AIR AND SPACE POWER
Third Offset Strategy vs EDF
Let me start by noting that after 25 years as a U.S. Diplomat and 12 years teaching at Cranfield University, mostly at the UK Defence Academy, I know you are only going to take away one thing that I say in the course of this entire presentation. I always start out...
New Horizons Summit 2019 Proceedings – Welcome Remarks
Dear ambassadors, generals, distinguished guests! On behalf of the New Horizons Community, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to New Horizons Summit 2019, Future of the Transatlantic Defence Cooperation organized by Beyond the Horizon ISSG, one of the major think...
How European Strategic Autonomy would contribute to the Transatlantic Defence Cooperation?
It would be fair to split the context in three points: Transatlantic relations and historical periodicity Official NATO declarations often imply that there is something eternal and automatic, and of course something inherently benign, about the Euro-American Alliance....
DF-41: East Wind Coming
Introduction As other countries are also working on next-generation missiles, China is pursuing a long-term strategy in order to build strategic technologies and bridging the capacity gap with the West, following Russia’s approach. Currently, the most powerful...
War Crimes in Libya
The Report of the Amnesty International (AI) published this week is the first public investigation of the war crimes committed since the Haftar’s offensive upon Tripoli on 4 April. There were some United Nations investigations conducted by experts on some particular...
Current Russian Practices in Maritime Zones
POLICY PAPER THE CURRENT PRACTICE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION CONCERNING THE CONTINENTAL SHELF, EEZS, AND FREEDOM OF INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION IN COASTAL AREAS (BALTIC SEA, ARCTIC, FAR EAST, CASPIAN SEA, BLACK SEA). ITS CONTRADICTIONS WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES AND THE...
Libya in Focus
Eight years ago, on 20 October, Moammar Gaddafi was captured and killed in his hometown Sirte and buried to an unknown grave. Since his death, Libyans have been waiting for their dreams to come true. Developments of last week are not promising though, indicating that...
DF-17: Hypersonic Glide Vehicle on the Way
Introduction Technological developments are critical for the robust national defense industry, which is deemed an essential element of national security. The Chinese military has unveiled a new hypersonic ballistic nuclear missile that could violate all existing...
Why will Yemen be the poorest country in the world by 2022?
Yemen is overlooking the Strait of Bab al-Mandab and ranks 29th in the world in terms of oil reserves. Yemen is also overlooking two seas for two thousand kilometers and shares its border with the rich Gulf countries. With all these facts, Yemen will become the...
China’s new Land Helicopter Dock, the Type 075, a steppingstone rather than a game-changer
On September 25, China launched its first type-075-class Land Helicopter Dock. Following this event, a notable amount of coverage has been generated over the last weeks. Many experts and columnists may have over-emphasized the role of China’s new vessel regarding a...
In the Run-up to International Conference on Libya
Preparations and developments related to the upcoming Libya Conference in Germany are dominating the discussions on the Libya crisis. Mediators are working hard to manage the expectations to avoid disappointment at the end of the conference. Main discussion point will...
Scraping Surface of Rhetorics: An Assessment on Latest Developments in Syria
-Turkish Operation Peace Spring continues in full swing amid fierce criticism from international community and contradictory statements by different U.S. officials. However, there is no substance beyond ostentatious remarks or statements. Because, parties to the...
The Importance of the Transatlantic Link
Introduction The increasing rate of disintegration of liberal world order and emerging security challenges gaining vigour due to this deficiency has resulted in self-questioning on either side of the Atlantic. Politically, the debate about famous three Ds...
Ahead of International Libya Conference in Germany
Ahead of a new international Libya Conference, the one evident thing is that both GNA and LNA propaganda machines try hard to persuade international community that they have the upper hand in the battlefield. The operations rooms of both sides frame the developments...
Libya in Focus – The Things Get More Complicated in Libya
Following the G7 summit and statements of UN special envoy Ghassan Salame, major international actors were expected to come together to end the protracted civil war and initiate a new peace process in Libya. The 74th Assembly of the United Nations was the perfect...
Two next-generation fighters in Europe? That’s already too much for the EU Defence Industry
In recent years Europeans have made important steps forward – PESCO, CARD, European Defence Fund – in developing a more unified and coherent European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). In an era characterized by strategic uncertainty, the EU is willing...
