Search

Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article

10511. Strategic Partnership between Russia and the EU as One of the Pillars of the new Europe

Author:
S. Lavrov
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
Raising living standards for all citizens of Russia is the highest priority of the Russian Government's policies. Over the past few years we've achieved considerable progress in reaching this goal. Recent decisions in the social sphere will ensure that this policy is implemented consistently and on a long-term basis. This policy is based on steady high economic growth which is mostly due to the dynamic development of real sector, i.e. industry, construction and trade, rather than oil and gas prices. Major infrastructure projects are being carried out. Development institutions have been established to ensure a transition to an entirely new innovation-based economy. Foreign direct investments grow at a record pace. Russia is now among the world's leading economies. From 2000 to 2006 alone, the total volume of our foreign trade more than tripled, the volume of trade with the European Union grew fivefold.
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

10512. We Favor Setting up an Open Collective Security System

Author:
S. Lavrov
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
The annual Disarmament Conference is on from January 21 to September 12, 2008 in the UN Office at Geneva. The Conference was convened for negotiating arms race limitation treaties and agreements. It is concerned with designing effective methods of arms and disarmament control acceptable to all states. The Disarmament Conference brings together 65 nations, including Belarus and Ukraine, as well as the five nuclear powers.
Political Geography:
Geneva and Ukraine

10513. The Yugoslav Tragedy

Author:
L. Kerestejiyants
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
History of the Balkan Slavs can be described as never ending disunity and disagreements frequently developing into mutual repulsion and even enmity. Throughout the last six centuries the states of the Southern Slavs have not merely failed to consolidate - they distanced from one other. Slovenia was developing first under a strong German influence and, from the 13th century on, under the Austrian Habsburgs. Venice dominated over the Adriatic coast, mainly over what is now Croatia. In the 12th century, Hungary established its influence in the continental part of Croatia and later in Bosnia. By the mid-15th century, the Turks had captured Serbia, by the end of the century they established themselves in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Germany, Serbia, Balkans, Austria, and Slovenia

10514. Letter from the Editor: Transatlantic Solidarity Starts at Home

Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
America's power is waning, at least temporarily. Under the next President, the country will have a diminished ability to shape a stable international order and maintain global prosperity. Will that trend create an opening for Europe to emerge with a larger global presence? Or is it liable to cause losses all around?
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
America and Europe

10515. Transatlantic Convergence Passenger Data Questions

Author:
Michael Chertoff
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
A curious notion has emerged about how the United States has tried to navigate the seas of global security since the September 11 terrorist attacks. It depicts Washington as charting a solitary course characterized by premises, principles, and policies which diverge dramatically from those of other nations – notably its European allies.
Topic:
Security, Government, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

10516. Cyber War I: Estonia Attacked from Russia

Author:
Kertu Ruus
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Suddenly, the lights go out. Communication lines fall silent. Internet connections are lost. People venturing into the congested streets discover that banks are closed, ATMs are malfunctioning, traffic lights are jammed. Radio and TV stations cannot broadcast. The airports and train stations are shut down. Food production halts, and the water supply starts rapidly diminishing as pumps stop working. Looters are on the rampage; panic grips the public; the police cannot maintain order. This grim picture is not the opening scene of a Hollywood fantasy, but the beginning of a cyber attack, as described by Sami Saydjari, president of Professionals for Cyber Defense, to a Congressional homeland defense subcommittee in April 2007. In vivid terms, he described how a superpower can be reduced to third-world status by a cyber take-down of a nation's electronic infrastructure. The defense expert called his description “a plausible scenario” – and one for which the United States is unprepared. Even if military computer systems are usually protected against outside interference, most civilian electronic systems remain vulnerable to a massive assault that enjoyed the sponsorship of a state.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Estonia

10517. NATO Caveats Can Be Made To Work Better for the Alliance

Author:
Robert E. Hunter
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
The NATO allies are now being required to face the possibility that they may not prevail in Afghanistan. Facing new challenges from Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, the Afghan government and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are by no means certain of success. Equally at risk are economic, political, and social developments to give the average Afghan a sense that supporting the government in Kabul and its ISAF allies is the best bet for the long haul. Militarily, NATO commanders have made it clear that they need more troops - at least two more combat brigades - and more helicopters. But they also need greater flexibility in the use of those forces that are available, and limitations here are posing difficulties at least as troubling as shortfalls in numbers.
Topic:
NATO and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Europe, and Taliban

10518. Faraway Afghanistan Brings Home Tensions Among Allies

Author:
James Leathers
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Fearing a stalemate in Afghanistan that would be tantamount to defeat for NATO, the Bush administration is browbeating the European allies to step up their military role.
Topic:
NATO and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and Europe

10519. Sense and Nonsense About European Security Policy

Author:
Michael Brenner
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
For Europe to punch its weight in global affairs, the leaders of the European Union need to think more lucidly and more realistically about what their actual security priorities should be. Tough obstacles persist, but clarity could help.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Political Theory
Political Geography:
America and Europe

10520. The Real Questions About Sovereign Wealth Funds: A Roundtable Discussion

Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Already the buzz this year in financial circles, sovereign wealth funds have been initially welcomed in the United States (and to a lesser degree in Europe) as white knights whose capital investments have helped rescue troubled financial institutions and other companies stricken by the credit-market crisis. But these funds, even as they are currently sought after by financially-bleeding companies, could easily become controversial with public opinion and regulators in the United States and European countries because of their potential political dimensions. The very fact of their emergence is a symptom of profound new shifts in the global financial order. To head off potential jingoist reactions against the proposed buy-ins by these new investors, there is a need to probe a set of questions about how these funds work and about whether rules can be reached – by mutual agreement – to ensure that the funds prove compatible with global capital movements.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and Europe