Author Archives
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China: A political view
I read Dr Mohamad Zreik[2] interesting and comprehensive article on the growth of China’s economy. It has come a long way since the days of Mao Tse Tung and the days of his communist experiment, the Long March, when millions… Read More ›
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Chinese geo-strategic expansion in the Levant: A case study of Lebanon
As soon as the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, China and the Middle East faced a series of challenges. In recent years, China’s influence in the region has expanded due to its economic interests in energy, trade,… Read More ›
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China’s reaction to the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan
US President Joe Biden has made a strategic decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, after twenty years of military presence under the pretext of eliminating terrorism and spreading democracy. Twenty years later, the Taliban has become more powerful and… Read More ›
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Is democratic leadership as it should be?
The Tokyo Olympic Games, just concluded, were a spectacular success and grateful thanks are owed to our Japanese hosts to make this event so, at a time when we were in the middle of a global pandemic. There were many… Read More ›
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Analysis of China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative: Genesis and Development
Understanding the foreign policy and geo-economic strategies of countries, especially in such a difficult time when national borders are closed and the “militarization” of cybersecurity (Hopkins, 2012), becomes an important, if not vital, task for each individual country in its attempts to… Read More ›
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What have we learnt in the past century?
It is 100 years since we were supposedly getting over the war to end all wars, World War I, and forming the League of Nations with the purpose of preventing such a conflict and slaughter happening again. Regrettably, the only… Read More ›
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Afghanistan: No Peace Without a Clear Vision
Peace is the absence of war, while war is the absence of peace! A negotiated peace in Afghanistan presents a number of challenges. The duration of the war over several decades has created a number of situations, that requires an… Read More ›
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The Nuclear Future of East Asia
In the face of North Korea and China’s continuous expansion and advancement in their nuclear arsenal in the past decade, the nuclear question for East Asian countries is now more urgent than ever—especially when U.S.’s credibility of extended deterrence has… Read More ›
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Saigonisation of Afghanistan?
As the date of complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan nears, more and more often we hear comments in which this withdrawal is compared with (literally) the escape of US military forces from South Vietnam in the seventies of the… Read More ›
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After the Biden-Putin Geneva Summit
With little expectations, but a lot of combinations and nervousness, was the long awaited summit of the Presidents of America and Russia a failure? It was not. And can it be described as a success, as a breakthrough from the winter… Read More ›
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The Biden administration and Lebanon: Keep up the pressure
Over the past several years, the international community has watched the tragedy in Lebanon unfold as that country continues its seemingly inexorable descent into a failed state. In its “World Report 2021,” Human Rights Watch captured Lebanon’s compounding crisis: “In… Read More ›
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Serbia: New internal and external challenges
Facing Covid-19 pandemic – mission of saving human lives In its response to the Covid-19 pandemic the Republic of Serbia introduced state of emergency on 15 March 2020 and then terminated it on 6 May 2020. From the start of… Read More ›
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EU Trans-Atlantic relations should not exclude Latin America
On the historic date of March 08th – International Women’s Day, a large number of international affairs specialists gathered for the second consecutive summit in Vienna, Austria. This leg of the Vienna Process titled: “Europe – Future – Neighbourhood at… Read More ›
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The Rule of Law in times of crisis in Europe – Needed more than ever
The Panellist Carlos López-Veraza made a general analysis of the impact of Covid (C-19) on both the rule of law and fundamental rights in Europe. In the last year, he has worked until September as a prosecutor in Spain and… Read More ›
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Council of Europe, Human Rights Instruments and Citizens
Building on the tasteful piece written recently by Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, this article will endeavour to explore further why the Tromsø Convention (Norwegian International Convention on Access to Official Documents)[1], although adopted more than a decade ago, is in fact deserving… Read More ›
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Trinity for Scrutiny: Council of Europe, Human Rights instruments and Citizens
Building on the tasteful piece written recently by Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic, this article will endeavour to explore further why the Tromsø Convention (Norwegian International Convention on Access to Official Documents)[1], although adopted more than a decade ago, is in fact deserving… Read More ›
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No Human Rights without Right to Know
“People have the right to know what those in power are doing” Dunja Mijatovic Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights. Access to information legislation was first seen in 1766 in Sweden, with parliamentary interest to access information held by… Read More ›
