PULASKI POLICY PAPER: Can the EU uphold Iran Nuclear deal?
Pulaski Policy Paper No 10, 2018. 6 August 2018 In May 2018, US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA) agreement, signed under the presidency of Barack Obama by the US, EU and 3 other world powers. The United States also announced two new rounds of sanctions on Iran, to take place in September and November of 2018. Meanwhile, the economies of the EU member states bear the financial consequences of these decisions. Even though the European signatories have not abandoned their 2015 commitments and EU is still trying to preserve the deal, Washington actively forces European governments and businesses to sever economic ties with […]
GPF WEEKLY: A History of Fake News
GPF WEEKLY: The middle of an Era
ANALYSIS: 2018 – the year when Macedonia naming dispute is resolved?
Pulaski Policy Paper No 4, 2018. 5th February 2018 r. In early 2018, both the Greek and Macedonian governments have signalled their commitment to bring a swift resolution to the over 20 yearlong quarrel between these two states, regarding the naming of the state of Macedonia. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has stated, that the dispute may be resolved in the first half of 2018. The Greek-Macedonian crisis has been going on since 1991, when Macedonia declared independence in the aftermath of the dissolution of the SFR Yugoslavia. Soon after Greece has protested naming of the recently created state as Macedonia. Greece considers this name to be a part of […]
ANALYSIS: The Middle East after the fall of the Islamic State core in the Levant
The liberation of the Iraqi city of Mosul at the beginning of July 2017, after more than nine months of bloody battles, as well as the probable occupation of the Syrian city of Ar-Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the caliphate, raises questions about the future of the parastate brought to life by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the geopolitical shape of the Middle East after the fall of ISIS in the Levant. There are also questions about what the liquidation of the caliphate’s headquarters (established on the areas of Iraq and Syria conquered in 2013-2015) will mean, and whether the geopolitical situation in the heart […]
ANALYSIS: Macedonia With a New Government – The End of the Crisis
After nearly six months since the parliamentary elections on the 11th of December 2016, Macedonians have a new government led by Zoran Zaev, the leader of the largest opposition party. He succeeded in forming the government after reaching a coalition agreement with the Albanian political party, and the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI), which had thus far been partnering the VMRO-DPMNE (the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity), the group that had governed Macedonia uninterruptedly since 2006. However, the new government has many challenges to face moving forward, with reunifying their fragmented society being one of the most difficult and important tasks. The creation of a new governing […]
Iran stays on course – Rouhani is still the president
Hassan Rouhani’s victory in the first round of presidential elections in Iran (May 19, 2017), with 57.1 per cent of votes, gives him a strong mandate to continue his work for another four years. The Conservative Ebrahim Raisi (38.3 per cent) also achieved a good result, but with so much support for Rouhani, it was not enough to make it through to the second round. The electorate endorsed the current president’s success in coming to an agreement with the Six Powers regarding the Iran’s nuclear program, and the opening up of the country to the world. The electoral mobilization of the Iranians and long queues for ballot boxes undoubtedly deserve […]
COMMENTARY: „America First” – the new US National Security Strategy
December 29, 2017 On December 18th 2017 President Donald Trump unveiled the new National Security Strategy of the United States. The Strategy emphasized the threats and challenges stemming from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Although the document declares primacy of US interests, it also stresses the necessity of cooperation with America’s allies. What is a National Security Strategy? The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 obligated the executive branch to periodically deliver a National Security Strategy (NSS) to the US Congress. It is one of the most important documents, which presents threats and challenges to US security and necessary remedial actions to eliminate them or reduce their impact. While the importance […]