GLOBAL ISSUES

Dr. Matthew Crosston
(RIEAS Senior Advisor, Vice Chairman and Senior Editor, Modern Diplomacy.eu and Editorial Board, International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 8 October 2017

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

On September 25, 2017, the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq held an independence referendum to determine the future of its quest for recognized statehood. As expected, an overwhelming majority (93% in the early returns) voted in favor of independence. Also, as expected, no one around the world, even within Kurdistan itself, thought this meant an independent Kurdistan would be recognized by all or that such a reality is anywhere close to being around the corner. That fact shows not only how wretchedly unlucky Kurdish history is, but also how unjustifiably damnable the international process is when it comes to the fight for independence....Read more

Hannah Kitners
(Postgraduate Student, MA Global Program, Webster University, USA)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 21 April 2018.

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

A key foreign policy accomplishment the Obama administration achieved in 2015 is hanging on by a thread three years later during the Trump administration. Twenty months of negotiations between the P5+1 (the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, and Germany), the European Union (EU), and Iran culminated in a significant achievement in international diplomacy; nuclear-related economic sanctions that date back to 2005 were lifted on Iran in return for limitations on their controversial nuclear enrichment programs. .. Read more

Shaul Shay
(The author is the director of research of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzeliya and former Deputy Head of the National Security Council)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 29 July 2018

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, temporarily suspended all oil shipments through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait after two Saudi Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) came under attack by Yemeni Houthi militia on July 25, 2018...Read more

Quentin de Pimodan
(Co-author of The Khaleeji Voice, six-part book series about each of the GCC nations and their respective urban art cultures)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 22 September 2018

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

While some conservative Saudi clerics face severe punishments for present or past activities, others seem to slip through the net. If lack of consistency between the narrative emerging from Riyadh and the actual on-ground repercussions have already occurred in the past , the issue of the fight against radical Islamism is a key one for the regime, for both asserting credibility and legitimacy. On several occasions Crown Prince Mohammed repeated that combatting extremism was one of his top domestic and international priority in places such as Syria, Iraq and Yemen together with, according to him, opposing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei “to conquer the world”. In that regard, the Saudi regime’s recent crackdown on conservative clerics and the double standards it applies in doing so, weaken the gravity of the charges held against some of the clerics and the very scholars that are currently being targeted. Which could result in serious backlashes... Read more

Lélia Rousselet
(Researcher in international relations. Her work included research on security and
defense issues, French and American foreign policy, and Middle-Eastern and
Mediterranean affairs. She is Vice-President of the Open Diplomacy Institute (Paris, France).

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr)
Publication date: 08 December 2018

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Following US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) last May, Trump’s administration has progressively re-imposed economic sanctions on Teheran. On November 5, 2018, a new wave of US sanctions has been implemented, targeting exports of oil and bank operations, and complete the first set of sanctions in place since August 6. But the consequence of November sanctions is of another magnitude: a disconnection of Iran from the international financial system, and the impossibility for Teheran to sell its oil – which represents 17% of its GDP. The US agreed to let 8 countries buy Iranian oil for a limited period of time: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Taiwan, Turkey and Greece. These countries can have a delay in exchange of a commitment to reduce their imports of crude oil from Iran...Read more

Dr (Col.Res) Shaul Shay, is a senior research fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzeliya (IDC) and former Deputy Head of Israel National Security Council.

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 4 January 2019

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

In the course of almost 40 years Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and has a long and bloody history of terror attacks. Since 2017 the Iranian regime’s terrorist activities appear to be on the rise on European soil. Thanks to good intelligence the Iranian latest terrorist plots has not resulted in heavy casualties, but these plots are just the tip of the iceberg. Read more