Can Russia’s mistrust of NATO enlargement finally be left behind, as the former foes move towards a new strategic partnership? It is obvious that the introduction of a system including Russia as a strategic partner with weighted voting rights will lead to diplomatic horse trading and lobbying. But it is preferable that any “conflict” in this new relationship be conducted in the back corridors and board rooms of Brussels, rather than in Georgia, the road to Pristina or the skies over Sarajevo.
Certain dates in European history are taken to be the significant historical events which changed the course of the continent forever. 1648, and the Treaties of Westphalia; 1815, the Concert of Europe; 1945 the end of the Second World War and 1989, the fall of Communism – these are the events that are attributed to the makeup of modern Europe. But what of the years 1957, 1992, and 2009?
Uniting cosmopolitanism and nationalism helps to move beyond the otherwise Eurocentric and elitist nature of the cosmopolitan perspective. In addition, it might contribute to addressing one of the major challenges facing modern societies – the accommodation of ethnic and cultural diversity. Cosmopolitanism, both as a political and cultural principle, and an emerging reality, certainly deserves to be accepted and taken into account in the creation of new avenues of political action.
In Russia, depictions of Muslims tend to be generalised, and in extreme cases are depicted as violent extremists with desires to convert the world to fundamentalist Islam
America, much like most great powers, has behaved imperialistically at various times throughout its history. To some degree, it may have been a response to external events. At alternate junctures, the United States has either behaved as a ‘reluctant superpower’ or a purposeful imperial power.
Israel’s pursuit of economic peace is, in reality, a policy of economic pacification. There is a real danger that Economic Peace can be used to frame peace-building away from political diplomacy. Neglecting the political aspects of peace building and favouring economic pacification will only lead to a resurgence of violence in the future.
At a time when energy is becoming one of the critical issues in the world, there is a great need for such a powerful entity as the EU to speak with one voice and develop a common energy policy. But the main obstacle for a genuine development of a common energy policy is the strong differences between member states preferences for a common energy policy
Terrorism is undoubtedly an issue at the forefront of security concerns, especially in the west as a result of the 9/11 attacks. But it is not a new concern. It has merely become more prominent due to the relatively recent attacks on the west and the resulting conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is terrorism as much of a threat as it is perceived to be?
The responsibility of the EU Presidency is first and foremost to play the role of a chairperson, and to listen to the views of different member states. The question is whether member states, during their Presidencies, give priority to their own national interests or to the EU as a supranational institution.
While there were many factors that contributed to the downfall of Communism in the Soviet Union, the main one was that during the 1980s nobody believed in it any more; which was the key difference between the survival of Communism in China. China had a truly mass movement with Communism, while the Soviet Union was largely created with the ideas of one man, Lenin.
Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.
E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Any amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Many thanks!
Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below.
