... French leadership’s concerns about China’s might; 3) the benefits of cooperation between France and China; and 4) the impact of the France–China dialogue on the interests of other international actors.
China: Pros and Cons
Andrey Kortunov:
The European Union and the East Wind
When visiting China in January 2018, Macron
stated
, rather pompously, that France and China were “sharing a rational view of global history” and “building a great friendship” based on the shared values of “reason,...
... of the city. One might wonder, how do these people end up there in the first place?
Disclaimer 2
. I cannot agree with those politicians and public figures from Emmanuel Macron to George Soros, who consider the rise of populism a mortal threat to the European Union. I think it is an obvious exaggeration. Moreover, Europe needs populists, both highly active right-wingers and less conspicuous left-wingers, as it needs Eurosceptics. As the saying goes, “a pike lives in the lake to keep all the fish ...
What might be a “second option” for Russia in Syria?
The situation around Russia in Syria is up for debate. No doubt, Russia would like to lead a reconstruction effort in Syria, in harmony with all relevant partners, including the UN, the EU, the USA, China, India, Turkey, Iran, Israel, the Sunni Arab states including the Golf Council Countries (GCC-states), Egypt and Morocco. However, many of the parties on the list of wished-for partners are strongly hostile to each other, and it might therefore...
... Europe and USA may be of good utility for Russian global foreign policy
With ongoing debates on Russian-made S-400 deliveries to Turkey, fate of continuing cooperation of Russia, Turkey and Iran in Syria and future of Ankara’s relations with the European Union and NATO, it is high time to make an honest review of Russian-Turkish relations, define weaknesses of bilateral cooperation and try to sketch a framework for a better future. Inspection of historical legacy and nature of current ties may ...
On March 28, 2019, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London hosted an expert meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland.
On March 28, 2019, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London hosted an expert meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland.
The following issues were discussed during the meeting: the current activities of the Council of Europe, as well as political, institutional, and financial problems...
... rules of coexistence and conduct. In other words, the generation of fifty- and sixty-year-olds on both sides of the long-gone Iron Curtain is sharing a common historical experience but interpreting it differently.
Twenty- and thirty-year-olds in the European Union and Russia set out from the same platform but moved along diverging tracks. A new generation has grown up in the West which knows that the period of 1989-1991 liberated many peoples from tyranny and eliminated the threat of nuclear war,...
One of the distinctive features of the modern Western political narrative with regard to NATO is an almost total misunderstanding of how the alliance is perceived in Russia. First and foremost, the Western political establishment seems blithely unaware of the fact that the issue of NATO is the main stumbling block in Russian-Western relations, and that any detente is impossible while that obstacle remains unresolved.
This is the first of a two-part commentary on a Russian perspective of NATO, and...
... Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Despite the fact that 13 other EU countries have signed similar memorandums with China, the significance of Italy’s decision cannot be overstated, as it is the first G7 country and the first founding member of the European Union to officially confirm its readiness to participate in Silk Road projects.
Ever since Undersecretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development Michele Geraci announced the imminent signing of the document on March 5, 2019,...
... problems than on international issues. This propensity for political introspection (some may even call it political autism syndrome) is present, to some extent, in the U.S., Russia, China, and India. However, it is particularly characteristic of the European Union, which currently has to simultaneously deal with Brexit, prepare for the upcoming European Parliament elections, restore financial discipline in the eurozone, and reconcile differing views on migration issues along with many other urgent ...
A man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress.
Ayn Rand, author of “The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism”
Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
Oscar Wilde
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
John Kenneth Galbraith
Today’s international scene is dominated by Realpolitik – national interest...
