TURMOIL IN THE ARAB WORLD (by Shlomo Avineri). “How beautiful was the republic – under the monarchy” was a saying popular during the turmoil of the French Revolution. The Revolution, symbolized by the storming of the Bastille, aimed at achieving Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Instead, they gave France – and much of Europe – Jacobin terror, right-wing counter-terror, decades of war … MORE

THE MIDDLE EAST AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (by Farid Mirbagheri). The unexpected and speedy developments that have rocked the Middle East and North Africa are testimony to the fast pace of change in international relations nowadays. To better understand these developments, however, some general observations may help. Firstly, the Middle East and North Africa are not a homogeneous … MORE

CYPRUS IN THE CHALLENGING EUROZONE ENVIRONMENT (by Michael Sarris). As was widely predicted, worldwide recovery is taking a slow and hesitant path with unemployment the most stubborn and painful indicator: brief discussion of the uneven experience of the emerging economies, the United States, Europe and Cyprus. In parallel with strong and unprecedented Central Bank … MORE

CYPRUS ECONOMY: TIME FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT (by Andreas Theophanous). When the Cyprus economy began to experience serious economic difficulties in 2008 the government was quick to suggest that these were the outcome of the international economic crisis. Furthermore, as stated confidently by President Christofias himself, the economy was strong and would more or … MORE

ERDOGAN’S AMBIGUOUS NORTHERN CYPRUS POLICY: CALCULATION OR OVER-REACTION? (by Emel Akcali). Ever since he came to power in 2002, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has been the main ally of pro-solution, pro-EU Turkish Cypriot socio-political actors. Erdogan was supportive of these forces in their quest for the reunification of the Island and their claims for … MORE

TACKLING CRIME IN THE BALKANS: A NEW STEP TO FURTHER COOPERATION (by Predrag Vukovic). The countries of the former Yugoslavia have faced many challenges ever since the end of the wars which plagued the region in the early 1990s. These challenges never seemed to go away on the road to eventual membership in the European Union (EU). EU membership … MORE

SOUTH AFRICA’S TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY: SOME REFLECTIONS (by Tony King). South Africa enjoyed its first democratic election in April 1994, and the former political prisoner Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as its first black president. Until then, South Africa was effectively a racial dictatorship that held the black majority in a state of servitude in their own country. This system of … MORE

THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: WHAT WENT WRONG AND WHAT IS GOING RIGHT? (by Craig Webster). A decade has gone by since the Millennium Development Goals were set up. The Millennium Development Goals sponsored by UN Secretary-General Annan in September 2000 was devised to create achievable goals in order to combat global poverty. The specific goals are … MORE