Europe Archive

In the aftermath of its disastrous raid on the Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla that tried to break the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, Israel has come under intense pressure to lift the embargo of the Hamas-run territory. The decision of how to handle Gaza under Hamas rule is an extraordinarily complicated one for many political, strategic and humanitarian reasons. In fact, there is one aspect of the embargo that many of its presumably peace-loving opponents fail to note: Ending the blockade of Gaza could kill the chances for peace. There is a reason why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas […]

Seen from Washington’s perspective, the current ethnic clashes in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh are yet another example of the risks of doing business in a very dangerous neighborhood. True, the U.S.-run Manas airbase, a vital supply hub for NATO forces in Afghanistan, is a long way from the current conflict. (Manas is in the north, near the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek.) But with President Barack Obama’s build-up of 30,000 additional troops for Afghanistan currently pouring into Manas en route to deployment, any threat to the base would create a logistical nightmare. The ethnic clashes between Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks […]

The new space craft’s launch occurred without much fanfare. On April 22, the U.S. Air Force’s X-37B prototype roared into orbit atop a rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Some 15 years in development, the X-37’s technology, performance and purpose all are cloaked in mystery. Two months after the unmanned vehicle’s launch, it is still in orbit, performing its unspecified tasks behind the military’s veil of silence and ambiguity. That has caused concern among potential rivals of the U.S. The X-37, which looks like a quarter-scale Space Shuttle, is just 29 feet long from nose to tail and boasts […]

The European Commission finalized a draft of a banking data-sharing agreement with the U.S. today. The draft will now be presented to the European Parliament and the heads of state meeting for final approval before taking effect. A similar deal was torpedoed by the EU parliament in February due to concerns over privacy infringements. In a nod to parliamentarians’ concerns, the new agreement includes conditions to limit shared data to information related to ongoing terrorist investigations and to forbid data mining. This is the first significant example of the EU parliament’s expanded powers under the Lisbon Treaty. I remain convinced […]

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has become commonplace to write of a new “Great Game” in Central Asia, pitting Russia, China, and NATO countries led by the U.S in a race for influence and access to the region’s energy and other resources. But despite all the worries about the potential for international conflict, the distinctive feature of the current crisis in Kyrgyzstan is the reluctance of all the major powers to intervene there. The riots in southern Kyrgyzstan, which first broke out Thursday, have now left hundreds of dead and thousands of injured, according to the latest […]

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — China’s continued military expansion has placed Vietnam squarely on the back foot, prompting Hanoi to engage in a delicate balancing act meant to shore up its own regional influence and allay the fears of an anti-Beijing faction at home. To achieve that, Hanoi has sought to appease its own generals and enhance national defense through a series of major arms deals with Russia worth billions of dollars. The most notable weapons purchases are six Kilo-class submarines and up to 20 Su-30 fighter-bombers. Hanoi is also busy enticing Russia into its oil and gas industry. […]

The past year has been a pivotal period for one of the world’s most important strategic industries. In 2009 and early 2010, the military aerospace industry marked key turning points: For the first time, the U.S. Air Force — the world’s most important aerospace customer — bought more unmanned aircraft than manned aircraft. In the same time-span, the Air Force refused to extend production of its exclusive, world-beating F-22 fighter beyond the 187 units it has already ordered, instead opting to develop the smaller, potentially cheaper-per-unit and exportable F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Following that decision, revelations surfaced in early 2010 […]

American culture has long had a fascination with outer space. President John F. Kennedy described it as “this new ocean,” and words like “destiny” and “frontier” are frequently used to characterize America’s relationship to it. Hollywood and the media often approach it with a sense of wonder, humility, and even a bit of fear. From the opening strains of “2001: A Space Odyssey” to the aliens from “Avatar,” space remains a source of mystery. This cultural phenomenon may be a remnant of the first two-thirds of the 20th century, when in the span of a single lifetime, it was possible […]

The new Iran sanctions resolution cleared the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday by a vote of 12-2, with all five permanent members voting in favor. Does its passage represent a “diplomatic victory” for the Obama administration, as some have claimed? Or have the measures been so “watered down,” as others argue, that they are not likely to be effective in changing Iran’s course of action? And how significant is Russia’s apparent change of heart, ultimately supporting a fourth round of sanctions that it initially opposed? To answer those questions, the vote at Turtle Bay needs to be put into a […]

Back in January, everyone expected 2010 to be a watershed year for the European Union. It certainly has been that, but not for the reasons people expected at the time. The advent of the long-awaited post-Lisbon union, with its new offices of president of the European Council and foreign policy chief, turned out to be an anti-climactic non-event. Instead, the lingering legacy of the pre-Lisbon union — cooked books and hidden debt, along with fundamental political and cultural differences on fiscal and monetary policy — has brought the EU to its knees, just when it was expected to soar. This […]

Now that the G-20 multilateral format has taken the lead in managing the world economy, many commentators are eager to do away with its predecessor in that role, the Group of Eight (G-8). Such a focus, however, neglects the G-8’s important security functions. Since the 1980s, the group has given birth to major initiatives promoting global peace and security. The G-20 lacks the unique assets that have made the G-8 so effective in this area. The G-8 now includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. The absence of some of the […]

This World Politics Review special report is a compilation of WorldPolitics Review’s top articles on Russian foreign and defense policyfrom November 2009 through May 2010. Below are links to each article, which subscribers can read in full. Subscribers can also download a pdf version of the report. Not a subscriber? Subscribe now, or try our subscription service for free.Russia-Saudi Relations: The Kingdom and the BearBy Saurav JhaNovember 9, 2009 Ingushetia: Russia’s North Caucasus Policy at a Tipping PointBy Valery Dzutsev November 17, 2009 Global Insights: Mistral Talks Reveal Russian Shipbuilding MaladiesBy Richard Weitz December 1, 2009 Global Insights: Russian-Indian Strategic […]

France 24 just posted last Friday’s panel discussion program, The World This Week, which I had the pleasure of participating in. The other panelists were Matthew Saltmarsh of the IHT, Paul Taylor of Reuters and Pierre Haski of Rue89.com. We discussed tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Europe’s ongoing economic woes, Jamaica’s unrest, and the Gulf oil spill. Part one is here. Part two is here. One thing I’dd to why the Gulf spill is not comparable to Katrina. In addition to resonating with the President George W. Bush’s troubled relationship with facts and credibility, Katrina also underlined the lack of […]

The international crisis resulting from Israel’s interdiction yesterday of a humanitarian aid flotilla heading toward the blockaded Gaza Strip could have several consequences, few of them good for the United States, the Middle Eastern peace process, and many other parties. First, the crisis could disrupt the indirect peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians that only just resumed a few weeks ago, after roughly 17 months of false starts and frustrated expectations. Many observers have noted that the Gaza flotilla confronted the Israeli government with a no-win situation. The same could be said for the choices now facing the Obama White […]

In late May, Russia announced that it would invest $1 billion in uranium exploration in Namibia. In an e-mail interview, Raksha Maharaj, a director at South Africa-based Emerging Market Focus, explains Russia’s renewed interest in Africa. WPR: What is the extent and nature of Russia’s current economic involvement in Africa? Raksha Maharaj: In recent years, Russia’s sphere of influence in Africa has been largely diluted by the increasing activities of countries like China and India, as well as the continued involvement of Western countries. Russia’s trade with Africa has grown an estimated 14.9 percent since 1992, and amounted to $8 […]