Kinzhal* – The Tip of the Iceberg in Modern Warfare
Background On August 10th, the Aviadarts 2019 international competition as part of the International Army Games 2019 took place at the Dubrovichi testing range in the Ryazan Region, Russia. In particular, Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile debuted at the...
Disruptive Technologies: Either a Threat or an Opportunity but Definitely an Obligation
Disruptive technologies are constantly changing the way we fight. The fast pace of technological change is making it hard for the militaries to keep up. In his seminal article “The New Revolution in Military Affairs,” Christian Brose predicts that emerging...
Europe as a Security Actor and The Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP)
ABSTRACT The subject of security has been at the heart of the study of international relations especially for the past half century. It has been to some extent pivotal to the way the scholars of international relations have thought about the core purpose of discipline...
Yemen in Focus
Repercussions of the attacks on Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais on September 14 still keep global agenda busy. The attacks that caused highest rise in crude oil prices in one day and took down 5 percent of global production still continues to be a matter of...
Libya in Focus – Libya under Scrutiny
Almost six months has elapsed since start of Haftar’s Tripoli offensive, an initiative that has costed thousands their lives and made many more displaced. Setting out with great promises, Haftar’s LNA has so far suffered major setbacks to include one of the biggest...
Regime Type and Counterterrorism: Revisiting the Debate
Introduction The U.S. President George Bush’s speech at National Defense University in 2005 caused a debate circulating for some time to gain more currency. He said: "It should be clear the best antidote to radicalism and terror is the tolerance kindled in free...
An Outlier-Based Intention Detection for Discovering Terrorist Strategies
Terrorist groups (attackers) always strive to outmanoeuvre counter-terrorism agencies with different tactics and strategies for making successful attacks. Therefore, understanding unexpected attacks (outliers) is becoming more and more important. Studying such attacks...
End of the Peace Process in Afghanistan
Trump abruptly called off peace negotiations with the Taliban on Saturday (7 Sep 2019) after the Kabul suicide bomber attack on Thursday (5 Sep 2019). The attack that was claimed by the Taliban took the lives of 12 people including one American soldier. The United...
As an Annual Landmark Event, New Horizons Summit-2019
State of Play Rules based international order, set up in the wake of Second World War, is challenged by state and non-state actors in many aspects. Transatlantic bond, which is one of the main pillars of this order, is not immune from these challenges. The return of...
Analysis of Projects related to the Integration of Migrants
Abstract This study analyses the projects related to the integration of migrants and refugees in Flanders. The author conducts a systematic review of related projects appearing in the ESF and AMIF[*] Project database between 2013 and 2019. The results of the...
Yemen… Unity or separation and the wrong questions
There was no surprise in what happened in Aden. Since the beginning of the transitional period, the Yemeni elites and their parties have dealt with the Yemeni situation without imagination, and in the same traditional ways of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh....
KN-23- Fast & Furious
Introduction On 16 August, North Korea fired two missiles into the waters off its east coast. According to US and South Korean officials the two were short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM). They flew approximately 142 miles at a maximum altitude of 18.6 miles and top...
Working with refugees. Are Flemish companies ready for it?
The asylum seekers who arrived in our country during the 2015 refugee crisis are currently fully engaged in our job market. Despite the initial optimism about the economic employability of this group of newcomers, their actual labour market participation remains...
Avangard-New Paradigm in Modern Warfare
Background The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced on 02 Jul 2019 that the production of Avangard hypersonic gliding vehicle (HGV) was proceeding as scheduled. Moscow refuted US media reports which suggested Russia could not produce...
Anti-Ship Missile Defense with Artificial Intelligence
Guided missiles are still one of the most strategic, destructive and powerful weapons for the above water warfare. For decades, scientists and engineers try to develop most skilful missile in order to catch the target from the weakest point. When one produced a...
An Assessment on Latest Developments in Yemen
This week was an especially bloody one for Yemen. The Houthi, ISIL and Al Qaeda attacks in a fashion outbidding each other killed more than a hundred and left many others in critical condition in hospitals. If we have to focus on the factual aspect of the events: a....
What to Make Out of Emirati Drawdown in Yemen
Background The UAE decision to draw down troops in Yemen has been on the agenda of international spectators since 22 June. In an article reflecting her consultations with Emirati officials, Elena DeLozier formulated the content of the drawdown as: Emirati units are...
