To be instrumental the SCO has to resist the temptation to find a narrowly defined focus for its future activities. The breadth of its mandate is yet another comparative advantage to be preserved and expanded
When I came to New Delhi in early February, I could observe a lot of hype there around the forthcoming G20 Summit. Though the summit is scheduled to take place only in September, it became the talk of the town right after India succeeded Indonesia as the G20 chair in late 2022. Indian journalists...
A response to Sergei Karaganov’s “A Difficult but Necessary Decision”
Sergei Karaganov’s article on the need to make a difficult choice in favor of a preemptive nuclear strike on some NATO nation in Eastern Europe has expectedly drawn a wide response. Some took it as a course of action, others viewed it as the trolling of internal and external audiences. Still others considered it a subtle signal to the West, devised in advance in the political kitchen and voiced by an eminent scholar.
The official...
On June 10, 1963, less than eight months after his nearly-catastrophic confrontation with the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles they placed in Cuba, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) delivered a speech which must be heard by everyone concerned about the existential threat emanating from NATO’s aggressive stance against Russia in Ukraine. The decision in October 1962 by JFK to blockade Cuba brought the two nations face-to-face in a possible nuclear confrontation. Both leaders were under heavy pressure...
Report No. 85 / 2023
Report No. 85 / 2023
The Taliban’s (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) rise to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and the conflict in Ukraine have both had an impact on regional trends in the Middle East. This report sheds light on the transformation of new elements in Middle Eastern state relations and examines the changing role of key players in the region. It analyses the impact that the events in Afghanistan and Ukraine have had on the...
There is no way Ukraine and NATO can “win” the military confrontation against Russia, and the best-case scenario they can project is tying down Russia in an endless conflict
In welcoming Finland to NATO during a visit to Helsinki on June 2, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a speech which confirms what a growing number of world leaders believe: His arrogance is matched only by his delusions. The latest in a line of geopoliticians from the Brzezinski school, Blinken seems to believe that...
The world really needs to question is the very fundamental requirement and existence of “NATO” itself
On 4 April 2023, Finland formally became the 31st country of the NATO security alliance. Western scholars argue that Finland’s joining has further strengthened the Western collective alliance that would enable a greater security framework in the North. A critical assessment of this Finland’s decision argues the opposite. This paper attempts to highlight various strategic calculations that have...
The Swedes and the Finns will become less secure
The end of the Nordic region’s role as constructively “different” and low-tension
In this article, I attempt to take a macro perspective on the disastrous developments for the Nordic region’s security, peace prospects and traditionally constructive role in the wider international system. What used to be called the Nordic balance—having different security profiles, taking each other’s basic interests into account but not forming a Nordic alliance...
The meeting agenda focused on the continuation of cooperation between RIAC and the ICRC until the end of 2023 in connection with the change of the head of the Regional Delegation
On May 12, 2023, RIAC hosted a business meeting with representatives of the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
The meeting agenda focused on the continuation of cooperation between RIAC and the ICRC until the end of 2023 in connection...
The recent trip of Li Shangfu suggests that Beijing and Moscow are consistently moving to a new model of cooperation that might look quite appealing to a broad range of international actors in the Global South
Earlier this week, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu visited Russia on his first trip overseas in this role and predictably got a very warm reception in Moscow. Li had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This trip attracted a lot of international attention, especially since...
Regardless of who prevails in the current stand-off, the role of the military in the country will be decisive in Sudan in the medium term
The crisis of the political process in Sudan, which has persisted for more than a decade, has entered another phase of aggravation. This time, the contradictions between the parties vying for power
have led
to armed clashes between the army and the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The speed of escalation and scale of the fighting indicate that the country...
