ANALYSIS: The Nord Stream 2: the geopolitical dimension and possible influence of the U.S. sanctions on the project
Pulaski Policy Paper No. 3, 2018. January 29, 2018 In late November 2017 the Nord Stream 2 has been blamed by the U.S. Department of State for being Kremlin’s weapon of political blackmailing, which soon could be torpedoed by the U.S. sanctions against Russia[i]. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is the new route for gas transit that Russian Gazprom and its European partners – OMV, Engie, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper and Wintershall – plan to build through the Baltic Sea to Germany. It has been criticised for threatening energy security of Russia’s Western neighbours, in particular Ukraine and Poland. However, since recent U.S. bill on sanction in July 2017, […]
ANALYSIS: America (still) first? – assessment of the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency
Pulaski Policy Paper No 2, 19th January 2018 r. Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election was met with major reservations and a sense of apprehension coming from the experts and commentators alike, predominantly due to his lack of political prowess and experience. Trump’s views and blunt statements regarding both domestic and international affairs (such as his criticism of NATO, announcements of a possible withdrawal from multilateral trade agreements, or building a wall along the US-Mexico border) delivered in the course of his campaign, as well as murky business ties of his immediate co-workers was a cause for concern both internationally, and in the US itself. As of now, […]
ANALYSIS: The European Security Force – a step-by-step approach towards an European Army?
Pulaski Policy Paper No 23, 2017. 30 December 2017 r. A time of crisis – a time of opportunity The time for Europe to have greater ambition for its security and defence policy has come. Unsurprisingly – as with many major developments throughout the history of European integration – it appears at a moment of a prolonged political, economic and social crisis. Three curses cast a shadow on the future of the European Union project. The first curse relates to the breakdown of trust. Since the 2008 financial crisis, this collapse is seen on multitude of levels: is its visible between the governments/elites and their constituencies/populations (Brexit), on government-to-government level […]
ANALYSIS: In the shadow of “Zapad 2017” – issues in Russia-Belarus relations
Between September 14th and 20th 2017 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation executed a series of military manoeuvres in a number of training grounds located in Belarus, themselves a part of the Zapad-2017 exercises. Remaining exercises were held in Russia – in Pskov, Leningrad and Kaliningrad Oblasts. Preparations for exercises lasted a couple of months, and were not accompanied by a satisfactory amount of information, giving rise to speculations, whether the Russian forces will return to their original places of dislocation once the Zapad manoeuvres are concluded. Fears, that Russian units will remain deployed in the territory of Belarus permanently were exacerbated by the recent conflict in Ukraine, as well […]
ANALYSIS: Poland’s ‘Orka’ submarine program. Part 2. The Scorpène class submarines – Naval Group
On May 18 2017, the Pulaski Foundation organized the second in a series of three seminars concerning the ‘Orka’ submarine acquisition program, dedicated to the Scorpène-class vessels. The participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with detailed information on the French offer, delivered by representatives of Naval Group (formerly DCNS, Direction des Constructions Navales Services). Naval Group is currently perceived as the main competitor to the German shipbuilding industry in the field of modern conventional submarines. The French Navy decided to operate only nuclear submarines, decommissioning all conventional vessels. The French shipyard industry, however, continues to develop conventional submarines, actively seeking new contracts abroad. The Scorpène-class submarines were ordered by […]
ANALYSIS: Strategic findings from the „Zapad 2017” military exercises: Russia is constructing strategic “circuit breaker” in its neo-Cold War game with the West
Russian military manoeuvres, such as the recent Zapad 2017 exercise are one of the important elements of Russia’s currently on-going “New Cold War” with the West, one that can be described as a hybrid. Judging from the current state of Russian politics and the direction its headed, it can be stipulated, that the basic, strategic goal of the Zapad exercises is for Russia to develop a conventional “circuit breaker” in case it decides to commence hybrid (either subliminal or limited) military operations in one of the countries that constitute NATO’s Eastern Flank, particularly the Baltic states. The starting point for the future analyses of the issue could be the novel […]
ANALYSIS: Prospects for a resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis
North Korea’s nuclear weapons development has been not only a threat to regional security in East Asia but also a challenge to global peace for many years. The United States. and the international community seemed powerless to prevent the North Korean regime from developing the nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs. The political situation deteriorated in July 2017 when North Korea conducted the first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile that appeared capable of striking the US mainland. Following a nuclear test in early September 2017, Pyongyang announced that its new intercontinental ballistic missiles could be equipped with a hydrogen warhead. North Korea’s nuclear tests provoked an immediate response from […]
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 […]
