Briefings


Briefings 1 to 15


29/06/2017
The diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf as a symptom of the shift in regional power dynamics
The diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf, initiated by the severance of diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt, has rapidly escalated into the most serious rift among the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since its creation in 1981. While marking the culmination of long-standing tensions between Qatar and its GCC neighbors over security and energy matters, the diplomatic crisis underscored the Iranian-Saudi rivalry in the region and highlighted the Iranian-Turkish role in the upcoming shift in power dynamics in the Gulf.
15/06/2017
Germany and nuclear power: who lives by the sword, dies by the sword
In 2011, the German government imposed a tax on processing nuclear fuel amounting to 145 euros per gram to be paid by the nuclear producers. The decision has now been declared unconstitutional and forces the government to pay a 6.3 billion euro refund.
07/06/2017
German working parents’ struggle for Kindergarten places
In the last few years, German working parents have had to fight to get their children a place in one of the childhood care institutions. The State’s efforts to cope with the problem have been undermined by massive immigration and have left the country’s citizens in utter dismay.
02/06/2017
Social inequality is not an issue for German retirement system
The German pension system is only an average performer among OECD countries and has to go through further reforms. A good starting point might be erasing the privileges of the civil servants.
15/05/2017
President Maduro isolates himself domestically and internationally amidst rising civil unrest
Since the beginning of April, Venezuela has been rocked by violent protests that have resulted in the death of at least 39 people and the arrests of over 1500 demonstrators and opposition activists. The brutality of the demonstrations and anti-riot police response has been condemned nationally and internationally, with experts and politicians calling into question the stability of the country’s democracy. Opposition activists are denouncing the executive and judiciary government branches’ overreach. While Venezuela’s unrest is not recent, a decision by the Supreme Court to adopt the National Assembly’s jurisdiction in giving President Maduro extended executive powers sparked a wave of dissent throughout the country which has not been subdued by the subsequent reversal the order.
13/04/2017
Erdoğan’s months of long knives on the way to the Turkish constitutional referendum
In the last months the Turkish regime has carried out a strategy of silencing the “No” referendum campaigners axed on five targets (political opposition, Kurds, media, intellectuals and security agencies) to pave the way towards a strengthened authoritarian rule.
11/04/2017
The clock is ticking for Turkish secularization and EU membership
Turkey is heading towards a controversial referendum on constitutional changes that will concentrate powers in the office of Presidency. If passed, the reform would lead to an authoritarian shift in the country that would sweep away the Kemalist Revolution and strain the relationships with the EU and NATO in a heartbeat.
20/03/2017
Is Germany a modern Atlas capable of holding up the task of giving the refugees a job?
Since the outburst of the refugee crisis, few EU member states have been on the front line in the rescue and reception of asylum seekers. The next challenge ahead for the destination countries is represented by the integration of the immigrants into the national labour markets.
06/03/2017
Can the Caterpillar of the new Syrian Constitution become a butterfly?
The last significant step in Syria’s thorny path towards the end of the conflict that has devastated the country for the last six years was the peace talks held last February in Astana, Kazakhstan, which welcomed representatives from the Syrian government, the opposition and envoys from Iran, Russia and Turkey, the three major foreign powers leading the negotiations with UN assent.
28/02/2017
The myth of tolerant Europe is written on a blank page
During the last Munich Security Conference, held in the Bavarian capital on February 17-19, 2017, Angela Merkel delivered a long statement on the European challenges and priorities. Among the several vectors of domestic and foreign policy that were announced, the Chancellor reiterated the policy of welcoming the immigrants inside German and EU borders. Although the intent to foster the European Union’s allegedly inner desire to become the unwavering supporter of tolerance, compassion and freedom worldwide is noble, some facts contradict the narrative telling the citizens that the hospitality of the immigrants is happening peacefully. And more than ever, the migrant issue is a “hot topic” nourishing the rise of populism in Europe. Thus, it must be “handled with care”….
02/05/2014
The Geopolitics of Military Spending
In April 2014, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published its latest bulleting on Trends in World Military Expenditure – 2013. The bulletin shows that global military spending has been decreasing for the second year in a row.
09/01/2013
Syria: The speech of a cornered President
On Sunday, January 6th, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad spoke for the first time on television for more than seven months(...)
09/01/2013
Syrie: Le discours d'un président acculé
Dimanche 6 janvier, le président syrien Bachar el-Assad s’est exprimé pour la première fois à la télévision depuis plus de sept mois(...)
13/12/2012
Egypt: The Army between military future and political destiny
The Arab and Western media quickly relayed a statement issued by the Egyptian army on its Facebook page (...)
13/12/2012
Egypte : L'armée entre avenir militaire et destin politique
Les médias arabes et occidentaux ont relayé très rapidement un communiqué publié par l’armée égyptienne sur son site Facebook (...)

Keywords

Abu Sayyaf Afghanistan Alberto Caballero Algeria Alicia Jensen Al-Qaeda anarchist Andre Burstin Ansar Al-Islam Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis Ansar Dine Ansarullah anti-Balaka Anton Sehnaoui AQIM AQIS AQMI Argentine Arras Arthur de Liedekerke Australia Axelle Vandendriessche Azerbaijan Bangladesh Belgique Belgium Beyrouth BIFF Blaise Ortiz Boko Haram Brazil Bruxelles Burkina Faso Burundi Cadente Copper Cameroon Canada CAR Central African Republic Central Asia Chili China civil unrest civil war Claude Moniquet Colombia Compaoré Coree corruption Cosa Nostra coup Defence Denmark Di Natala Diplomacy Djihad islamique Dos Santos DRC drones drugs Egypt Egypte Eliska Puckova ELSE energy ESISC Etat Islamique Etats Unis Etats-Unis Ethiopia ETIM Europe European Union Evgenia Gvozdeva Extremism FARC far-right Finland Foteini Fragkou France Gaza Genovefa Etienne Germany green economy Guerrero hacking Hamas hassan nasrallah Hezbollah Human Rights India Insurgency Intelligence Iran Iraq ISIS ISIS-K Islamic State Islamism Ismail Haniyeh Israel Italy Japan jihad Jo Biden Kashmir Kazakhstan Kieran Doyle Korea Koweit Lashkar-e-Taiba Lazarevic Leah Kazar Leandro Di Natala Lebanon l'Etat Islamique Lhoussain Azergui Liban Libya Loucheur Louise Schabelmann Mali Mapuche Mattia Caniglia Mexico migrants MILF Mohamed Fahmi Morocco Morsi Najib Mikati NATO netanyahu Nieto Nigeria North Africa nucleaire Olivia de Fouchier Olivier Loucheur Olympic Games Omar Harfouch organised crime Pakistan Palestinian territories Paris Pauline Ravillard Peru Petrobras Philippines Pierre-Alexis Quenot piracy Pluspetrol Political risk Politics Post-Soviet Countries President Pierre Nkurunziza protests Qatar Rachel Larned Raphaël Ramos Rauf Tuzun refugees Russia Rwanda Ryad Salameh Sahel Sarah Baudinet Saudi Arabia sectarian violence Seleka shipping Sinai Solene Jomier Solène Metais Somali state Somalia South Africa Spain Stefano Sarsale Sudan Suez Canal Sweden Syria Syrie Tajikistan Taliban Terrorism terrorisme terrorist terrorists Tia Maria project Tsahal Tunisia Tunisie Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United Nations United States Uyghur Uyghur Muslims Venezuela video Vietnam waterway William Racimora Xinjiang Yeme Yemen Yuliana Lefevre
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