EDITORIAL

Shaul Shay
(Senior research fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya and former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council)

Copyright: @ 2025 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 11 August 2026

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

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement is a landmark trilateral mutual defense pact signed on August 7, 2026, in the holy city of Mecca by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, three of the Muslim world’s most influential states demonstrating a growing willingness among regional powers to coordinate more closely on security matters.[ Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sign Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, Al Arabiya, August 7, 2026.]
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement stipulates that an armed attack on any of the countries will be treated as an attack against all of them. This is a message of deterrence to potential aggressors that any attack will not remain a limited confrontation involving a single country and it could trigger a collective response involving three significant regional powers.... Read more

Bouzemouri Achraf
(RIEAS Senior Analyst)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 11 August 2026

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

The migration crisis that unfolded in Ceuta at the end of July 2026 was extraordinary not only because of its scale, but because of the speed with which a local border problem became a wider security and political crisis. Spanish authorities initially estimated that around 49,000 people had entered the enclave within approximately 24 hours. Subsequent Spanish estimates placed the total number of arrivals during the episode at around 72,000, while Moroccan authorities gave a considerably lower figure of approximately 40,000.[ For the initial Spanish estimate of approximately 49,000 arrivals, see Reuters, 31 July 2026. Later reporting and Spanish estimates placed the total during the episode substantially higher, while Morocco reported a lower figure. See Reuters, 3 August 2026.] Whatever figure is ultimately retained, the scale of the movement is difficult to put into conventional terms: Ceuta has a population of roughly 84,000.... Read more

Demetrios Tsailas (ret Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior officers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 11 August 2026

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

Major strategic transformations rarely become apparent while they are unfolding. More often, they develop quietly, away from the world's principal theaters of conflict, until a single event reveals that geography has already reshaped the logic of war. That is precisely what is happening today in the Caspian Sea.... Read more

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Morocco de facto map.jpg

Prof. Darko Trifunovic,

(RIEAS Senior Research Fellow)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 2 August 2026

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

Migration from Africa toward Europe is often presented primarily as a humanitarian, economic, or border-management issue. While all these dimensions are important, such an approach remains incomplete. Contemporary migration flows are increasingly shaped by the interaction of armed conflict, state collapse, organized crime, climate-related pressures, foreign interference, private military actors, and geopolitical competition...  Read more

Is the UN ignoring Turkey’s involvement in Sudan’s civil War?

Glen Segell
(RIEAS Member of International Advisory Board, NATO-EU Strategy Group, was educated to a Doctor of Philosophy (Oxford), and holds the rank of Brigadier-General (Reserves)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 31 July 2026

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

The Sudanese Civil War began in April 2023, sparked by escalating tensions between two rival factions: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly referred to as Hemeti. At first, these two influential generals were allies during the 2021 coup that overthrew Sudan's developing pro-democracy transitional government, which had emerged following the ousting of long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. However, their alliance soured due to conflicts over how to integrate paramilitary forces into the national army.... Read more

Demetrios Tsailas (ret Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior officers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2026 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 27 July 2026

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

Abstract

The security of global maritime trade is increasingly shaped by the interaction of three interconnected strategic maritime corridors: the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb, and the Black Sea. Rather than representing isolated theaters of conflict, these maritime chokepoints form a single geostrategic system whose disruption would have cascading consequences for international trade, energy security, and geopolitical stability. ... Read more