Category: Blogs

Macron’s Victory is Welcome News for Saudi Arabia and Qatar

By Giorgio Cafiero and Theodore Karasik

Emmanuel Macron’s election as the next president of France is positive news for Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Among the four leading candidates in the presidential election, Riyadh and Doha most favored Macron, whose foreign policy positions are pro-European Union (EU) and who is expected to continue Paris’ overall approach to international affairs. More specifically, Macron’s […]

The West’s Future Depends on the Political Center

By Stanley Sloan

Later in May, US President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to attend his first NATO summit. The summit will take place at a time when most NATO and European Union (EU) leaders are breathing a sigh of relief with centrist Emmanuel Macron’s defeat of the far-right Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election on May […]

President Macron: Finally, Some Good News for the EU

By Julien Touati

Emmanuel Macron’s  large victory is historic by many standards. The newly-elected president of France won the election on his first attempt (like Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1974 and François Hollande in 2012) but, unlike any other French president since 1958, he did so without any longstanding political experience or the backing of a mainstream party; […]

Maltese Candidates Have Different Views of European Union

By Matthew Lowell

Maltese voters face a choice in elections on June 3 between two prime ministerial candidates who have starkly different views on the path ahead for the European Union (EU) and their country’s role in a future EU army. On the question of whether the solution for the EU is more or less Europe, Maltese Prime […]

Election Will Shape France’s Relationship with Africa

By Mayecor Sar

To say that Africa is not a foreign policy priority in the French election would be an understatement. This is understandable, however, considering the dire state of France’s economy and the many international challenges the country faces. But because of France’s historically special relationship with its former colonies, would-be presidents can never completely disregard the […]

Russia’s De-Escalation Zone Plan for Syria is Doomed

The proposal for de-escalation zones in Syria, which will enter into force at midnight on May 5, is unlikely to be effective in the long term, according to an Atlantic Council analyst. “Maybe” the agreement will temporarily have a demonstrable effect on lowering the number of civilian deaths in Syria, said Faysal Itani, a senior […]

New Cyber Campaign Netrepser Compromised More than 500 Ministries and Departments Worldwide

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

Researchers have unearthed a new cyber espionage campaign that has compromised more than 500 government ministries and departments worldwide — by hiding in plain sight

Infighting Continues in Eastern Ghouta as the Regime Advances

By Ahmad Abazeid

A history of grudges and slow, back and forth battles between opposition groups in Ghouta shows little hope of being resolved, even as the regime and its allies bear down on Ghouta. A new round of fighting erupted between rebel factions on 28 April, 2017. Jaysh al-Islam launched a major offensive on Hayat Tahrir al-Sham […]