Afghanistan Update: December 2008

12 January 2009

General Security Situation

In a year that has seen a dramatic increase in military fighting and civilian deaths, the renewed Taliban insurgency has regained footholds in nearly three-quarters of Afghanistan. Read More

Afghanistan Update: November 2008

17 December 2008

The Taliban hold a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent last year, according to the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). Read More

Saving Congo: Wither the EU?

5 December 2008

Madeleine Albright once famously asked then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, "What's the point of having this superb military you're always talking about if we can't use it?" Much the same could be demanded of the European Union's nascent military formations, strong on paper but chimerical when it comes to actual deployment. Read More

Killing Bin Laden

1 December 2008

The two candidates that, until recently, were locked in the hotly-contested race for the White House disagreed on nearly every issue except one - Osama bin Laden. Read More

The Responsibility to Protect: An International Norm in the Making?

28 October 2008

The concept of the Responsibility to Protect - or R2P as it is known in policy jargon - has been in the news lately as a result of the (partly man-made) humanitarian crisis that unfolded in Burma after Cyclone Nargis struck the country's Irrawaddy Delta.< Read More

NATO's Global Dilemma

28 October 2008

The recent crisis in Georgia is only the latest problem to tax NATO. Read More

R2P and the Protection of Civilians: Whom and How?

19 June 2008

ISIS Europe, European Security Contact Group Meeting

In its attempt to stop a future Rwanda, the 'Responsibility to Protect' (R2P) concept has raised a number of controversial issues. Read More

Toward a New Trans-Atlantic and European Security Structure

4 June 2008

A Preview of France's Upcoming European Union Presidency

On July 1, 2008 when France assumes the European Union (EU) presidency for six months, one of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's top priorities will be the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Read More

CFE Treaty: Prospects for Reinvigoration and Expansion to Asia

18 April 2008

Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE): Status and Prospects for Reinvigoration and Expansion to Asia

Concern about the relationship between China and Russia is bound to increase - as China's military power expands apace with its economic growth, as Russia enjoys increasing influence due to rising energy prices, and as potentially dangerous nuclear technology spreads around the world, conflict between the two becomes ever more dangerous. Read More

Triaging NATO: Mr. Bush (The Younger) Goes to Bucharest

4 April 2008

American diplomacy under the administration of George W Bush has been far from diplomatic at times. Read More

The State of the (European) Union: Making US Defense Spending Look Efficient

4 April 2008

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's proposal to establish a core defense group comprising the six biggest members of the European Union (EU) is typically ambitious. Read More

The EU Police Mission in Afghanistan: Marching to a Slow Drum?

6 February 2008

The EU police mission in Afghanistan has come in for renewed criticism in recent days. Read More

Euro-View: Internet Policing

18 December 2007

Countering terrorists' use of the internet demands more than just a ham-fisted closure of sites; other more subtle tactics are needed

BRUSSELS - On the face of it, passing legislation to prevent the internet from being used to promote terrorists' ideology or enhance their capabilities is a no-brainer. Read More

In the Spotlight: Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)

14 August 2007

On June 5, 2007, the Basque separatist group Euzkadi Ta Askatuna (ETA) - in English, Basque Fatherland and Liberty ­- declared their previously announced "permanent" ceasefire to be over. Read More

The Prüm Process: playing or abusing the system?

2 July 2007

Despite - or perhaps because of - the controversy attached to it, the EU's move to fold most of the provisions of the Prüm Treaty into its existing accumulated legislation (or acquis communautaire) was afforded a single line in the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council (finalised 22 June 2007). Read More