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Military coup in Myanmar – responses in geopolitical context
Executive Summary The recent military coup in Myanmar has baffled many observers as unresolved tension from the country’s long military rule have resurfaced just after a landslide victory of the NLD party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. International reactions… Read More ›
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The Tromsø Convention may reverse Europe’s democracy deficit
Accessing quality information has never been so challenging, despite or maybe, because of our exposure to tremendous amount of information. The entry into force of the Council of Europe (CoE) Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention) on 1… Read More ›
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Global Greening Economy (A Brief Impact Study)
As the entire globe struggles to restructure and regroup towards the greener economy and to de-acidify the oceans, air and our overall socio-political conduct, International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan Studies – IFIMES is taking its own share of planetary… Read More ›
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Criminal Law in the EU and the Right to a Fair Trial Internationally
1. Introduction Trials are the way to avoid injustices, but the fairness of criminal proceedings will depend on what is meant by the concept of justice. The roots of rights in trials are, with other principles and values, as old… Read More ›
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Stop erosion of human rights in Europe
“2020 has been a disastrous year for human rights in Europe,” commented Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at a speech in front of the Council of Europe at the end of last year. In an unprecedented… Read More ›
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The EU Sputnik Borrell in Moscow: An aftermath of diplomacy
After almost unanimous assessment of the Western media and analysts (one would be inclined to conclude they are “gleichgeschaltet”, modeled on the methods of Nazi master of propaganda Goebbels ), a visit to Moscow of the EU High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs,… Read More ›
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European Integration – Quo Vadis?
As part of the Geneva Lecture Series concepted and conducted by prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, President of the Republic of Austria Dr. Heinz Ficher (2004-16) and current Co-chair of the Vienna-based Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens centered his two-hour long mesmerizing… Read More ›
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Democracy or what? – and then climate
Most of us were appalled to see what happened in Washington ten days ago when a ‘mob’, incited by Donald Trump’s address, stormed the Capitol building to prevent the presentation of Joe Biden as the next President. He gave voice… Read More ›
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Concise history of international development
Talks about international development permeate current debates in academic and policy circles around the world. Yet, decades after its endorsement as one of the international community’s top priorities, the term continues to elude clear and univocal definitions, and it remains… Read More ›
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Lessons learned after the implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement
Over the past two and a half decades multiple problems have been identified in the implementation of the Dayton peace agreement. The process of development of the BiH society has generated some visible achievements that could lead to a stable… Read More ›
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Evaluation model of the performance of the higher education system in developing countries
In this research paper, we analyse the present model of higher education in several countries, and more particularly in developing countries. Our main objective is to identify the misfunctioning of the organisation of distance higher education in countries in which… Read More ›
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Who jeopardizes the Balkans?
It will be recorded in the history of international relations that all countries of the Balkans peninsula, starting from Slovenia to Bulgaria had or have officially applied for membership in the EU and NATO, except for Serbia which has declared… Read More ›
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Montenegro President Đukanović’s war with the USA (and the West)
On 30 August 2020, Montenegro held the 11th parliamentary election since the first multi-party election in 1990, and the fifth since Montenegro gained independence in 2006. The turnout was as high as 76.65%. The elections brought an end to the… Read More ›
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2020 – A year when distancing became social
These days, many argue that our Covid (C-19) response is a planetary fiasco, whose size is yet to surface with its mounting disproportionate and enduring secondary effects, causing tremendous socio-economic, political and psychosomatic contractions and convulsions. But, worse than our… Read More ›
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Of BREXIT and all that
When the Brexit vote was taking place in UK in 2016, I was addressing the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents’ Club at a monthly breakfast meeting. When the meeting started it seemed as though the remain vote was winning. However, by the… Read More ›
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Living antifascism: There is no health without freedom
These days, many argue that our Covid-19 (C-19) response is a planetary fiasco, whose size is yet to surface with its mounting disproportionate and enduring secondary effects, causing tremendous socio-economic, political and psychosomatic contractions and convulsions. But worse than our… Read More ›
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What new institutions do we need for a new international green deal to be feasible?
