Category: Blogs

Pervasive Use of Mubarak’s Legislation to Control Egypt’s Media

By Magdy Samaan and Nancy Messieh

A pervasive fear that constraints will be placed on freedom of expression is taking hold in the wake of several worrying developments in Egypt’s media landscape. The country has witnessed a surge in attacks against free speech, and a return to authoritarian practices – an indication to some that Egypt may be shifting away from […]

Governments Must Thrive in Complex World

By Peter Ho

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was an unexpected event, a black swan. The virus entered Singapore on 25 February 2003, carried by three women who had returned from Hong Kong. It quickly spread. By the time the crisis was declared over in Singapore, 33 people had died out of the 238 people infected.

Is there a NATO consensus on the future of the Arctic?

By Marten Lindberg, ISN

NATO and China Meet in Gulf of Aden

By Allied Command Operations

From Allied Command Operations:  Yesterday, NATO and China met in the Gulf of Aden, where Commodore Ben Bekkering welcomed his Chinese counterpart Rear Admiral Zhou Xuming onboard NATO’s counter piracy flagship, HNLMS Rotterdam.

Complexity in the Caucasus: Regional rivals cooperating in peacekeeping missions

By Mark P. Hertling, Foreign Policy

From Mark P. Hertling, Foreign Policy:  European Command’s strategy of Theater Security Cooperation — and USAREUR’s contribution as part of that strategy in training and exercising with the militaries and engaging with military and political leaders — is bearing significant results.

Poland’s desire for own missile defense system linked to uncertainty over U.S. alliance

By Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire

From Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire:  Poland’s recently expressed interest in acquiring an independent capability to counter theater-level missile attacks has much to do with insecurities over whether the United States, with all of its competing priorities, can reliably be counted on to defend Polish interests, according to issue experts and former diplomats.

Obama warns Assad not to cross ‘red line’ on chemical weapons

By Barack Obama, the White House

From Barack Obama, the White House:    I have indicated repeatedly that President al-Assad has lost legitimacy, that he needs to step down.  So far, he hasn’t gotten the message, and instead has double downed in violence on his own people. 

Top News: Fierce Debates Plague Final Drafts of Egypt’s Constitution

By Egypt Source

Egypt’s Constituent Assembly is in the final weeks of drafting the country’s new constitution, with as much as 70 per cent of the document already drafted, according to assembly member and newly-appointed Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mohamed Mahsoub. 

West Must Invest in Caspian Sea Energy

By Farid Osmanov

Tensions in the Caspian basin intensified this summer when Turkmenistan said it will bring a dispute about ownership of energy-rich Caspian Sea fields against Azerbaijan before the UN International Court of Justice. The atmosphere of distrust this incident created might seriously undermine the feasibility of future energy projects aimed at reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian […]

Far Away Islands of Which We Know Nothing

By Julian Lindley-French

It is a worrying vision of a dangerous future. Last week Chinese ‘activists’ landed on the Japanese-controlled but disputed islands of Senkaku (Diaoyu in Chinese) followed swiftly by Japanese nationalists. On the face of it this dispute seems almost tragi-comic, a plot straight out of Gilbert and Sullivan. Just one of those momentary summer headlines […]