Read more about the article Explaining EU Maritime Security Cooperation through the Coordinated Maritime Presences Tool
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Explaining EU Maritime Security Cooperation through the Coordinated Maritime Presences Tool

Since the creation of the European Union’s (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the Union has launched three naval operations under this framework. The inclusion of maritime security and anti-piracy operations increasingly shows that EU security and defence cooperation has acquired a naval dimension (Nováky, 2022, pp. 56-57). The three designated naval operations undertaken through CSDP measures are Operation Atlanta (EU NAVFOR), a counter-piracy operation to protect maritime traffic off the Horn of Africa and Western Indian Ocean; Operation Sophia (EU NAVFOR Med), which sought to combat the network of human smugglers and traffickers in the Central Mediterranean from 2015 to 2020; and Operation IRINI (EUNAVFOR MED IRINI), which is focused on the enforcement of the United Nation’s arms embargos against Libya since 2020 (Nováky, 2022, p. 57).

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18 January 2023
Read more about the article The nexus between climate change and terrorism: An analysis of ISIS’ weaponization of water in Syria and Boko Haram activities in the Lake Chad Basin
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The nexus between climate change and terrorism: An analysis of ISIS’ weaponization of water in Syria and Boko Haram activities in the Lake Chad Basin

The MENA and Sahel regions are suffering from climate-induced phenomena that are accelerating societal tensions and translating into insecurity. These regions are safe havens for violent extremism and non-state actors, who easily recruit young men willing to engage in behavioural radicalisation to sustain their families. Whilst in Syria, ISIS has been weaponizing water and resources to intimidate populations and coerce their enemies, in the Lake Chad Basin Boko Haram is recruiting members of local communities deprived of their harvest and fishing due to climate unpredictability and the disruption of the water cycle. Foreign actors, as well as regional authorities, should act now to revitalise the ecosystem, educate local communities, empower the youth and women, and frame strategic responses against terrorist activities.

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17 January 2023
Read more about the article Diplomatic Means of Preventing Global Conflicts
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Diplomatic Means of Preventing Global Conflicts

Wars are considered to be dangerous and this is why preventive diplomacy is practised by a majority of states. Prevention diplomacy is commonly thought to be an indirect instrument for avoiding conflict and global disasters. A frequent question is raised in practice: “Is preventive diplomacy effective?”. This question aims to point out its importance and its tactful applicability. Many studies have shown the essence of what prevention diplomacy means. Some of the research considers it to be an “art of conducting relationships for gain without conflict” (Freeman et al., 2022). The purpose of preventive diplomacy is to strengthen the state or the nation. In consequence, if this measure fails, then war may ensue, even though diplomacy is useful even during a war.

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16 January 2023
Read more about the article The Future of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after February 24th: Implications for Russia’s Hegemony in Post-Soviet Asia
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The Future of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after February 24th: Implications for Russia’s Hegemony in Post-Soviet Asia

Since February 24th, the world seems to live every minute of the war on Ukraine to its fullest. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only sent shockwaves through the rest of Europe but also shattered the widely held belief that the horrors of the Second World War were a thing of the past. Since then, powerful undercurrents of change have been at work in the new understanding of the security challenges of the twenty-first century. Very few in the West were able to predict that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea would durably transform the entire international system into an increasingly bipolar confrontation between newly emerged military blocs. Even fewer strongly warned against the temptation of thinking that the world was right back on the track of the old Cold War logic.

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13 January 2023
Read more about the article The NATO and EU Missions in Kosovo*: Drawing Lessons From the Past to Face Current
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The NATO and EU Missions in Kosovo*: Drawing Lessons From the Past to Face Current

In the aftermath of the war in Kosovo, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1244 (1999), whereby a NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) would be deployed to stabilise the region and prevent further violence. Though initially composed of around 50,000 personnel, NATO’s presence was progressively downsized as the security environment improved. The mission successfully prevented the resumption of hostilities in the Western Balkans and supported the transition towards peace and democracy in Kosovo. However, sporadic incidents of violence have often revived unresolved tensions in the country. The impossibility of reaching a consensus on Kosovo’s international status and its declaration of independence in 2008 led to an extension of KFOR’s presence in the region. As the declaration of independence threatened to trigger another wave of violence, the European Union also established the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), which focused on supporting Kosovo’s authorities in upholding the rule of law and reforming Kosovo’s police, judiciary and customs.

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12 January 2023