Geopolitics

 The political party registration process for the March 20 parliamentary elections ended Feb. 20 with a six-party list that includes 234 candidates approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC). On the same day, the nomination of candidates for maslikhat (regional legislatures) elections was also completed. Campaigning, which began …

Anneke de Laaf This April 6th the Netherlands will hold a (non-binding) referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (EUAA), as the result of a petition to the government signed by 427,939 voters. Until the results of the referendum are known, the EUAA cannot be ratified by the Dutch government …

Dana Visalli I want to go on record as saying that this is the stupidest, most irresponsible action a diplomatic mission like ours could get itself involved in, and that we’ve started a series of these things that will never end.” Dean Hinton, US State Department official pertaining …

The sudden spike in tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of the most powerful regimes in the Middle East, is only going to exacerbate a trend toward high levels of oil production, says one expert on global oil markets. Leaders across the region are looking to hedge …

PAUL ROGERS The rivalries of powerful states are now driving Syria’s conflict. But ISIS is thinking bigger. he war against ISIS has seen 18 months of of airstrikes by United States-led coalition forces in both Iraq and Syria. An even more concentrated period is now under way, with …

We’re facing a crisis at the heart of our media system – in other words with the dominant players across our media environment – on many different levels: of funding, of ethics, of representation and of legitimacy. The crisis is related, in particular, to the increasingly unequal distribution …

According to the Obama Administration, Secretary of State John Kerry wrangled a vital concession from Russia, leading to the last minute deal in Munich on Feb. 10 for a cease-fire and the opening of humanitarian corridors. Russia, in private talks with the US, had been demanding that any cease-fire …

It is amazing to see the focus of conflicts and potential conflicts in Syria jumping here and there like a drop of mercury on glass. At one point, it is Assad against his opponents, then it is the Arabs and the Iranians, then the Russians and the non-terrorist …

In response to growing concerns about the Islamic State’s growing strength throughout Afghanistan, Russia is now pursuing a military alliance with the Afghan Taliban, under the concept that “my enemy’s enemy is my potential ally.” The Russian courtship of the Taliban began some time prior to Taliban’s dramatic …