Dr Nicolas Laos
(Political Analyst, RIEAS Member in the International Advisory Board)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Since 2008, humanity in general and the Western world in particular have become deeply aware that a peculiar crisis threatens the very foundations of the established civilization and contests old world-conceptions.

In December 2012, the U.S. National Intelligence Council’s draft “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds” recognized that, even though, for much of the last fifty years, the international system remained stable, the first decade of the 21st century made it amply clear that the international system –as we know it today and as it is represented by such organizations as  the IMF, World Bank, WTO, WHO, OECD, United Nations and NATO– must be reformed or, otherwise, the power of its core institutions will be substantially decreased and these institutions may even become obsolete. According to the same global trends publication by the NIC, new institutions should be expected to emerge that will contribute to the reshaping of the international system with significant implications for the U.S.A. and the Western world in geopolitical, security and economic terms.

Ioannis. Th. Mazis
(Professor of Economic Geography and Geopolitics, University of Athens, Greece),

Copyright: Papazissis Publishing Company

Note: From the book of I. Th. Mazis, Professor of Economic Geography and Geopolitics,University of Athens,Papazissis, Athens 2005 (with the special collaboration of D. Tompros & F. Apostolopoulos).

The Need to Create a National Security Council

“Let’s not kid ourselves. Good intelligence does not necessarily mean good policies. Neither do good politics lead to a good intelligence service. The steps are small, slow and steady. Fireworks are not often seen”....   Read more

Special Economic Analysis 

"In view of the recent dramatic evolution of finances in Europe and the world, RIEAS publishes its own appreciation of the European situation"

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

The essay analyses present Eurogroup States finances, with emphasis on Greece, explain why present measures to circumvent the crisis do not work and demonstrates why more and more Eurogroup countries collapse financially and how this will evolve. It addresses further the issue of growth which is just now being accepted as a remedy with its possible formulations and how this will affect the economies of Europe and Greece. Finally it states what can be expected in Greece for the next twelve months and the lessons of the crisis....   Read more

Dr Nicolas Laos
(Founder and President of the Kairological Society – Reality Restructuring Resources Inc, & RIEAS Member of International Advisory Board)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Introduction

Policy analysis underpins and informs policy making, even if there is a lengthy lag between policy analysis and its gradual absorption into political debate. Once established as common sense, a text of policy analysis becomes incredibly powerful, because it delineates not only what is the object of knowledge but also what it is sensible to talk about or suggest. If one thinks and acts outside the framework of the dominant text of policy analysis, he risks more than simply the judgment that his recommendations are wrong; his entire moral attitude may be ridiculed or seen as dangerous just because his theoretical assumptions are deemed unrealistic. Therefore, defining common sense and, in essence, what is ‘reality’ and ‘realistic’ is the ultimate act of political power. Policy analysis does not simply explain or predict, it tells us what possibilities exist for human action and intervention; it defines both our explanatory possibilities and our moral and practical horizons. Hence, ontology and epistemology matter, and the stakes are far more considerable than at first sight seem to be the case.....  Read more 

Dr. George Vardangalos
(Electrical and Computer Engineer, Independent IT &
Business Consultant)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

...Political chaos is also on the horizon with the latest voted measures rupturing the ruling Pasok party as never before...

...One way or another, the present political system is going to collapse in the following months, though it seems the corrupted political ruling elite won’t be affected so much.[1]

Τhe Greek elections of May 6 confirmed, with no doubt, the above predictions written some months ago.  The election results were already “known”, more or less [2], by Europeans and other players that participate in this case study/experiment against Greece started on May 2010. The only thing that was less probable for them was the extent of collapse, regarding the two political ruling parties during the last 4 decades. For a very few votes, some thousands ones, the coalition government wasn’t formed, as they had planned. But the part of financial elite, which wanted Greece out of the Euro-zone since March 2009 [3], is not “prepared” to risk forcing Greece to exit the Euro-zone before the US elections in autumn. The plan was this exit to be an “alternative” to take place in 2013-2014, after the seizure of the largest valuable part of Greece’s public wealth. In any case, the main conclusion of these elections is the “transformation” of Troika’s last version MOU into a worthless paper.

