March 16, 2014 marks the day when the people of Crimea go to the voting booths to decide whether they will be part of Ukraine or part of Russia. While the referendum is no doubt important to people living in Crimea, I for one remain highly skeptical that the results will actually be the ultimate arbiter on the territorial decisions made about Crimea…

I have already written two more elaborate posts on the issue in Russian last year. You can find them here and here. 
 
As the new Game of Thrones season looms on the horizon it is time to figure out what does the saga teach us about law, morality and interest in world politics.
 
Much has been written on the not-so-accidental…

Game theory can say something non-trivial about any strategic interaction, and separatism movements are by no means an exception. In the following, I model the strife between Russian and Ukrainian governments over the Crimean Republic and Sevastopol as an extensive game with simultaneous moves which may supply us with verifiable predictions about…

I have some bad news for the United States. Russia doesn’t listen to America. Unfortunately, I have worse news: contrary to what many specialists, analysts, and commentators across the transatlantic community may think, it is not because Russia is trying to rekindle the Cold War or desperately grasping at whatever remnants of old Soviet power it…

Kudo to Oscar-winner Jared Leto, who in his Oscar acceptance speech reminded us that two democratic revolutions are occurring right now, one in each hemisphere . Sadly, they haven’t been paid proper attention; their meaning and potential future impact not understood.  President Obama did not even mention Venezuela at a summit recently in…

At the present writing there has not been a final resolution to the crisis in Crimea and the possibility of a worsening situation remains high as the new Ukrainian Prime Minister heads to Washington DC while local Crimean authorities, with Russian support, promise to hold a referendum on basically seceding from Ukraine and rejoining the Russian…

On March 8 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi gave his first major press-conference  against the background of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress. More than 500 journalists listened to the FM for 95 minutes, but it was the very last statement that deserves the most attention. Wang outlined the three main foundations for…

Download here: http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/global-education-magazine-7/   THIS EDITION IS A TRIBUTE TO THE WOMEN WHO GIVE US LIFE "I saw that displaced women had many difficulties; they lived through atrocities and had enormous trauma. I realised that learning to write and training will help them forget the trauma, and what…

Although the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin has authorized writing off 90% of Cuba’s $32 billion debt Kremlin policy toward the Castro regime is characterized by caution. Foreign direct investment by the Russian Federation in Cuba remains insignificant.
 
But Cuba’s economic future is up for grabs and Brazil’s…

In the Ukraine crisis, there is one player who is going to win regardless of the outcome of the standoff. Yet this player has apparently nothing to do with the whole story. That is China.
 
The leadership in Beijing must be secretly delighted watching the struggle between Russia and the West. The Ukraine crisis can seriously poison…

Although German politicians sighed with relief an agreement on the settlement of crisis in Ukraine, this sense of relief is long gone. Germany saw in the agreement of February 21, 2014 a glimmer of hope and a potential opportunity to settle the conflict and legitimize the country’s new government after an election. According to Germany’s…

Arctic cooperation has worked well in the last years, providing good political and economic results. The UNCLOS and the rights of sovereignty of the coastal states will guide the future development of the Arctic region. In this framework, enhanced international and regional cooperation is a must to face new and old challenges. As a matter of fact, even…