GNA Point of View on the Ongoing Crisis in Libya
While the armed conflict in and around capital Tripoli escalate to a full-blown civil war destroying the physical and social infrastructure of Libya and making a democratic and peaceful Libya a more elusive vision, Beyond the Horizon ISSG had a chance to take a closer...
Without the INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty had its origins in the Euromissile crisis of the mid-1970s when the Soviet Union had deployed newly-developed SS-20 intermediate-range missiles, replacing older intermediate-range SS-4 and SS-5 missiles. The...
EU in Focus-Iran Deal in the wake of Foreign Affairs Council
It was clear from the outset that this month’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) would be one of the longest as stated by the High Representative/Vice President (HR/VP) Federica Mogherini. The agenda was full, including controversial items like Joint Comprehensive Plan of...
Afghan Peace Process
If the news from Doha is true, peace is closer than ever. At 29 Jun 2019, the U.S. and the Taliban came together for the seventh round of discussions which will hopefully bring an end to the 18-year-long war between U.S.-led coalition and the Taliban. According to the...
Book Review: Energy Kingdoms
“Energy Kingdoms” is written by Jim Krane, an expert who spent considerable time actually living in the Gulf. The book analyzes; the drivers behind the Gulf States’ domestic energy policies, the internal consumption problem that came out as a result of these policies...
Escalation of Crisis Between LNA and Turkish Government
Already strained relations between LNA and Turkish Government gradually escalated to an open hostility after statements and actions from both sides since Friday. This means a new crisis in the MENA, which is already on tenterhooks with current Iran-USA tension. As a...
NATO Prepares for the Absence of INF Treaty
Background Euromissile crisis of the mid-1970s, which had started with Soviet Union`s deployment of newly-developed SS-20 intermediate-range missiles instead of intermediate-range SS-4 and SS-5 missiles, had led to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty....
Cocked & Loaded: New US Foreign Policy
Fatih Celenay*, Onur Sultan** Introduction International society has been watching a duel of words and actions between Iran and US since May 2018 when President Trump declared the US would unilaterally withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or...
Recruiting Strategies in Studies about Radicalization and Extremism
Abstract Today radicalization and extremism are the two salient issues facing the policymakers in most of the countries. However, it is difficult to say that there is a consensus on the definition of radicalization. The lack of a common definition creates big...
Yemen’s peace process is almost dead. Here’s how to revive it.
Nearly six months since the so-called Stockholm agreement was signed by Yemen’s warring parties in an effort to prevent a deepening humanitarian crisis, any semblance of progress is almost dead. The agreement, signed on Dec. 13, stipulates the redeployment of forces...
Globalizing the INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is worth preserving and expanding. In August, the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between Russia and the United States will terminate unless both sides can resolve their differences over the...
The Fifth 30 When NATO is at 70
NATO responded to Russian intervention in Ukraine by launching several initiatives in multiple domains. One of them is the NATO Readiness Initiative. As part of a broad deterrence and defence related measures, Allies will make available ‘additional 30 major naval...
The United Nations in Yemen .. A failure or a conspiracy?
The anti-United Nations campaign - and talk about its dubious role in Yemen - has become increasingly popular recently. This coincides with claims of conspiracy, a rhetoric mostly used by the helpless party in an indirect attempt to justify self-insufficiency. Calls...
Why the Houthi drone strikes targeted Saudi oil facilities
Yemen’s Houthi rebels are not just Iran’s proxies On May 14, Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen launched multiple drone strikes against Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. These drone strikes targeted a major oil pipeline located just west of Riyadh and sparked fears of...
Resurrected Great Game on the Grand Chessboard: Geopolitics on Afghan Soil
The rivalry between British and Russian Empires over the control of Afghanistan named as “the Great Game”. Some 190 years after, Afghan soil witnesses a similar “game” being played by global and regional actors. This landlocked country, lying at the centre of the...
Why the European Defence Fund Is Good News for U.S. Security Interests
The transatlantic security and defense debate has been challenged by a recurring paradox over the past decade: Europeans are expected to take on more responsibility for their own defense and step up their defense investment, yet there is still an expectation from the...
Can Russian submarines pass through the Turkish Straits according to the Montreux Convention?
According to Montreux Convention, Black Sea littoral states have the right to use the Turkish Straits if the submarines have been constructed, purchased or sent for repair outside Black Sea with the stipulation that they inform Turkey in advance. In the case of...
Is Iran Testing Trump with Little Attacks in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf?