Tassos Symeonides
(RIEAS Academic Advisor)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

I confess. I was and I remain “anti-memorandum” (antimneoniakos in Greek).

For those who may not be familiar with the term, “anti-memorandum” describes a person who opposes Greece’s “bailout” by the “troika” -- the IMF, the EU, and the ECB -- under the genocidal terms imposed by our “partners” in order to satisfy various Western European urges and evangelical moralizing, not to mention making Greece a live laboratory animal on which to practice alternative “therapies” designed to kill the animal but provide maximum satisfaction to lenders. That’s why I shuddered yet again (but I was not surprised) when I read this article in today’s New York Times.

Daniel Little
(RIEAS Senior Advisor)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Much of the worldwide political and economic discussions entering 2012 focused on the reconciliation of economies, public budget deficits and how it affected standards of living.  For a number of reasons Greece serves as the bellwether for what other European countries wish to avoid; in essence the stark reality posed by austerity.  While Greek history defines our earliest understanding of democracy and citizenship, the more poignant lessons of Greece’s current situation lies further beneath the surface; namely the symbiotic relationships between government, economics and the cloak of security that envelopes them both.  No one in their respective capitals speak openly over the tear gas rolling across Athen’s Syntagma Square because this equally mirrors home just as much as the television news.  While the discourse over who is at fault and who should pay is played out for journalists, something far more symptomatic is at work.  The issue is what I identify as ‘counter-intuitive nationalism.’  In other words, this is not an exclusive Greek example.  Instead all countries are guilty of it to some degree and it is what they intend to do about it that ultimately determines the direction of an economy, a government’s leadership during unpopularity and a country’s overall security.  Greece only happens to be one of the first countries to undergo this catharsis.

Mr. Daniel Pipes
(President of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University)

Copyright: www.DanielPipes.org

PS. Mr. Daniel Pipes is a Member of RIEAS International Advisory Board.

Remember the name Kastelorizo; you heard it here first. It is the far-flung, easternmost island of Greece, 80 miles from Rhodes, 170 miles west of Cyprus, but just 1 mile off the coast of Turkey. Kastelorizo (in Greek, Καστελόριζο; or officially Megisti, Μεγίστη) is tiny, comprising just 5 square miles, plus some yet smaller, uninhabited islands. .....  Read more

Dr. George Vardangalos
(Electrical and Computer Engineer, IT Consultant, EPIS Ltd)

During the last weeks, we are witnesses of a “new” global financial crisis that was triggered by the S&P’s downgrade of US credit rating. The real causes were the global sovereign debt crisis, the slowdown of growth in Europe and the US, the possibility for many western countries to enter again in a recession and of course the end of the QE2 program in the US. This crisis has lately signs of a “Lehman-like” borrowing crunch in the EU among its banks.... Read more

Nikolas Stylianou
(RIEAS Research Associate & Security Analyst)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr 

On Thursday the 24th February Cypriot political parties – except from the ruling party of AKEL – voted for the affiliation of the Republic of Cyprus with the Partnership for Peace Programme. In response to the above, the President of the Republic of Cyprus exercised –for the first time since the Republic’s declaration of independence – his right to veto legislature’s decision. President Christofia’s veto against the decision of the House of Representatives caused intense reaction from the opposition (Democratic Rally, Social-Democrats, European Party and the Green Party), as well the centre-right co-governing, Democratic Party. This article seeks to underline that the affiliation of the Republic of Cyprus with the Partnership for Peace (PfP), is a de facto necessity and must top the strategic agenda of the Cypriot government.

