Category: Blogs

‘Watching the Fall of Islamic Theocracy’

By James Joyner

The protests in Iran have entered a third week and the state media acknowledges that the death toll has reached 19 and that hundreds have been injured. Fareed Zakaria, a man not noted for idle leaps, proclaims, “we are watching the fall of Islamic theocracy.”

NATOSource: French nuclear protection of Gulf state revealed

Le Figaro is reporting that France included its nuclear protection of the UAE as part of the agreements for the opening of its military base in Abu Dhabi last month. President Nicolas Sarkozy personally attended the formal opening of “Camp Peace” on May 26. The base attracted a great deal of world attention as France’s […]

U.S. Walks Fine Line with Russian Military Relations

By World Politics Review

From World Politics Review: But some U.S. allies in the Baltic and Eastern Europe warn against cozying up to Moscow, in light of Russia’s new assertiveness, most evident in the Georgia war. ‘It is important that dialogue with Russia must not harm the allied relationships of today,’ Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a […]

Comparing French and American Secondary Schools

By James Joyner

The blogosphere has had a bit of fun with a reports on the difficulty of the baccalauréat, the national qualification examination for entries into French universities.  The questions seem impossibly hard to some American eyes and raise questions about the comparative quality of the two school systems.

Notes from NATO’s cyberwarfare conference in Tallinn

By Evgeny Morozov in Net Effect

From Evgeny Morozov in Net Effect: Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks mentioned the growing impact that DDoS-attacks – used predominantly as means of intimidation – are having on elections worldwide. To illustrate his point, he spoke of attacks on Kasparov.ru in Russia as well as the recent DDoS attacks on the web-sites of several parties […]

Astana Steps Closer to Military Alliance with Moscow

By the Jamestown Foundation

From the Jamestown Foundation: While Moscow’s intentions to use the CORF as a potential counterweight to NATO’s eastward expansion, and in response to the American military presence in Afghanistan are clear, Kazakhstan’s role in this military structure remains open to question. In theory it can offer 4,000 troops from its three airborne assault brigades, and […]

Albright on the Complexity of International Relations

By James Joyner

At the inaugural Bronislaw Geremek Lecture last night, Dr. Madeleine Albright give those of us in attendance some keen insights into the complexity of foreign policy decision-making.

Barroso Faces Battle to Keep Job

By James Joyner

European Commission president José Manuel Barroso’s bid for re-election may be in trouble even though he has no challenger, represents the bloc that did best in the recent elections, and has the pledged support of the EU’s leaders.

Soros Donates $100 Million to Europe

By James Joyner

George Soros is “giving $100m to central and eastern Europe to counter the impact of the economic crisis on the poor, voluntary groups and non-government organsations,” Stefan Wagstyl reports for FT.

Pakistan’s Summer of Chaos

By Shuja Nawaz

As the summer solstice draws near, it seems as if all the evil spirits are coming out to haunt the body politic of Pakistan. The country faces an escalation in hostilities on many fronts. And unlike in the past, when sweet deals and concessions could woo militants and protesters into silence, this time no amount […]