russian soldiers enjoyed protection as combatants (and as possible prisoners of war), and Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are regarded as regular armed forces of the Russian Federation, so they always enjoy the status of combatants and POWs. Representatives of special forces dressed in civilian clothes and not carrying weapons openly could be considered spies. Otherwise they should be protected under prisoner of war status. Little green men fighting in non-international armed conflicts might not be regarded as combatants or prisoners of war, but as criminals.
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Currently, taking into consideration the high risk of outbreak of conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, what is connected with religious-ethnic tensions, nuclear power proliferation or superpowers’ completion in order to establish its own influences, Qatar in its effective activities in conflict resolution appears as a regional phenomenon in the XXI century. Among the international community Qatar showed how to use its own economic and political potential to become regional political power. There are chosen four case studies of Qatari mediation in order to present means and effects of diplomatic conflict resolution: political crisis in Lebanon, war in Sudanese Darfur, conflict between rebels and government forces in Yemen and rarely exemplified in the context of Qatari mediation – Eritrea-Djibouti dispute. Mediation as a diplomatic means of conflict resolution is correlated with the strategy of foreign policy of Qatar. This strategy depends on making ‘brand’ of the state in the international relations, strengthen its own security and stability and expanding own sphere of influence.
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The Palestinian question has been deeply influenced by regional political trends for the last six decades. Palestinians have been exposed to external and internal Arab politics, suffering – from the Lebanese civil war of 1976–1989, the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991, the American occupation of Iraq in 2003, and the Arab Spring since 2010. Those examples remind of the fragility of the Palestinian issue and its deep dependence on stability in the Arab World. The issue of present developments in the Arab region, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the peace process in the Middle East are highly correlated.
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This article analyses and assesses the hitherto achievements in the negotiations of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany with Iran devoted to the limitation of its nuclear program and normalization of the mutual relations. This is prerequisite of the full normalization of political and economic relations between Iran and Western states. An interim agreement struck in the end of November 2013 in Geneva has not led, for the time being, to the signing of the permanent agreement. On the contrary, the negotiations were extended for the third time since November 2013 till June 2015. There is a danger that Iran will get another exten- sion in June this year and will be able to play for time again. Thus it is reasonable to doubt whether Iran wants a deal with the West or tries to produce a nuclear bomb in the near future, The Obama administration conducts rather „soft” policy towards Iran as the U.S. needs that country in the war with the Islamic State. On the other hand even the present U.S. administration cannot accept a deal that allows Iran to expand its nuclear programme and enrich uranium to 20%. From various reasons the present stalemate in the negotiations with Iran cannot be resolved with the use of military force. Thus the only hope is that Iran will reconsider all benefits connected with the normalization of its economic and political relations with the West and finally sign a deal with the United States and other Western states.
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A recent analysis of WikiLeaks concludes that “the agendas of WikiLeaks and the Kremlin have often dovetailed.”
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Two-Tailed Dog Party is among the few willing to challenge the status quo ahead of the referendum.
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As the political centre of the World international stage gravitates toward East Asia, so does the political reality of the Post-Soviet Space. This process works in favour of the Peoples’ Republic of China, is a source of new tensions within the Russian Federation and undermines the effectiveness of US and European policies. The New Silk Road and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank initiatives show that PRC has both the means and the determination to actively broaden its sphere of influence. However, the Chinese patterns of expansion do not have to follow the nature of Russian-Western competition the World got used to after 1991. As the local players are increasingly assertive and PRC economy is slowing down, it’s also important to notice the first clouds gathering over Chinese aspirations in the region. The article presents an overview of the major approaches to political change, international competition and integration trajectories within the Post-Soviet space. It focuses on the major actors active within the Post-Soviet Space, namely the Russian Federation, the United States and the Peoples’ Republic of China, the strategies they follow, mediums they choose to execute their strategies and an evaluation of effects of their activity after the collapse of the USSR.
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By September 2015 the conflict between Ukraine and Russian-supported separatists in Ukraine’s east has entered the 18th month since its onset. The “hot” conflict has worn down Ukraine’s already struggling economy and is stifling any chances for real reforms that the country desperately needs. September 2015 is also the one year anniversary of the first Minsk ceasefire agreement which aimed to freeze the conflict between Ukraine and the separatist regions in Luhansk and Donetsk. This ceasefire protocol, however, quickly failed and clashes between the two sides flared up again culminating in a second ceasefire agreement being signed in Minsk in February 2015. Yet, despite the international community’s efforts towards a diplomatic solution clashes continue, lives are being lost and over one million people have left their homes as a result of the conflict. Europe and its western allies have instituted sanctions against Russia for its support of the armed conflict while Russia has responded by conducting its largest military exercises since the end of the Cold War. This tenable situation in our region provoked New Eastern Europe to ask the question: to what extent is the conflict in Ukraine a regional matter and to what extent is it a global matter? We polled foreign policy and security experts from the region and around the world for their opinion on this question. While we leave the conclusions to be drawn by the reader, the results show that perspective in conflicts matter.
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Based on its internationally respected sovereignty and territorial integrity, Georgia has a conflict resolution policy that rests upon peace, pragmatism and reconciliation. Georgia’s European integration as a process and the EU as an actor can be a part of the solution. Considering Russia’s continuing breaches of international norms and attempts to keep conflicts alive, the task is very challenging. Nonetheless, a sustainable peaceful resolution of conflicts is within reach if the proper measures are taken.
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Part of the challenge in forming a clear and coherent European policy response to Russia’s actions towards Ukraine are the differences in public perception among the EU member states of what exactly happened in Ukraine. International law, however, provides an unequivocal answer to the question of how to assess and understand the current status of Crimea, setting a legal framework under which a policy towards Russia should operate.
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Supporting the Assad regime has turned out to be a Russian investment which has paid off in terms of its international position. Its actions are aimed at promoting the image of Russia as a renewed superpower and allow that country to retain its key influence over both the regime in Damascus and its military installations on the Syrian coast. Whether its support of Assad will be enough to be successful remains an open question.
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The war in Ukraine makes it clear that democratisation in the countries of the former Soviet bloc is not simply slow or stalled. It is actively opposed by forces that are determined to see it fail.
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