In a recently hosted international panel by Voice of Russia America to discuss the second anniversary of the conflict in Syria, Mikhail Roschin, EGF Affiiated Expert on radical Islam in the North Caucasus and Central Asia speaks about the national uprisings that put Syria on the path to civil war and so far more than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence between rebel opposition groups and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. To listen to this discussion, please click here.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 03.04.2013  |  Security
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By George Niculescu,
Head of Research, The European Geopolitical Forum

In November 2012, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Center for a New American Security published a series of papers built upon the "global swing states" concept launched by Daniel Kliman and Richard Fontaine in a report on: "Global Swing States: Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey and the Future of International Order". READ MORE

• George Niculescu  |  Published on EGF: 25.03.2013  |  Security
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Paul Pryce
EGF Affiliated Expert on Conflict Management and the OSCE Institutions

Since the outbreak of initial hostilities in November 1990, the Transnistrian conflict persists. While numerous initiatives have been proposed over the past two decades both by external actors and by the parties to the conflict, the de jure Moldovan government and the de facto Transnistrian authorities, little progress has been made to secure a more lasting peace. Click here to read more.

• Paul Pryce  |  Published on EGF: 17.10.2012  |  Security
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Introduction
Debates about the geopolitical, geo-economic and strategic significance of the wider-Black Sea (WBS) region have become fashionable amongst Western policy makers and the international scholarly community since the end of the Cold War. While the Black Sea represented a “front line” in the stand-off between rival superpower blocks during an age which now seems to have slipped into the bygone days of our youth, the major geopolitical realignments which have taken place in Eurasia during the last two decades have evidently led to our “re-discovery” of one of the world’s most historically significant geostrategic playing fields. READ MORE

• Marat Terterov and George Niculescu  |  Published on EGF: 31.07.2012  |  External Relations
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BSIS, University of Kent, Brussels, 8 December 2011 Provisional summary of seminar findings

By Dr Marat Terterov and Mr. George Vlad Niculescu, European Geopolitical Forum, Brussels

On December 8 2011, The European Geopolitical Forum staged a seminar on the topic “The Unresolved Conflicts in the South Caucasus: Implications for European and Eurasian Integration” at the University of Kent/Brussels School of International Studies. The seminar represented a concerted attempt by the organizers to provide a platform for a lively and objective roundtable debate where experts of different orientations would have the opportunity to engage in a frank exchange of positions on the highly sensitive subject matter of South Caucasus unresolved conflicts. In contrast to many events taking place in Brussels, the organizers of the December 8 seminar did not have the objective of taking sides in political disputes, or seeking to promote the merits of one side at the expense of the other. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 17.02.2012  |  External Relations
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Karabakh conflict

Angela Khachatryan, the Zhamanak (Time), www.1in.am portal (Armenia)
- Mr. Terterov, what effect can the crisis in Europe have on the countries of association partners to the EU, of which Armenia is one?

MT: I think the main point to take here is the question of whether countries in the EU’s Eastern Partnership framework, or those coming into the wider-European Neighbourhood context, are a priority for EU external relations strategies. Clearly, some countries come higher up the EU pegging order than others. This also depends on which EU member states holds important positions in the EU institutions, including the rotational presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the foreign policy strategies which those countries entertain. Clearly, when France holds the presidency, one can assume that greater EU external policy resources will be directed towards the South Bank Mediterranean countries. This is also likely to be the case even more so now with the EU having to show its “interest” in the region in way of developments associated with the Arab Spring. When Poland, for example, holds the presidency, it is likely greater EU foreign policy resources will be directed towards Ukraine and Belarus. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 05.02.2012  |  External Relations
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EGF Information Partner, Instituto Italiano Di Studi Strategici held its first Strategic Forum, "Arab Spring: Emerging Implication" on 13 Dec 2011 in Rome. Click here to read the Summary Report of this event. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 02.01.2012  |  Security
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Executive Summary
On Monday, May 16, 2011, The European Geopolitical Forum staged a roundtable discussion on the “Changing Dynamics of the Wider Black Sea in Regional Security and External Relations” at the Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent. The roundtable featured key international speakers: Dr. Andrej Kreutz (Canada), renowned international relations specialist and author of the recent book, “Russia in the Middle East: Friend or Foe?”; and Igor Muradyan (Armenia), an acclaimed public commentator on the geopolitics and geo-economics of the Black Sea-Caucasus-Caspian area. The roundtable discussion also drew participation of officials from the Turkish Embassy in Belgium, NATO International Staff Political Affairs and Security Policy Division (IS PASP), the Mission of Ukraine to European Union, the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to NATO, the Energy Charter Secretariat, TUSIAD, the Armenian Federation of Europe, the Centre for East European and Asian Studies (Romania) and several other interested stakeholders. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 13.11.2011  |  Security
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by Mehmet Ogutcu,
Expert in global energy security matters

The Turkish leadership has committed itself to a tough position on Israel, Cyprus and Syria, and any backtracking or sign of weakness will seriously affect its credibility at home, with regional partners, the “Arab Street” and other major global powers, as well as high stakes involved in the Eastern Mediterranean. This represents a policy of principle, consistent with the values and goals the government pursues, but is also a risky one, which if not well managed may lead to some undesirable hot confrontation. The power comes with responsibility if it will be effectively harnessed.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 05.10.2011  |  Security
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In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” Algeria causes concerns as its less than democratic past faces the region’s democratic revolutions. Some eight months after the start of the unexpected uprisings in the region, however, Algeria remains relatively stable. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 01.10.2011  |  Security
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