Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: NATO

What Role for Europe in Asia?

What Role for Europe in Asia?

  “In particular, I strongly believe that Europe should join the United States in increasing and deepening our defense engagement with the Asia-Pacific region.” These words are from outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in his final overseas address to an audience at King’s College, London, delivered on January 18. This raises the question: […]

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Mr. Assad, meet Mr. Milosevic….

Mr. Assad, meet Mr. Milosevic….

Bashar Assad, let me introduce you to Slobodan Milosevic. Technically, you cannot shake his hand – at least today. Milosevic died in his cell in The Hague, after the nation that he led into war and ruin emerged to form a tentative democracy. The new Yugoslav leadership traded Milosevic for economic and political benefits with […]

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A Re-do almost a century later

A Re-do almost a century later

The possible Balkanization of Syria is an increasingly likely prospect – at least for the short-term – and could provide a historic counterpoint in the Middle East to what the West did to carve up the region almost a century ago. With the Ottoman Empire defeated after World War I, the triumphant Allies sought to ensure their […]

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The Problem With “42 Allies”

The Problem With “42 Allies”

You might think most foreign policy wonks were looking forward to last night’s presidential debate but most I know were actually dreading it. It was well known that the difficult and pressing questions on foreign policy would not be asked, and to be honest, foreign policy requires far more nuance and complexity than can fit […]

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Reflections on the third debate: R.I.P. Europe

Reflections on the third debate: R.I.P. Europe

This last debate on foreign policy will not affect the polls. Mitt Romney was able to make himself credible in foreign policy; while Obama was strong in defending his four years of foreign policy. Romney won the first debate, Obama the second, and the third was a tie. This blog will be extremely short as […]

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Border Crossing Euphoria

Border Crossing Euphoria

  That perfect moment of the triumph of the people happened again in Syria.  The rebels captured another border crossing between Syria and Turkey, lowering the Syrian flag and raising their own banner.  It is a symbolic moment of victory – and in a bloody civil war abundant with various factions and no real positive […]

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Turkey’s Cross Border Attacks with Syria Highlight Lack of Western Support

Turkey’s Cross Border Attacks with Syria Highlight Lack of Western Support

                                        Wednesday’s mishap by Syrian forces, which saw a mortar shell land in the Turkish town of Akcakale, killing five, has put international attention firmly on the Syrian crisis. For months analysts and diplomats have warned […]

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Syria: Sarkozy’s comeback?

Syria: Sarkozy’s comeback?

He simply could not resist. The addiction of power won over his pledge; Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his return to political life by igniting a new controversy over the lack of action of French President François Hollande in Syria. In a joint statement with Abdulbaset Sieda, president of the Istanbul-based Syrian National Council […]

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The Twitterati: When All Else Fails, Bring Out the 140 Characters

The Twitterati: When All Else Fails, Bring Out the 140 Characters

The Arab Spring awoke people to the power of social media in a political context.  Of course, you would have to be living under a rock to think it was the first time Twitter was ever used to coordinate mass protests — it was hugely prominent in Iran during the 2009 protests, Moldova, and the Greek riots in […]

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Smart Sharing

Smart Sharing

“We talk about smart defence as if we’d done stupid defense before. I’d like to believe we had smart defense all the time,” said one of our guest speakers during the Young Atlanticists Summit in Chicago couple of months ago. We were giggling awhile as for the first time we, as Young Atlanticists, received a direct answer to […]

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Turkey: The Wildcard for a NATO Intervention in Syria?

Turkey: The Wildcard for a NATO Intervention in Syria?

After the shooting down of a Turkish F4, supposedly unarmed, last Friday, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently declared that Turkey considers Syria as a “clear and present danger.” However, he went further and claimed that “we [Turkey] won’t be trapped into a war of provocation, but we won’t be silent and do nothing […]

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The Missing Variable Within the Euro-Atlantic Community: Foreign Policy

The Missing Variable Within the Euro-Atlantic Community: Foreign Policy

2012 has been the year of elections and ideological divisions. France is no exception to the rule. On May 15th, 2012, François Hollande officially became the President of France. His first action was to fly to Berlin, despite the weather, in order to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. This strategic move is important for […]

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The Bear Comes Back Over the Mountain

The Bear Comes Back Over the Mountain

Russia looks to do its part for Afghanistan, and itself While trigger-happy drones do their part to smooth a coming US drawdown in Afghanistan, pundits and diplomats alike nervously pace the green rooms of news and late-night talk shows. What will a counter-insurgency look like without a stabilizing super power? Whether one bets on red […]

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Kyrgyzstan: Uncertain Future of Manas Transit Center

Kyrgyzstan: Uncertain Future of Manas Transit Center

As NATO is looking for logistic ways to implement the concluded strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan, which extends its participation in the region beyond pullout timeline of 2014, Kyrgyzstan regains leverage over Russia and the United States, considering it hosts military bases for both countries. However, this time Kyrgyz new authorities are facing some restrictions […]

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Assessing German Power: The Armaments Industry

Assessing German Power: The Armaments Industry

The first decade of the 21st century confirmed that the armaments industry has begun to play an important role in the economy of the country and performs a crucial function for the FRG. The armaments industry still serves four basic functions: satisfies the current needs of armed forces when it comes to arms and military equipment, provides the appropriate readiness of the mobilization base, conducts the research and developmental activities regarding the new types of arms and military equipment and increases the prestige of the country in the international arena. However, because of the global economic crisis of 2008-2010, when thinking about the armaments industry, it is the economic logic that is playing an increasingly important role, while the military logic is slowly loosing ground.

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