Igor Lukes: ‘US attitude towards Europe is above party lines’
We present to you an interview with Igor Lukes, Czech-born professor of History and International Relations at Boston University. Our correspondent Jakub Janda questioned him about Republican Primaries, role of foreign policy in American political campaigns, and the puzzlement of the Europeans over distinguishing the Republicans from Democrats. Jakub Janda: President Barack Obama has [...]
Embargo on Iranian oil: A move to save the US Dollar hegemony
Acting through its ambassadors, the European Union has announced the imposition of an oil embargo on Iran from July 2012 on as well as placement of sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank, which aim to disrupt the funding of the country’s nuclear programme. But will that suffice? Will it have any effect? Or will it rather [...]
China’s peaceful rise and the good neighbor policy
‘China’s road of peaceful development is a brand-new one for mankind in pursuit of civilization and progress, the inevitable way for China to achieve modernization, and a serious choice and solemn promise made by the Chinese government and the Chinese people.’ Peaceful development is the inevitable way for China’s modernization. With these incisive and forceful [...]
China-U.S. Competition to lead Asian Development
A new ‘Great Game’ in Asia-Pacific arena arouses the antagonism and the rivalries between old and new world powers. The future of the United States is closely connected to and dependent on the Asian geopolitical chessboard. Therefore, last week, President Obama said in his speech to the Australian Parliament that: Let there be no doubt: in the Asia-Pacific in the 21st century, the [...]
Egypt: Facing the Challenge of Democracy
The elections in Egypt are a great deal since the aim of the Tahrir Revolution was and still is ‘democracy’. Considering the on-going experiences of my country, Turkey, I am very well aware that the consolidation of democracy is not something that might come over in one election. It will take years before Egypt is [...]
Ten awkward questions to ask Crazy Crab, cartoonist who challenges China’s Great Firewall
EVERYONE is looking, but nobody knows who he is. Bloggers around the world, censors and guardians of the World Wide Web, national and foreign press. In recent weeks, there is too much talk about him, Crazy Crab, pseudonym of the first cartoonist who challenges China’s Great Firewall doing political satire. Hexie Farm is a political [...]
Ágnes Szunomár: The roots of Chinese-Central European relations – The case of Hungary
The Chinese presence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has intensified recently as China’s great power ambitions have grown and the CEE-region has been in dour need of this new partnership due to the economic crisis. However, this relationship is not as new-fangled as it seems. In some cases – for example the case of [...]
Rethinking the European Union’s Economic Relations with the Mediterranean
Starting with the Jasmine Revolution of Tunisia and spreading onto Egypt, Libya and most recently Syria, the sudden wave of upheavals in the Mediterranean have created a whole new reality across the Arab world. By showing the limits of their tolerance for the corrupt and autocratic regimes that have governed their countries for decades, the [...]
Systematic Human Rights Abuses in North Korean Prison Camps
North Korea is the enigma of the modern world. Ruled by the mysterious Kim Jong-Il through a God-like personality cult, its inhabitants are conditioned from a young age to worship their leader. The government relies heavily on a large propaganda machine that censors and controls all media, casting Kim Jon-Il and his family into a [...]
Towards a Eurasian federation?
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan finalise their customs union As of 1 July, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are operating under a full customs union. The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, as is the official name of the entity, started functioning on 1 January 2010 with the introduction of a single customs tariff with the [...]
Atlantic Sentinel