Anne Speckhard* & Ardian Shajkovci** The sound of an explosion echoed through the Green Zone on Sunday (May 19, 2019) night around 9:00 p.m., a reminder that this most secure part of the Iraqi capital is not, in fact, all that safe. The projectile appears...
How does the drilling activity of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean affect relations with Russia?
Despite calls from the US, the EU, and Egypt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that in addition to the Fatih drill ship, which is currently in the west of Cyprus, Yavuz drillship would be sent to the region. He declared that Turkey had...
Can Russia annex Ukraine? What does the decision to distribute Russian passports in Eastern Ukraine mean?
Three days after the presidential elections in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decision to grant Russian passport to the separatist Ukrainians in Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of this country. Former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has...
Assessment of a Proposed Course of Action Involving More US Support to Coalition in Yemen
On 2 May 2019, an article with the subject “A Real Plan to End the War in Yemen” was published in Foreign Affairs. The article is purposeful and well-written in terms of clarity of the arguments and got quite positive feedbacks from those following the crisis....
Whither Libya?
As Haftar’s offensive toward Tripoli stalled, the conflict does not cease to reproduce itself in other realms or dimensions. This week, Haftar and his international backers increased their level of engagement in propaganda to dominate or shift opinion in favor of...
Trump’s Embrace of Haftar Will Reignite Libya’s Proxy War
General Khalifa Haftar, the military commander of the loosely affiliated Libyan National Army (LNA), a militia that receives military support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Egypt, has engaged with the world’s top leaders in...
Beyond Sri Lanka: Is Jakarta prepared to counter religious extremist militancy?
Introduction Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, began transitioning to democracy after fall of Suharto in 1998. Immediately after the event, Indonesia witnessed the rise of radical militant Islamic factions. Many security and military experts...
Baghdadi Resurfaces to Show He Is in Good Health and in Full Control
Background On 29 April 2019, al-Furqan Media Center of Daesh posted a 18.22 minute video with the name: “In the Hospitality of the Emir of the Believers”. The timing of the video message, the medium it was posted through and its content are all extremely important....
Could Brazil be a NATO member with president Trump’s support?
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and US President Donald Trump's message at the White House during the press conference on March 19 attracted international attention. Particularly in the areas of terrorism, drug and human trafficking, cybercrime and money...
Hybrid Warfare and Strategic Theory*
Abstract Hybrid warfare is the latest of the terms/concepts that have been used within the defence community in the last three decades to label contemporary warfare. It has been officially adopted in the core strategic documents of NATO, EU and national governments...
Migration and Human Security: Different Perspectives About Central American Migrants Caravans
Abstract At the beginning of the twenty first century Human Security (HS) is a challenge for nations. Taking the perspective from HS, integrity and individual safety for individuals which is the main focus for states as the United States and Mexico. They are...
A Strategic Foresight for Europe: Countering Hybrid Threats Through the Lens of Strategy
A Critique of Hybrid Warfare Concept It was retired Marine Officer Frank Hoffman who popularised the Hybrid warfare concept in a series of articles and books since it was first publicly used in 2005 in a conference, by General Mattis, the U.S. General Secretary of...
Political Warfare and Hybrid Warfare
There are many labels to describe the issues linked with the return of great power competition in the cyber era in search for conceptual clarity. I am going to talk briefly about two of them - political warfare and hybrid warfare. The definition of hybrid warfare is...
Operation Sophia – Past, Present and Future
Operation Sophia was quietly and officially extended until 30 September 2019 following longstanding negotiations among member states. Political and Security Committee (PSC) reached a flawed last-minute compromise on March 29th, the last working day for an extension of...
In Light of The Return of Great Power Politics-Countering Hybrid Threats to Europe
I would like to touch upon the global geopolitical challenge – temporary occupation of Crimea that will be discussed in the framework of today’s conference. Since beginning of the so-called Referendum in Crimea in March 2014 which fully contradicted with the...
Disinformation as a Political Weapon
Disinformation is used as a political weapon. It’s not a new phenomenon, it used to exist and it will be in the future. It is just one of the tools from the toolbox of a wider effort that is called influence operations which is probably part of the hybrid warfare....
Return of Political Warfare
Concept of Political Warfare stems from Clausewitz: Condensed Version: « War is a continuation of politics by other means... war is therefore an act of violence to force the opponent to fulfil our will. A deeper reading of Clausewitz implies that war represents the...
