Bhutan Cements Its Democracy
At the end of June the picturesque Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan held its first ever local elections. Over recent years this tiny country of around 700,000 has been undergoing a...
Afghanistan after a Decade: Progress and Challenges Ahead
It has been almost a decade since international community with mandate of United Nations has intervened in Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime, dismantle the web of terror and above...
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the Scope of Accelerating Iran-Armenian Relations
At present, the international community‟s preoccupation with Middle East Unrest overshadows a new trend in Iranian Armenian political relations affecting the South Caucasus. The officials and former civil servants of...
Unlearned lessons of history
Rewriting history Today the process of rewriting history is gaining momentum. Washington succeeded so well in the substitution of factual evidence and perception thereof by people, that the whole world...
Russia: A Global Energy Powerhouse that’s much more than a Petro-state
Russia is not what you think. Most discussion about its energy influence has focused on oil and gas, particularly gas. Russia can be described, and is routinely described, as a...
Georgia: Project Aims to Boost Orthodox Church’s Support for EU Integration
Many proponents of European Union integration tend to see the Georgian Orthodox Church as an obstacle on Georgia’s path to Brussels. But a new initiative in Tbilisi aims to make...
What the T-14 can tell NATO about a resurgent Russia
What the T-14 can tell NATO about a resurgent Russia The piece of advice Bismark accorded to the new German general staff after unification in 1871, “Russia is never as...
Russian Foreign Policy under Dmitry Medvedev’s Presidency (2008-2012)
Summary Putin’s Russia (2000-2008) not only established internal stability, following the difficult and painful transition of the 1990’s onwards, but recovered economically, bolstered by a rapid increase in revenues from...
Nazarbaev Heads For A New Term In Kazakh Vote
Voters in Kazakhstan are voting in a ballot that is expected to result in the reelection of President Nursultan Nazarbaev. With authorities clamping down on opposition and keeping tight control over...
Islamic State, Afghanistan and Pakistan!!
The Baqiya wa Tatamaddad (remaining and expanding) strategic motivations of the Islamic State have created a commotion that needs to be examined objectively, particularly reports related to the terror organization’s recruitment...
Ukraine Analysis: A Deal Which Is “Neither Breakthrough Nor Disaster”
After all night talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk, the outcomes of the four party talks in the so-called Normandy format (Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany) have neither brought a major breakthrough or a...
Has China Made Its First Big Military Sale In Central Asia?
China has reportedly provided both Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with sophisticated air defense systems, which would represent the largest Chinese military equipment deal thus far in Central Asia. Reportedly, China has...
New Georgian Interior Minister Faces Multiple Challenges
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has promoted First Deputy Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri to succeed his former boss, Aleksandr Chikaidze, as minister. Chikaidze had submitted his resignation on January 23, citing as...
Northern Sea Route: A Game Changer for Russia?
Throughout the twentieth century, we see the growing importance of oil to the growth of the global economy. In the unlikely event of the discovery of a major feasible alternative...
Turkmenistan: What’s Behind Sudden Manat Devaluation?
Turkmenistan rang in the New Year by dramatically devaluing its national currency, the manat, and introducing a steep levy on the price of petrol. The scale of the devaluation –...