What role for the EU in the new Libya?
Perhaps, looking back at the EU’s performance in the Libyan crisis in five years’ time, the best lesson to (re-) learn is that the EU is not good at hard security policy, but does a very decent job when the task is about dealing with the aftermath of conflict. Stable democracies cannot be built on the battlefield. They require a whole different set of capabilities than what NATO can offer.
Shared Identity: New Threats for Old Solutions
Indigenous identity is problematic because it is grounded on the politics of difference, especially on the existence of a prior identity. This essay argues that indigenous security implies the identification and security of the vulnerable shared identity from the dominant one, which then results in the creation of indigenous peoples as a threat.
The BRICs and the UN: Coordination or Fragmentation?
Today’s BRICS leaders talk, but rarely take combined action or push for substantive joint strategies, pointing to the possibility that at least in political terms the BRICs made by Goldman Sachs (who coined the phrase) may prove to be more like stumbling blocks than the foundation stones needed to reinvigorate the UN or reshape the international system.
National Humiliation in China
For the last century, the narrative of national humiliation has been an enduring framework through which scholars and common people alike have interpreted China’s recent history. Looking to the future, whether or not China will ever again feel confident and hopeful enough to repudiate the angry indignation of national humiliation is one of the most significant questions shaping the rise of 21st century China.
Power in the Modern Age
Political and economic power must be recognized as being inextricably linked. As hegemony grew in its sophistication over the centuries, economic power has complimentarily entrenched itself in ever more embedded and socialized ways into political life, while political power continues to provide the essential structure for the evolving regime of accumulation.
A Response to the World Development Report 2012
The report claims to be able to form arguments and reach conclusions which extend beyond the economic realm. Yet, the failure to see gender equality as an “end” as well as a “means”, and the financial language used throughout demonstrate that the authors have been limited by their discipline more than they would like to admit.
Is there an Emerging Muslim Constituency for Islamic Feminists in the West?
On the basis of Euro-American Feminist and popular discourse on Muslim women in the west, Islamic Feminism seems to be somewhat of an oxymoron. Likewise for many Muslims the label Feminism is often construed as a Western project, carrying with it historical and ideological baggage.
The Children of Riots: Society, Violence and the Youth in Greece
Police brutality is now part of everyday life in Greece. Violence from extreme political circles of all directions is on the rise, and an overall feeling of everyone-against-everyone makes evident the crumbling of Greek society.Thus, the only thing that Greek Police seem to be good at is to provoke indignation.
Comparing Russian and Chinese Aircraft Carrier Ambitions
Traditionally perceived as continental powers, Russia and China are increasingly looking to invest significantly in the development of their maritime capabilities, most notably through the development and deployment of aircraft carriers. This reflects an aspiration broader than that of simply enhancing their respective naval strength.
Ill-informed or entrepreneurial? Chinese traders in Serbia
The phenomenon of Chinese migration to Serbia, which is one of their newest migration destinations in Europe, is hardly ever mentioned in migration literature. By developing transnational links and translocal livelihood strategies, Chinese traders are transforming disadvantages of both sending and destination areas into opportunities.
