pak14Hanif-ur-Rehman (PhD)
(Lecturer in H/9 College Islamabad, Pakistan)

Jamshed Khan 
(Scholar in the Department of History Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication Date: 9 November 2014

The attacks on World Trade Centre (WTC) and Pentagon on 11 September which killed around 3000 civilians and caused material loss of more than hundred billion dollars was simply tragic. The attacks brought about not only a "seismic shift in international relations" but also forced Pakistan to change its policy towards the Taliban regime and emerged as Front Line state in War against terrorism. The event of 9/11 brought the war-torn Afghanistan to the lime light of global politics. The US authorities were adamant to bring to justice the perpetrators of the heinous crime. In its 'crusade' against the mastermind of the terrorist attacks, the US President George W. Bush asked the world community that there couldn't be any neutral in the war against terrorism. Pakistan, due to its geographical location and its 'special relations' with the Taliban became the focus of US strategy to isolate al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan. The world in general and Pakistan in particular was given a choice by US authorities, "either to be with us or against us" in its fight against the Global War on Terror (GOWT). After Taliban and al-Qaeda rout in Afghanistan in the wake of US-led operation, most of them fled to Pakistan's Tribal Area. In the wake of 9/11 and the subsequent US-led Operation Endurance Freedom by the US led coalition against the Taliban regime, FATA was catapulted to the center stage of world politics.... Read more

taiwan5Marc Cheng
(Executive Director, EU-Taiwan Office in Taipei, Taiwan (ROC)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication Date: 2 November 2014

Due to the European Union's one China policy which recognize the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China, there is no diplomatic or formal political relations between the EU and the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name. The only European state that has kept diplomatic relations with Taiwan is the Holy See. Even lack of official relations with most of the European countries, Taiwan has still established 1 embassy, 21 representative offices and 1 mission in the area of Europe. In 2003, the EU Commission opened a representation in Taipei, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO). Today, there are 16 EU member states out of 28 are represented in Taipei.... Read more

asia14Leo Lin
(Senior law enforcement officer and professional interpreter in Taiwan. He is a member of the SGOC and a research associate with Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) in Athens. He specializes in transnational organized crime issues and police/judicial cooperation in East and Southeast Asian region)

Copyright: ECPR Standing Group on Organized Crime http://sgocnet.org/ Publication Date on the Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) on 15 October 2014.

Fighting organized crime (OC) with joint efforts has already become a prevalent practice among different regions of the world. However, if politics became the major stumbling blocks for the mutual cooperation to combat OC, and that would be interesting to see how this security issue can be addressed. In Asia, People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) are perhaps the two most peculiar states whose bilateral relations are way too complex to explain in any lengthy articles. Over the decades, contentions about the history and national identities always come into play on both sides, and consequently, they see each other as potential enemies. This has largely thwarted the cooperation in many aspects between them.....  Read more

taiwan5Ian Easton
(Research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute in Arlington, VA. He was also a recent visiting fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs in Tokyo. Previously, he was a China analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses)

Copyright: http://thediplomat.com/ - Publication Date on RIEAS web site: 27 September 2014)

A look at what Taiwan is doing to ensure its air defense and why it matters for the United States and the region.

When current and former world leaders, including Bill Clinton, visit Taiwan, they often stay at the Grand Hotel Taipei, an opulent Chinese architectural landmark perched atop Yuan Mountain. With spectacular views of the downtown riverfront and a palm-lined swimming pool surrounded by lush green jungle, guests at the Grand Hotel could be forgiven for thinking they had arrived at one of the most peaceful spots in East Asia.

In fact, just under their feet lies a vast underground command center from which Taiwan's top leadership would direct their nation's armed forces in the event of a war with China. This facility, like many around the high-tech island, shows that when it comes to the defense of Taiwan, there is much more than meets the eye. Read more

Aggeliki Vassiliou
(Economic Analyst)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) (Publication Date: 15 June 2014).

Azerbaijan is a very interesting state. If someone looks deeper into the country’s background, one would be surprised to see many elements in common with Greece; ranging from “soft” issues such as culture, food and music, to ‘hard core’ issue such as economic policies and national political identity as both nations find each other surrounded by bigger countries in the midst of the buffer zones of the Balkans and the Caucasus respectively....Read more

Adal Shymbekov
(Security Analyst based in Kazakhstan)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) based in Athens, Greece. (Publication Date: 9 June 2014)

Since getting independence in 1991, the Republic of Kazakhstan, in comparison with the other countries of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), seeks to play a more important role in the international arena.

Kazakhstan as of right enters a group of 30 leading countries-members of the UN which are working on disarmament and promotion of the nuclear-free world. This is a permanent peace policy in the foreign policy of the country.  Kazakhstan applied for a non-permanent seat of the Security Council in 2017-2018, as well as the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly in 2016.....Read more

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