Traditionally, Russia has been viewed as somewhat of a dark, totalitarian country which is always searching for means to take over the world through its powerful military. This perception is certainly flawed, but those who adhere to such a view are not at fault. This negative projection of Russia can be accredited to Hollywood In specific and the…

By Zeljko Mirkov, Head of BSA South East Europe Programme Johan Galtung defines reconciliation by using the equation Closure + Healing, which means ending hostilities together with rehabilitation (After Violence, Princeton, New York, 1998) Formation of Yugoslavia was a way of integrating South Slav area after First world war in arrangement of…

Undeterred by the political-psychological situation surrounding regional nuclear politics FIFA president Sepp Blatter flew into Tehran recently to meet  president Hassan Rouhani and approve the Islamic Republic of Iran as the host of FIFA’s 2019 Asia Games.   This move was a well thought out public relations coup by the 77 year old…

Last week, I had a chance to attend a talk by the eminent New York Times journalist and writer, Stephen Kinzer. Kinzer's talk centered on Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, the countries he wrote about in "Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future." While discussing the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, Kinzer mentioned…

Just a few days after we analyzed the official Chinese bombing at Tianeman square, yet another more sophisticated bombing occurred in the provincial city Taiyuan, in front of Communist Party headquarters. One person was killed; eight were critically injured. The official blame was placed on the Uighurs. However, human rights activists have not blamed…

Is there anything common between Rassvet [1] township in Tula Region (Russia) and Houston city, Texas (USA)? In fact not much, but if you would look closer, you could have found that Rassvet was a home for a JSC "Krasnobor" a poultry farm that came to existence in 2000 due to the direct U.S. investment. At present the farm produces stable…

Though kept under wraps, the ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have had a disturbing record so far.  Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that the Palestinian envoys to the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with Israel have resigned amidst continuing settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Unlike previous…

Islamist terrorist attack in the heart of Beijing, but also increasing attacks in India, demonstrate that these terrorists do not just attack Christian and Jewish targets, but also Buddhists and Hindus. As we suggested in "Great Powers, Rogue States and Terrorism," published in "The National Interest,"re-published by "Indian…

Today, relations between the United States and Russia are seen as cold relations through the Medias. For instance, the Snowden case, which has been raised since June 2013, is seen as the use of American intelligence defectors for Russia’s security purposes. Both former superpowers seem to restart the reminiscences of the Cold War.[1]
 
On…

While praised as a triumph of contemporary diplomacy the United Nations regime to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological) seems to have enabled every nation that wants a WMD capability to obtain the technology to become a threat, or in the case of terrorists and other non-state actors, to employ proxy governments…

 
For the past decade Ukraine has been in the midst of a political tussle, or metaphorically a 'Geopolitical Football Championship'. Though, in all fairness, it is hard to see it as a unified team. As it appears more like a political trophy for two major sides. On one side, the EU aims to win Ukraine to make sure its gas is supposedly…

“None of the above!”, or “Against all” («Против всех»), is an option that a voter can choose at an election to determine that none of the candidates that are running for office reflects voter’s interests, or simply said it is an option to bespeak disapproval against all candidates. This curious…