Fifth June 2008: A turning-point in Anglo-Cypriot Relations? (by Emilios Solomou) The visit of President Christofias to London and the meeting with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has resulted in the signing of a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ that has been greeted with satisfaction by some but at the same time has been criticized or looked at cautiously and apprehensively by others. This agreement of 5^th June 2008 has raised the important .… MORE

The Russian Presidential Election 2008: Unfolding the Russian Paradoxes (by Nadia Alexandrova-Arbatova). The Russian Presidential election of 2008, held on March 2, 2008 resulted in the election of Dmitry Medveden as the third President of Russia. Mr. Medveden received 70.3% of the vote, defeated candidates from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and the Democratic Party of Russia. The very fact of this … MORE

The EU Lisbon Treaty: The Failed Stake of Democratization (by Giorgos Kentas). The treaty of Lisbon, known as the EU’s Reform Treaty, attracts great attention today, as it is currently in the process of ratification. This process is channeled (with the exception of Ireland) through national parliaments. Twenty-six out of the twenty-seven EU member states have chosen to sidestep their citizens, in fear of another failed referendum and another stalemate across the… MORE

Europeanisation in Cyprus: ‘Luring’ Pictures and ‘Rough’ Realities (by Christina Ioannou). The accession of Cyprus to the EU was seen as the culmination of a long history of attempts to find an acceptable (to the Greek-Cypriots) solution to the political problem of the island. The 1974 Turkish invation and subquent occupation of the island, created for the Cyprios an exceptional security challenge, which ultimately fabricated a ‘tactical’ handling of the … MORE