Debate on the implications of military sales to Russia is stifled in NATO. The proposed sale of French Mistral-class warships to Russia is by far the largest among possible Russian procurements under discussion. Non-member country Georgia has taken the lead in airing concerns over the... MORE

The crisis on the Korean Peninsula has marked a new dimension of the media, once again confirming Marshall McLuhan’s observation that “the media is the message.” In this case, it was the international press offering global coverage to WikiLeaks releasing US State Department cables. These... MORE

On November 22, the Russian government expected to bask in the light of a successful NATO Summit in Lisbon. President Dmitry Medvedev attended while NATO had produced a new Strategic Concept that treated Russia as a partner and not as a problem. European missile defense... MORE

The April 2010 extension of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) treaty base in Sevastopol until 2042 or 2047 has three ramifications for Ukraine’s democracy, its relations with Russia, NATO and the EU. Russia now has an investment in President Viktor Yanukovych staying in power at... MORE

Since the spring of 2010 Russian military reform has slumbered in a crisis, over how to formulate a manning system that suits modernized forces. This was partly denoted by the top brass, confessing that the experiment with contract service had failed, and with that announcement... MORE

On November 23, as Georgians marked the seventh anniversary of the Rose Revolution, a peaceful popular protest that opened new opportunities for the South Caucasus nation’s Euro-Atlantic integration, President Mikheil Saakashvili affirmed the country’s European identity as he addressed the European Parliament.(https://www.president.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=228&info_id=5857)On November 19-20, Saakashvili... MORE

On December 1, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appointed himself as the head of the Russian government’s commission for the socio-economic development of the North Caucasus. The existing head of the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, became Putin’s deputy on the commission. “Close coordination... MORE

On November 3, the Global Times reported that “some 1,800 naval forces and at least 100 warships, submarines and combat aircrafts [sic]” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “Marine Corps” held a live-fire exercise called “Jiaolong-2010” (Dragon-2010) in the “disputed South China Sea” (Global Times,... MORE

Since 2007, in large part due to aggressive Russian posturing, the Arctic region has become a bone of contention among members of the Arctic Council as well as a subject of international concern. While the signing of the Russo-Norwegian treaty on September 15 put an... MORE

Beijing has suffered serious collateral damage in the wake of Pyongyang’s attack on South Korea last week. Despite the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) administration’s generous material and moral support, the Kim Jong-Il regime has refused to mend its roguish ways. North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong... MORE