The Obstacles in the Creation of a Common EU Energy Policy
At a time when energy is becoming one of the critical issues in the world, there is a great need for such a powerful entity as the EU to speak with one voice and develop a common energy policy. But the main obstacle for a genuine development of a common energy policy is the strong differences between member states preferences for a common energy policy
Does terrorism pose a real threat to security?
Terrorism is undoubtedly an issue at the forefront of security concerns, especially in the west as a result of the 9/11 attacks. But it is not a new concern. It has merely become more prominent due to the relatively recent attacks on the west and the resulting conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is terrorism as much of a threat as it is perceived to be?
The European Union and Transatlantic Relations
The responsibility of the EU Presidency is first and foremost to play the role of a chairperson, and to listen to the views of different member states. The question is whether member states, during their Presidencies, give priority to their own national interests or to the EU as a supranational institution.
Water Insecurity in the Middle East: a Cause for Conflict or Cooperation?
The Middle East is a very complex region with many factors causing states to enter into violent and intractable conflicts. The region has been adversely affected by climate change. This has led to the entire Middle East becoming dryer, thus meaning that water volumes, be it in aquifers or river basins, are declining. Therefore, water scarcity is steadily affecting food supply.
Smart Aid for African Development
For over five decades, many types of aid have been flowing into sub-Saharan Africa, and yet there is a stagnation and perhaps even a failure of significant development in the region. Smart Aid for African Development, edited by Richard Joseph and Alexandra Gillies, contains essays from a collection of authors who attempt to address the reasons why aid does not seem to promote growth in Africa by explaining the constraints to aid as it is granted today, and elaborating on effective alternative approaches
Why did Communism survive in China but not in the USSR?
While there were many factors that contributed to the downfall of Communism in the Soviet Union, the main one was that during the 1980s nobody believed in it any more; which was the key difference between the survival of Communism in China. China had a truly mass movement with Communism, while the Soviet Union was largely created with the ideas of one man, Lenin.
The Challenges to State Sovereignty from the Promotion of Human Rights
Traditionally, the promotion of Human Rights and the concept of state sovereignty have been fundamentally opposed. The institutionalisation of Human Rights in the international system is a relatively new concept. It wasn’t until after the Second World War that the challenge of Human Rights upon state sovereignty emerged.
The Euro and the RMB
As an emerging power, China’s role within domains of international trade, economy and politics has increased dramatically in recent years. Accompanied with the country’s increase in international weight, the Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) has become more and more significant in international financial market. Simultaneously, the dispute over RMB’s revaluation has recently become a recurrent theme
The Division of Palestine in 1947: Personal Policy or Strategic Interest?
The decision by the United Nations to partition Palestine in 1947 was a major watershed in Middle Eastern history. Not only did it lead to the creation of the state of Israel, a Zionist aim since the eighteenth century, but it set in stone a conflict which still to this day remains unresolved.Although the decision aimed to appease both Jews and Arabs, who laid differing ideological claims to the same territory and, as James L. Ilsley stated, was the ‘best of four unattractive and difficult alternatives,’ it failed.
American Ascendance, British Retreat, and the Rise of Iran in the Persian Gulf
Three recent publications provide a fresh perspective of the developments which resulted in the decline of British influence in the Gulf, and the subsequent rise of the US.
