Read more about the article Orbiting a Solution to Anti-Satellite Weapons
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Orbiting a Solution to Anti-Satellite Weapons

One of the many problems that the scientific community is facing today is space debris. Space debris is exceptionally dangerous as it can cause the Kessler Effect, a scenario where objects in space collide, creating an exponentially growing mount of rubble orbiting the planet. What is especially concerning is the use of anti-satellite weapons (ASATs), which leave hundreds of thousands of debris items in space, putting astronauts and other satellites at risk. If states continue to test their ASAT weapons or use them to attack other satellites, this could have a dramatic impact on all space actors as well as future generations. This study will explore why the international community has not banned the use of ASATs yet and it will investigate how to achieve this outcome through an in-depth analysis of space-related treaties.

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18 December 2023
Read more about the article Space Lessons Learned from the War in Ukraine
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Space Lessons Learned from the War in Ukraine

With each passing conflict, the space industry is gaining more and more relevance in the operation command chain, especially during interstate wars. The war in Ukraine is the perfect example of this, revealing the most significant trajectories in the space domain, and highlighting flaws and rapid developments; in a nutshell, this war is shaping the future of space, especially in the military sector. The focus of this paper will be first on the Russian entanglement in the conflict, followed by an analysis of the Ukrainian rapid adaptation of the new rules in space guided by Western help, and finally, conclusions will be drawn from the very interesting evolvement of the space industry in this war.

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14 December 2023
Read more about the article EU Divided on Status of Palestine Aid Following Hamas Attack on Israel
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EU Divided on Status of Palestine Aid Following Hamas Attack on Israel

On October 7, Hamas launched a massive surprise attack on Israel (see Clarke, 2023). The Commission’s response so far has been a rare display of internal disunity, as Commissioner Várhelyi (2023a; 2023b) announced on October 9 that the EU would review and immediately suspend all aid to Palestine only for Commissioner Lenarčič (2023) to contradict him, saying that humanitarian aid would continue for as long as needed. Later, on October 9, the European Commission issued a statement confirming that it will not suspend aid, but that it is launching an urgent aid review (2023).

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13 October 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 <strong>Lebanon’s Crippling Crisis: Prospects for a Further EU Involvement in the Country’s Stability</strong>
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Lebanon’s Crippling Crisis: Prospects for a Further EU Involvement in the Country’s Stability

The Mediterranean region and the European continent are inextricably linked from a geographical, historical, and strategic point of view. For this simple reason, it is impossible for the countries that lie on the two shores of this almost-closed sea to ignore each other for a long time. Consequently, international cooperation between them has always been intense, being reinforced by strong cultural and economic ties. Nevertheless, due to the high degree of instability that traditionally affects this area, the EU’s foreign policy towards many of its southern neighbours has usually been dominated by the theme of the security–development nexus. Lebanon is no exception. Having its modern history characterized by recurring social unrest, economic crises and civil wars, this small country has often drawn the attention of European policymakers. In 2019 the nation that was once called “the Switzerland of Middle East” has fallen again into a severe political paralysis and started to experience a deep economic downturn, which undermines inter alia the normal implementation of cooperation programmes with the EU (World Bank, 2021) The general election held in May 2022 was intended to put an end to this situation, but it didn’t. For as long as the crisis perseveres, risk Lebanon risks falling into another devastating civil war is becoming feasible. Therefore, stronger European engagement to maintain the country’s stability seems to be a matter of necessity, and it could be one of the last opportunities to save Lebanon from sinking.

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2 November 2022