... namely ISIS, held a post-millenarian perspective, as opposed to
Al Qaeda
which was pre-millenarian. By the same token, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi independently developed a form of jihad that was mostly sectarian. He was far more focused on killing Shias than westerners, targeting the heretics before the real infidels. He failed temporarily in Iraq after an overwhelming Shia reaction ... ... Iraqi Sunnis (including former Baathists) who were antagonized and persecuted. With this support, they established a network in Syria and Iraq which eventually became the Caliphate.
The third phase of Jihadism did not take place on the stage of satellite ...
... demonstrated by the success of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Putin and his administration still remain a powerful engine of Russia’s Western-style modernization. In that sense, we can only admire the president’s determination to maintain the country’s pro-Western ... ... and expensive aerospace and naval weapons programs have effectively been pushed back to the mid-2020s or even beyond 2027.
In Syria, Putin will keep trying to convert the military success of the Russian intervention into political and diplomatic gains,...
... sanctions but Brussels carefully avoided any escalation of sanctions for “promoting propaganda and undermining democracy,” an accusation that is hard to verify but easy to turn into a conflict-prone and provocative form. We might dislike Robert Mueller’s ... ... events have triggered the new logic of confrontation: the Skripal case, Washington’s new sanctions and the chemical incident in Syria. The Skripal case stands out because the collective West went for a sharp escalation without having authentic and transparent facts indicating Russia’s involvement in the incident....
... years ago. Let’s analyze the contours of this new reality.
The era of security is a thing of the past for Europe and the West as a whole. The twenty years since the end of the Cold War provided a very favorable environment for the citizens of Western ... ... complicated. The sides will have to make a package of deals but have neither the time nor enough self-restraint for this. In Syria, Russia and the United States found themselves on the brink of open conflict and a new round in the war of sanctions. In ...
.... Finally, Russia has to reinvent its model of economic development in order to move ahead, concluded Kortunov who answered our questions below:
1) Russia’s decision to launch air strikes against terrorist groups in Syria on the request of the Syrian government has drawn much criticism on behalf of Western governments which accused Russia of not targeting Islamic State (ISIS). The popular perception however, in Europe as well as in the USA, looked more positive. Does it mean there’s room for greater future cooperation abroad between the West and Russia despite differences?
A.K.:
Indeed, one of the differences between Russia and most of the Western governments was the definition ...
... engendered differences that have never been resolved and have – to be clear – become more acute since 2014.
For the West – the US and its allies – the collapse of the Soviet Union was a manifestly positive event that ushered in ‘a ... .... Indeed, prima facie, the multiple crises of 2014-2015 and Russia’s interference in the conflicts in Ukraine and then Syria seem to be consistent with this second interpretation.
Upon closer inspection, though, this is not the only possible interpretation ...
... crisis and rising tensions between Russia and Euro-Atlantic region, the terroristic attacks in Paris on November are forcing the West and Russia to become allies in the fight against Islamic state of Iraq and Syria. Was it the opportunity for Putin to reconstruct geopolitical balance? The answer is definitely yes. However, Andrew Weiss (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) stated that: “Cooperation against terrorism between USA and Russia was always problematic due to the lack of confidence between our secretive agencies”. The politician Harry ...
Russia and the West have almost never seen eye-to-eye on what defines terrorism
With new international Syria talks in Vienna planned for this coming weekend, the diplomatic standoff over who counts as a terrorist versus legitimate opposition in Syria will be in renewed focus. In the recent past, Russia has repeatedly stated that an internationally agreed ...
Interview with Daniel Hamilton, Executive Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
On October 20, 2015 RIAC held a meeting with foreign experts on “Russian and Western Views on Conflict Resolution and Security Challenges”. Not surprisingly, two most discussed and difficult topics were Ukraine and Syria. These conflicts are unresolved and there is high probability they will remain so for quite some time. RIAC has asked one of the participants to discussion, Prof.
Daniel Hamilton
, Executive Director, Center for Transatlantic Relations, John Hopkins ...
... tool for exerting real and painful pressure, as they are a sign of an emerging turnaround in relations between Russia and the West in general, and Russia and the United States in particular.
Sanctions and consequences
On March 17, 2014, US President Barack ... ... now that the US and the EU no longer harbour any illusions about Crimea having become part of Russia for good?
Sanctions and Syrian chemical weapons
The following episode in the West’s pressure campaign against Russia provides a useful insight into ...
