Regions

On Friday, March 15 Kenneth E. Bowers, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States, testified at a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC). The hearing featured testimony on the current state of religious freedom in Iran, and highlighted systematic human rights violations against Iran’s Bahai and Christian communities. […]

As foreign tourists flock to an apparently open and reforming Myanmar, ethnic conflict continues in the regions along its borders. One such conflict involves the Kachin, a Christian/Buddhist/animist people who have been fighting for greater autonomy and political rights for decades.  A 17-year ceasefire between the government and the Kachin broke down in June 2011, […]

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, called it quite. They both announced in a matter of days that they would retire from their respective positions at the end of their mandates. Based on the Treaties, both positions are renewable. […]

Although Tony Blair has “long since given up trying to persuade people [that the Iraq War] was the right decision,” he has found a convenient new way to justify it in time for the 10th anniversary of the invasion. According to Blair, since Saddam Hussein was “20 times worse” than Bashar al-Assad, it logically follows […]

Coming on the heels of a UCLA study reporting that new trans-Arctic routes could be open to shipping by mid-century, Huigen Yang, the Director Polar Research Institute of China, met with Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Össur Skarphéðinsson, on March 15 to discuss northern shipping. Both countries stand to benefit if the Northern Sea Route is developed: China, […]

  This week Benyamin Netanyahu built a coalition, securing himself a third term as Israeli Prime Minister. He will shortly become the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel since David Ben Gurion. While his retention of this top spot was all but assured going into the election, it was also widely assumed that he would […]

They said it couldn’t be done. But at last, the Kremlin and some of its fiercest liberal critics have found themselves on the same team. The fact that the issue in question is their opposition to the proposed Cypriot bank levies says as much about the regime as the opposition. Try to guess who said […]

Editor’s Note: The following is a guest contributing piece by Mitchell Belfer. Mr. Belfer is Editor-in-Chief of Central European Journal of International and Security Studies. He is based in Prague, Czech Republic. _____________________________________________________________________ by Mitchell Belfer Iran’s upcoming 14 June elections will likely be a somber affair. After suffering four years of wanton suppression including leadership incapacitation, the torture […]

After weeks of negotiation, and, predictably, right before his already-extended deadline was set to expire, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the formation of a majority coalition in the Knesset (Israeli legislature).  The coalition, in addition to including the pre-election alliance between Likud, the main right-wing party, and Yisrael Beiteinu, the Russian immigrant-oriented party headed by […]

The press and the European public opinions are not impressed by the latest agreement made behind closed doors between the recently elected president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, and the EU in order to assure a €10 billion bailout for Cyprus. According to the agreement on the bailout, all Cypriots will have to chip in. As […]

Never again. Remember that? The world was very determined to never allow another attempt at genocide after the Holocaust. We know now that those words were as empty and hollow as a whiskey barrel on the George Bush ranch. Genocides have happened again and will continue to happen if it is not in the “international […]

A controversial nomination, former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel was sworn in as Secretary of Defense on February 27, 2013. Prior to assuming office, questions regarding the Republican’s perspectives and policy prescriptions for critical Middle Eastern issues were paramount in opposition’s hesitation for Mr. Hagel to join President Obama’s administration. While the 24th Secretary of Defense […]