The relationship between West and Islam is more relevant than ever. The terrorist attacks in the US and Europe at the beginning of the new millennium, seemed to confirm the ideas expressed by Samuel Huntington and Francis Fukuyama. However, critical engagement with such issues requires a deeper understanding of West, Islam and Modernity, avoiding essentialist definitions of single sets of well-defined and separated ideas.

Examining public EU attitudes is so complex because of the diverse sources of the EU public opinion and the incomplete structure of the EU itself. There is no European polity, no holistic conception of what it means to be a European citizen and no European-level social culture.

Myanmar’s post-colonial era is characterised by the domination of the military as the key actor in the state’s politics over the 62-year period since British rule ended. Democratic elections have only once resulted in the installation of a civilian-led government in Myanmar. Indeed, the country offers a counter-argument to the conventional wisdom among political scientists that ‘military rule is the shortest form of authoritarian regime in the developing world’

Ethno-nationalism has become a potent force in international and domestic politics. Gradually, norms have developed favouring a right of self determination for national groups seeking self-government. The application of these norms, however, has not been entirely consistent This paper will argue that norms do not restrict the freedom of action of states with the power to act unilaterally, or impose their views on less powerful states.

Few can deny that in many ways the contemporary political landscape only sparsely resembles that of past decades. Do the ways in which modern government leaders frame conflicts actually differ from historical examples? Specifically, does George W. Bush’s rhetorical framing of the “War on Terror” conform to standard discourse regarding the practice of dehumanizing one’s enemies in times of war?

The Cotonou agreement, signed 23rd June 2000, is described as “a global agreement, introducing important changes and ambitious objectives while preserving the ‘acquis’ of 25 years of ACP-EC cooperation”. Regardless of whether increased EU influence comes purely from self-interest or is solely fixated on the goals of the Cotonou Agreement, it is clear that the EU has altered greatly its strategy towards the Developing World.

The independence of Australian’s foreign policy will never be absolute. It can only become more independent through possibility thinking rather than being “weighed down by myths of past centuries”, including the taking of a more flexible, independent line in its bilateral relationship with the United States.

The enlargements of 1995 and 2007 demonstrate that even a small number of additions to the EU require deeper alterations to its institutions. The future is also brought into sharp focus at the prospect of further deepening and widening and new dimensions brought to the agenda. The enlargements themselves are in stark contrast in terms of ease of accession and necessary measures to ensure smooth transition.

One of the last major books about war in international relations is paradoxically a book forecasting the end of the object it analyses. Retreat from Doomsday: the Obsolescence of Major War by John Mueller was released in 1989 and has become a classic reading making the author one of the most influential authors on the topic of war.

This paper will focus on the question whether the emergence of democracy in Colombia can be explained based on the assumptions of the ‘sequentialist’ or ‘preconditionist’ theories as suggested, amongst many others, by Fareed Zakaria or Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder, or if, by contrast, the views of ‘gradualists’ or ‘universalists’ such as Sheri Berman or Thomas Carothers are more indicated to explain and analyze Colombia’s democratic past, present and future.