As part of the Geneva Lecture Series concepted and conducted by prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, former Finance Minister of Greece, Professor Yanis Varoufakis centered his two-hour mesmerizing discussion on the pressing need for new international financial institutions in light of… Read More ›
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Stumbling judiciary is the cancer of Bosnia and Herzegovina Society
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the elections of local authorities were held on 15 November 2020. The results of the local elections are a prelude into tectonic changes on the political scene of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The wave of political… Read More ›
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European logistics hubs of China’s Belt and Road Initiative
The second decade of the 21st century put the geoeconomic emphasis and cooperation within the framework of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative into the China – East European states relations. China’s “One belt, One road” initiative today creates prerequisites… Read More ›
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Binarisation of international foreign policy conduct
As the present world order weakens, the mega confrontations have appeared more likely: On its post-Soviet revival quest, Russia becomes increasingly assertive in Euro-MED theatre and beyond. The Sino-American relations are increasingly adversarial, with escalating frictions over trade, advanced technology,… Read More ›
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Foreign policy of the new US administration for Europe, Middle East and Western Balkans
Joseph Biden (D) is a veteran of the political scene in the United States of America. Over half a century he held senior positions in the American political life starting from the Senate all the way to the position of… Read More ›
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Europe’s Cyber Resilience
A False Sense of Security in the Private Sector as a Warning Sign and Means to Assess the Effectiveness of Cyber Security Awareness Measures In today’s world, no organization or enterprise is completely safe from cyber-attacks or their possible consequences…. Read More ›
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The Great Powers’ competition in The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the first half of the XXI Century
The current landscape of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), after all the political, military and geopolitical evolutions the Arab world went through during the last two decades provides the image of a venue placed at the centre of… Read More ›
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China: No sustainable development goals (SDGs) without elimination of violence against women and girls
During the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence from the 25th of November to the 10th of December, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens contributes to the Orange the World Campaign globally and in Austria, calling for the… Read More ›
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ASEAN at crossroads: Nonaligned movement has no alternative
As the present world order weakens, the mega confrontations have appeared more likely: On its post-Soviet revival quest, Russia becomes increasingly assertive in Euro-MED theatre and beyond. The Sino-American relations are increasingly adversarial, with escalating frictions over trade, advanced technology,… Read More ›
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Taking things for granted – be wary
The title of these comments is inspired by my personal experience in important areas of public policy both as a politician beginning in the 1970s and more recently as Secretary General of the OECD from 1996 until 2006. That was… Read More ›
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Triangularity of nuclear arms control – possible implications of China’s involvement in nuclear arms talks
In December 2019, the United States officially invited China to enter into a strategic security dialogue. The White House said it hoped Beijing’s consent to this proposal might become the first step towards an international agreement encompassing all nuclear weapons… Read More ›
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Political will is needed to foster multilateralism in Europe
On July 1st 2020, a large number of international affairs specialists gathered in Vienna, Austria, for the conference “From Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 Years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System”. The conference, jointly organized by four… Read More ›
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An occasion for the European Union to reaffirm its standing on security policies and human rights
Vice-President of the EU Commission Margaritis Shinas was a keynote speaker at this summer’s Diplomatic Conference in Vienna organised by the International Institute IFIMES, Media Platform Modern Diplomacy and their partners. High dignitary of the Commission seized the occasion to… Read More ›
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China in Europe: Hit the (Belt and) Road Jack
Today at a broader diplomatic and strategic level, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a symbol of China’s growing importance in international affairs, changing regional dynamics in geographical areas close to or even within Europe. At the most… Read More ›
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Privacy, European Union and human rights 75 years after WWII
Early summer days of 2020 in Vienna sow marking the anniversary of Nuremberg Trials with the conference “From the Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System – Legacy of Antifascism for the… Read More ›
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75 years of the triumph of antifascism
Early summer days of 2020 in Vienna sow marking the anniversary of Nuremberg Trials with the conference “From the Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System – Legacy of Antifascism for the… Read More ›
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From the Victory Day to Corona Disarray
75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System – Legacy of Antifascism for th Common Pan-European Future. The first July day of 2020 in Vienna sow marking the anniversary of Nuremberg Trials with the conference “From the Victory… Read More ›
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