Natural gas puzzle in Eastern Mediterranean, how will a regionally alienated Turkey be effected?
Drilling operations in East Mediterranean; specifically issues such as how to transport the extracted gas and on which route has changed security environment of the region and its geopolitics. New actors and mechanisms are involved in the game. Well then, what caused...
Third-party Intervention to Civil Wars: Realist, Liberalist and English School Theoretical Perspectives
1. Introduction According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), 48 of the 49 active conflicts in 2017 were fought within the boundaries of a state between government and opposing groups. 19 of these conflicts were internationalised (40%) with intervention from...
How NATO Adapts – Strategy and the Organization in the Atlantic Alliance since 1950
Dr. Seth A. Johnston, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2017, ISBN 9781421421988 (pbk.: alk. paper) Dr. Seth Johnston’s “How NATO Adapts” is first and foremost a book about NATO’s history. It explains changes in NATO’s strategy and organisation – terms...
The Role of Non-state Actors in the Future of Global Governance and International Security
Two main dynamics are at work in the international level. The first is the state-centred “great power dynamics”. And the second is pluralist “global governance” in which a plethora of different actors exist alongside states. A main feature of the latter, non-state...
The Spurring of a New Arms Race
As any observer can notice, all great and regional powers are building up their weapons arsenals. Some are proud of it and like to show it both to the outside world and to their own people like Putin’s Russia or Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, and also Trump; others do it...
Hybrid threats through the prism of the illegal occupation of Crimea
The distance – physical and psychological distance of many European capitals from Crimea dwarfs the sense of danger many Europeans tend to feel about the annexation of Crimea. Despite the fact that Crimea is a part of natural-Mediterranean – Black Sea security area...
Smart Cities: The New Centers of Sovereignty
There is a revolution in progress that is shifting responsibility for governance and sovereignty away from the state to cities. This revolution even has a name: the fourth industrial revolution. In many parts of the world, cities are growing exponentially and...
The Four Key Factors Enabling White Terrorism
The recent attacks on mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 worshipping Muslims and injured scores more have brought global attention to white nationalist terrorism. This phenomenon could not only grow into an international security threat akin to Islamist terrorism...
The Rise of Illiberalism by Dr. Heather Grabbe*
The question is, if is there in fact a collapse or is there something more of a lapse, because that seems to be the assumption often in Brussels in terms of EU policy making but what we are living through our extraordinary times at some point that we will return to...
Power Vacuums and the Return of Great Power Competition by Christopher Coker*
We can probably take as a point of departure that the world is disordered. And, the question is that is the disorder in the 1930s capable of addressing the disorders of the present day? The answer is probably no. If we go back to the 1930s, it is very easy to say that...
Discussion on the Collapse of the Liberal World Order by Tanguy Struye de Swielande*
The Western liberal order is in relative decline because of the economic crisis of 2008, the war against terrorism, the appearance of new threats (cyber, food security, climate, demography, proxy wars...) and new emerging states. There is clearly a leadership fatigue,...
Emerging Trends Reshaping the International Security-Keynote Address by Jamie P. Shea
A couple of decades ago, one of the favourite phrases of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was “it’s a funny world”. It is true that we live in a very funny world today. Couple of years ago, British academic, Tim Gartner Ashton said “If we could whip in a...
Kashmir crisis: How does it affect regional dynamics?
The developments following the suicide bombing of the Indian-controlled Kashmir on February 14, which resulted in the deaths of at least 40 Indian soldiers, caused the attention of the world's public to focus on the region again. New Delhi blamed the Pakistani...
Uncertainty Surrounds Turkey’s Long-Range Air Defence System Project
Turkey is a key regional player at the gateway between Europe and the Middle East, bordering Iraq and Syria. Particularly during the Syrian conflict, Turkey experienced rockets and shells landing on its side of the border injuring and killing civilians. Moreover, in...
Terrorists’ Use of Drones Promises to Extend Beyond Caliphate Battles
By Anne Speckhard*, Ardian Shajkovci** Unmanned and remote-controlled aircrafts, i.e. drones, continue to change the character of contemporary warfare.[i] It was satellites and drones, alongside a good deal of human intelligence, that located Osama bin Laden...
NATO Defence Ministerial, February 2019
Defence Ministers of NATO members discussed pressing security challenges in Brussels between 13-15 February 2019, prior to annual Munich Security Conference. Defence Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Radmila Sekerinska, attended NATO defence ministerial...
