Maritime SECURITY and Sea Power

Introduction The Arctic region presents itself as a complex geopolitical chess game. Given the emerging concerns of climate change and its consequences, the region has gained significant relevance. The Arctic Circle Zone is composed of a number of states, such as...

Introduction  When a large amount of ammonium nitrate exploded in the port of Beirut in August 2020, it left a swath of destruction in the city. The incident caused, among others, 218 deaths, thousands of injured, and millions of dollars in property damage....

Introduction The war on Ukraine has clearly transformed the political environment in Europe, but it has also divided the world. In this turbulent time, India has positioned itself as neutral, balancing between Russia and the West. While India has not officially...

Background In 2011, the German government, run by Christian Democrats (CDU) and Liberals (FDP) and headed by Angela Merkel decided to phase out nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The move was met with great approval from the public and...

At Midnight this Monday, President Aoun becomes Mr. Michel Aoun, a Lebanese citizen. This transition is the ancient Greeks’ greatest gift to humanity, a peaceful transition of power that does not involve familial inheritance. I was always struck by that almost magical...

After a tense wait following the Swedish election on Sunday, September 11, the result came on Wednesday. After eight years of government by the Social Democrats with the support of the center-left bloc, there will be a shift in power as the right coalition bloc won...

Following the elections of Speaker Berri, the time is now for the choosing of a new Prime Minister followed by government formation. Although Lebanon’s political system might seem complicated and archaic, there is a clear order for the next few steps that will lead to...

With significant help from the international community, channeled through the efforts of UNDP Leap and other agencies, the elections happened without any major logistical problems. Some polling centers had electricity cuts, others faced long queues, and there was some...

Tomorrow the parliamentary electoral process in Lebanon begins, starting with the expatriates voting worldwide. The voting will take place over two days, Friday for the country, in which the weekend falls on that day, and then Sunday for the rest. The elections will...

On April 7,  the final number of the Lebanon Electoral Lists for the 2022 parliamentary elections were announced. 103 lists were officially registered, vying for 128 parliamentary seats in 15 districts. This year's elections have witnessed an unprecedented number of...

Located in the east of the African continent, the Horn of Africa, which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti, is today the scene of considerable challenges, both for the traditional powers and for regional powers. In the past, the main emphasis was on the...

 Introduction The last two weeks witnessed two extremely consequential developments that will give shape to the future of Yemen. The first is certainly the UN-brokered two-month truce. On 1 April, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg issued a statement announcing...

Concerns rise over Chinese funding to the western universities and research institutes Being self-declared foreign language schools and educational institutions, Confucius Institutes are administered by the Office of the National Chinese Language International...

Former PM Saad Hariri announced the suspension of his personal and political party’s participation in Lebanese political life in an emotional address. The former PM explained that despite his many efforts to compromise, some are unwilling to let the country move...

In light of recent developments surrounding the famous tennis player Novak Djokovic, Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers has once again drawn the attention of both national and international media. For those unfamiliar with the history of Australia’s detention...

Since the start of the severe Lebanese crisis, more than two years ago, practically nothing has been done. No reforms to speak of, no capital control, no aid measures, nothing! The situation keeps getting worse, illustrated by an ever-falling exchange rate, while the...

Introduction: On 25 July 2021, Tunisia’s Republic Day, President Kais Saied had announced the invocation of Article 80, which he used as pretext to freeze the work of parliament for 30 days, sack the Prime Minister, and lift the immunity from all members of the...

Introduction: On 30 July 2020, Iraq’s general elections were announced to be held in June this year. Yet, this early election date was pushed back to 10 October recently by an agreement taken by Iraq’s cabinet. The decision came in response to the Independent Higher...

The Taliban toppled the internationally recognized government and now effectively rules Afghanistan. However, the country which has been in a state of war since 1979 - although showed some progress in the last 20 years -  is almost totally devastated. In almost all...

Introduction Since the start of the revolution in October 2019, Lebanon has been grappling with political and economic crises. The devaluation of the Lebanese Pound that started to show itself in an unusual way with the 1975 Civil war, gained extreme momentum with the...

Pace of events happening in Afghanistan became hard to follow. One month before the U.S./NATO complete pullout,   Taliban forces stormed western and northern provinces and within one week Taliban -at the time of reporting - controls 14 out of 34 provinces, 66% of...

Introduction Creating the spark in the regional fire following the 2010 Arab Uprising, Tunisia was the first Arab country to depose its dictator. The first story of success, as widely considered, as its people managed to make a reversal from dictatorship as early as...

Introduction On the 5th of July, a new quarrel surfaced between the supposedly brotherly countries; the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). On this day, a OPEC+ meeting that brings together 14 Organization of the Petroleum Exporting...

Unfortunately, every few months it seems that we are back to a new Prime Minister nomination and government formation. With each iteration, the economic and political conditions deteriorate, and the general security situation becomes even more dangerous in Lebanon....

The rapid pace of recent events in Afghanistan brought the country to the brink of total collapse. Now, the Taliban controls  85% of Afghan territory. Since April 2021, the number of districts controlled by the Taliban has nearly tripled (from 77 to 221 out of 407...

After Evergreen's vessel Ever Given became stuck in the Suez Canal on 23 March 2021, Chinese bloggers shared humorous memes over Taiwan and its importance in the world. The ship stuck in the canal and blocked all the traffic in both directions for over six days and...