GLOBAL ISSUES

Mayda I. Youssef
(RIEAS Research Associate & Security Analyst based in Cairo, Egypt)

Copyright, Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) – Publication date: 2 August 2015

Egypt has been facing a rising bombing wave that is not only hitting Sinai, but also hitting Cairo at its core. Fortunately, IS's affiliated Islamic extremists "Ansar Beit El Maqds", based in Sinai, claim responsibility for nearly all of the attacks that take place, giving the state a sign of who its immediate enemies are.

However, in order to be able to set a counter-terror strategy, one should analyze the past incidents that definitely shock the Egyptian society. It also succeeded in establishing an image of an unstable and weak regime, not only to the international community, but also to Egyptian civilians...Read more

By Efraim Sneh
(Chairman, S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue, Netanya Academic College).

Copyright: Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East Publication Date on RIEAS (www.rieas.gr): 6th September 2015

In March 2002, one of the bloodiest months of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud presented the Arab Peace Initiative. The Arab League summit that convened in Beirut that month adopted it as an official resolution. Representatives at the March 2007 Arab League summit in Riyadh reaffirmed the initiative.

The core of the proposal is a commitment by the 22 Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel if it agrees to withdraw from the territories occupied in the 1967 war, to a just solution of the Palestinian refugee issue and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state....Read more

Tamir Libel
(Visiting Scholar in the Department of Political Studies at University of Trier and Non-resident Fellow with the Centre for War Studies at University College Dublin)

Kamran Bokhari
(Teaches national security and foreign policy courses at the Security & Policy Institute at the University of Ottawa and is the author of "Political Islam in the Age of Democratization")

Copyright: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/09/iran-israel-communication.html#ixzz3ngCI9dcX - Publication on RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 6 October 2015.

There are two major reasons why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should pull back from his hard-line opposition to the Iranian nuclear deal. First, Iran is on a path toward international rehabilitation, whereby the United States and its European allies will increasingly be working with Tehran on regional security in the Middle East. Second, geosectarianism is reshaping the regional strategic environment to where the bulk of the threat to Israeli security will be from Sunni as opposed to Shiite actors... Read more

Alexandros Kassidiaris
(Security Analyst, Postgraduate from the Department of War Studies, King's College London, UK)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 24 October 2015

The phenomenon of piracy attacks in the Horn of Africa against commercial vessels by mostly Somali-based pirates is not a new one. From 2008 to 2012 this kind of assaults presented an excessive incline creating a major problem for international commercial shipping in this part of East Africa and onwards. The continuous instability in this area and the strong feeling of insecurity and anxiety of the seafarers sailing through this route and especially in the Gulf of Aden created a certain necessity for some official anti-piracy action. Under those circumstances a specific region has been characterized as the Piracy High Risk Area and detailed instructions have been issued for the ships that would approach it.... Read more

Antonia Dimou,
(Senior Advisor at the Research Institute for European and American Studies, Greece, and Lecturer at Webster University, Athens Campus)

Copyright: http://www.cceia.unic.ac.cy Publication date on RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 1 November 2015

The conduct of two separate airstrikes in Syria, led by the United States and Russia respectively, comes as part of a strategy to defeat and degrade the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in pursuance of revisiting the international response to the Syrian conflict. The prolonged neglect of the conflict in Syria has admittedly created power vacuums, paving the way for extremist groups to gain and control territory. The prospect of de facto territorial divisions is a reported reality with territory under control of ISIL; territory held by the Assad regime; and territory controlled by enclaves of diverse fighter groups. Read more

By Antonia Dimou
(Associate at the Center for Strategic Studies-University of Jordan, RIEAS Senior Advisor, and Athens Webster University Instructor)

Copyright: Originally appeared at ELIAMEP Middle East Mediterranean 2/4 | April-June 2015- Republication on RIEAS web site (www.rieas.gr) on 14 November 2015.

Jordan is a free market oriented economy that offers a wide range of incentives to international investors. The kingdom's Investment Promotion Law provides freedoms from customs and duties, unrestricted transfer of capital and profits, and tax income exemptions. Jordan is thus considered as an ideal base of investment braced by its strategic location in the heart of the Middle East that ensures unimpeded access to the markets of Asia and Africa. The growth oriented business environment of the kingdom largely explains the interest of Greek companies either to advance exports or transfer activities and open representation offices for investment security, stability and cash flow reasons...Read more