India and Pakistan may not go to war. But there’s trouble ahead.
If you followed certain Indian media outlets in the early hours of Tuesday, you probably heard that Indian Air Force jets swooped into Pakistani airspace and carried out devastating strikes on militant camps, killing roughly 300 fighters. If you were watching in...
The Other War on Terror: Counter-Terror Financing and Anti-Money Laundering Initiatives of EU
Introduction Post 9/11 world, exposed intelligence agencies to an age old tradition of channelling funds across the globe using mordern international financial system. In this, the transnational organized criminal networks used the digital world to carry out money...
Turkish Stream or Russian Stream: Who gets the most profit from the pipeline?
The embargo imposed on Russia by the EU and the US after the annexation of Crimea and the Russian aim of eliminating the key position of Ukraine on the energy route have led Russia to re-evaluate its natural gas pipeline projects. At the end of 2014, during a state...
The Caspian Sea Basin and Europe’s Energy Security
I would first of all like to thank the organizers for inviting me to participate here. The title of this session is “Political and Geopolitical Issues in the Short and Medium Term”. I should clarify that I understand the short term to refer to one to four years, and...
Could a ‘true’ European Army become reality? – Air Force Perspective
The debates related to ‘real European Army’, which was re-launched by French President Emmanuel Macron were further heated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s speech at the European Parliament on November 13, 2018. Such statements from the leaders of the two leading...
US National Security: The Discourse and the Debates
“Make America Great Again” is attributed to the present US President Donald Trump. He certainly has been a user of this quote or phrase since 2012 if not earlier. In the 2015 reissue of his 2011 book, the subtitle read “Make America Great Again”. But by no means, he...
Conference on European Neighbourhood Policy-2019
Organised by the Institute of European Studies at Saint Louis University with the collaboration of Beyond the Horizon ISSG GALLERY Details and Schedule ORGANISERS COLLABORATORS ...
US and China struggle for hegemony on Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean
Becoming a global power depends on domination in the oceans and seas. Dominating the seas and oceans means having the strategic advantage militarily and controlling economically significant sea lines of communication. The USA, which is a global or hegemonic power,...
Prospects for Yemen in 2019 and Beyond*
The fear and terror induced by this situation, combined with unbearable survival conditions are creating a generation of psychologically scarred people, many of whom will never be able to live normal lives. Less than a month after the signature of the Stockholm...
Nine Bullets for the Traitors, One for the Enemy: The Slogans and Strategy behind the Islamic State’s Campaign to Defeat the Sunni Awakening*
The Islamic State is infamous for its sophisticated media campaigns, such as the one that inspired a large-scale migration of supporters to its so-called caliphate. Much less attention has been paid to its propaganda targeting local audiences, which tends to be more...
Born in Belgium, raised in ISIS: ‘I want to come home’
By Anne Speckhard*, Ardian Shajkovci** and Hamid Sebaly*** At a recent counterterrorism conference held by the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism in Brussels, Belgium, a seven-year-old’s words touched the issues currently pressing upon the heart...
Analysis of Academic Studies on the Integration of Displaced Persons
Abstract This research analyzed the literature on integration, assimilation, and other concepts[1] related to displaced persons[2] and refugees as experienced in their host countries. The author conducted a computer-assisted content analysis of related articles...
The Principle of Self-Determination in International Law and the Syrian Civil War
The principle of self-determination in international law is a concept that is continually evolving since the beginning of the 19th century when it entered the agenda of the international community. It has continued its evolution during the De-colonization and...
How will Artificial Intelligence Change the Character of War?
In recent years, humanity has been being faced with a technological development that may result in radical changes in post-industrial revolution economic, social, cultural, political and military fields. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be able to shape...
EU in Focus: The EU and the Resurgence of Far-Right
The far-right parties are not recent phenomena in the old continent. Following the catastrophe of the second world war, mainly caused by the far-right, nationalist and fascist parties, it became a practice, maybe with some exceptions, not to have them in...
Who is winning in Libya?
The latest milestone in the peace process for the Libya crisis, Palermo Conference, passed without a significant breakthrough on 13-14 November 2018. No final agreement has been reached during the leader’ meeting which Khalifa Haftar didn’t attend (He only attended...
Mediterranean Gas Share
Turkey is looking for an alternative to the alliance formed around Cyprus By Alexy Zender[1] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on September 2018 that Turkey could begin drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the following months. As...
