Read more about the article  Kursk Operation: Legal Perspectives of a Counter Offensive
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 Kursk Operation: Legal Perspectives of a Counter Offensive

The ‘Kursk Operation’ marks a pivotal moment in the War in Ukraine, shifting the dynamics of this conflict and raising some legal questions regarding the Ukrainian incursion into Russian Territory. This paper will examine the context that prompts what might be the third phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, examining the legal arguments that make this act lawful and compliant with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which grants States the right to self-defence. By analysing the right to self-defence, alongside the principles of proportionality and necessity, this paper argues that the Kursk Operation can be lawfully considered an act of self-defence. Lastly, it examines the definition of "occupation" to clarify the legal distinctions relevant to this operation.

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3 October 2024
Read more about the article The Evolution of Ukraine’s Defence Industry and Lessons for the European Union 
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The Evolution of Ukraine’s Defence Industry and Lessons for the European Union 

The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine is entering its third year, and the debate around aiding the war-torn country is increasingly shifting towards empowering Ukraine’s domestic defence industry, to make it more autonomous against a larger and more resourceful opponent. At the same time, in 2023 the former Ukrainian Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin suggested that the EU could also benefit from this process by learning from the evolution of Ukraine’s defence industry (EDA, 2023). This paper will thus give a brief overview of the condition of the country’s industry before and after the war with Russia and summarise the main lessons that the EU can incorporate from the Ukrainian experience.

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2 October 2024
Read more about the article Disinformation and EU: The Role of Narrative in Hybrid Warfare within the European Union
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Disinformation and EU: The Role of Narrative in Hybrid Warfare within the European Union

The days of winning battles and wars solely on the battlefield are long gone. Warring parties are gaining a significant advantage in the realm of information warfare. The information domain can bring significant advantages or cause a significant harm to one side, with no regard to the actual happening on the battlefield. As the conflicts become more complex, there is a bigger need to win the war not only on the field but also in the people’s ‘heads and minds’. The main aim of this article is to analyse Russian and Chinese influence operations and provide a comprehensive overview of the EU’s institutional response to disinformation and narrative campaigns. The first part of this paper introduces the conceptual framework for understanding narratives and disinformation in the light of hybrid warfare. Secondly, it discusses the various ways in which state actors, notably Russia and China, are influencing the EU with their own narratives and disinformation campaigns. Finally, the paper analyses the EU’s policies and responses to these information attacks, while critically examining the structures and mechanisms EU is implementing to tackle this issue.

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25 September 2024
Read more about the article Democracy in Question: Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law
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Democracy in Question: Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law

The adoption of the “foreign agents” law in Georgia has become a critical issue, reflecting broader struggles over democratic governance, the autonomy of civil society and geopolitical direction in the post-Soviet region. Georgia is a parliamentary unitary republic in which the President, the Government, the Parliament, and the judiciary share powers reserved to the national government. In March 2023, two parallel bills have been submitted to the Parliament, namely “Transparency of Foreign Influence’’ and “Registration of Foreign Agents”. These two bills were withdrawn from the Georgian Parliament following protests in response to the legislative process. On 3 April 2024, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, announced the reintroduction of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence to the Parliament. The law requires non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and media companies that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “organisations serving the interests of a foreign power”. Founded in 2012 by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian Dream Party, was formed as an alternative to the Georgian National Movement. Georgian Dream quickly gained widespread support and won the parliamentary elections that year, representing a major shift in the country’s political landscape.

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21 August 2024
Read more about the article Navigating Uncharted Waters: Russia’s Potential Exit from the Convention on the Law of the Sea
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Navigating Uncharted Waters: Russia’s Potential Exit from the Convention on the Law of the Sea

In the light of Russia’s recent comments regarding their possible withdrawal from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the international community must re-think the integrity of the current maritime order, assess the present challenges and examine different perspectives for the governance of the seas. Following decades of negotiations, in 1982, the United Nations adopted UNCLOS, the Convention that sets the modern standards and encapsulates the principles of international maritime law. As one of the most widely ratified international treaties, UNCLOS has enjoyed decades of being unchallenged, yet the current unsteady political landscape — with big countries such as China and Russia claiming to be unsatisfied with the Convention — puts UNCLOS in a precarious position regarding compliance and observance of international maritime norms. After a brief overview of the Convention and the evolution of Russia as a member of UNCLOS, the paper will analyse the relevant legal framework of the Law of Sea, focusing on Russia’s bid for the Arctic and its process with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). Finally, the paper will examine Russia’s latest threat to withdraw from the Convention, addressing legal and geopolitical implications, including how rather than following a different ‘maritime strategy’, these threats might reflect a strategic narrative aimed at promoting a multipolar world order.

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13 August 2024