Thalia Tzanetti
(RIEAS Senior Analyst)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Ever since the recent arrests of the six suspected terrorists, what continues to strike me as particularly odd is a specific aspect of what the Police discovered: How can a 31-year-old, a 30-year-old, three 26-year-olds and a 21-year-old have in their possession (or have access to) two scorpion submachine guns, one unidentified submachine gun, three AK-47 assault rifles, one unidentified assault rifle, 200 grams of TNT, fifty kilograms of ANFO -a mixture widely used in improvised explosives devices-, rounds of ammunition, three hand grenades and a sizable collection of other, relatively trivial, yet rather costly, items?

Thalia Tzanetti
(RIEAS Senior Analyst)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Thursday’s (24 June 2010) terrorist attack against the Ministry of Citizen Protection, which claimed the life of a highly-regarded police officer, was the latest, most spectacular and lethal example of the recent rise in terrorist activity in Greece. It has not been a secret that high-profile attacks have been sought and that targets of increasing symbolism have been becoming the focus of terrorists’ attention. The fact that the perpetrators caught the whole security apparatus by surprise, however, and that they succeeded, not only unhindered but, as it turns out by the investigations, even unwillingly aided, to carry out the attack, is undoubtedly unprecedented and marks a significant victory for the terrorists.

Dr. Peter Nanopoulos
(Computer Science Department Chair, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Information Technology University of Indianapolis-Athens).

Copyright: Peter Nanopoulos on line

Until recently, we used to teach our students that economic development is driven by four   foundational factors of production:  Land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.   In the digital age we need to add one more latent element, Information Technology, in recognition of the fact that technology defines the competitiveness of agriculture, the efficiency of industrial production, and the productivity of the steadily rising services sector, which includes governmental output.

Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis
(Department of History and Political Science, King College, USA; Senior Editor at intelNews.org)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Diplomatic observers were surprised in November 2008, when the then Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Dimitris Christofias, during the latter’s official visit to Moscow. Considering the traditionally close bilateral ties between Russia and Cyprus, the excuse from President Putin’s office, that he was too busy attending his United Russia party’s national conference, appeared unconvincing.

For the second time in two years, Greece will shortly have an early general election. Prevailing atmospherics are rather awful. The country is stumbling into its worst recession in over twenty years. Unemployment is rising and many smaller and medium enterprises are in their death throes. Liquidity to sustain daily operations and business expansion has all but disappeared, with banks refusing to ease their purse strings. Disposable income for most Greeks is shrinking, in some cases dramatically. Consumption has been affected accordingly, leading many retailers to desperation. Post-dated checks -- an illegal financial instrument dear to almost all Greek businesses, large and small -- have inundated the market, highlighting the straits faced by the majority of business owners.

The devastating wildfires that burned in Attica, home region of the Greek capital, Athens, between August 21 and 24 have subsided – but the reasons that spawned this unprecedented disaster remain very much in play.

Fortunately, the fires did not cause human casualties this time around. Exactly two years ago, a similar conflagration in the southern Greek region of the Peloponnese killed 76 people, laid waste to hundreds of  communities, and consumed an estimated 670,000 acres of forest, shrub, and farm land. In the two years between the two holocausts, however, little was done to help the areas affected and even less accomplished in terms of learning the lessons and trying to implement critical reforms.

Marcus A. Templar
(Balkan Expert, holds a Master of Science Degree in Strategic Intelligence)

Copyright: www.rieas.gr

Greek Cypriots, the majority population on the Island of Cyprus, overwhelmingly rejected a plan for reunification with the island’s small Turkish minority developed by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in a referendum on April 24, 2004.  The majority Greeks regarded the solution offered by Annan as impractical and unfair, while the government of Turkey praised it as very doable and accommodating to both parties. 

Greece Teeters on the Verge of Bankruptcy

Greece is on the brink of bankruptcy despite the fact that the global recession has yet to hit the country with full force. Strikes are paralyzing the country and the EU is putting on the pressure. But the government is still trying to put a positive spin on things. Read more