Region Related Event Feeds

Leading from Behind in Public-Private Partnerships?

jdunton — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

European countries have consistently been significant contributors of international official development assistance (ODA); in 2010, the EU and its member states spent €53.8 on ODA, nearly 60 percent of global development aid.

DIIG Current Issues No. 27: Internal R&D Productivity in Aerospace and Defense

gsanders — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

In an environment of declining defense spending by what have traditionally been the largest customers on both sides of the Atlantic, aerospace and defense companies face difficult decisions on how to deploy their cash.

A New Security Architecture for the Arctic

jdunton — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The Arctic will experience extraordinary economic and environmental change over the next several decades. Commercial, human, and state interaction will rise dramatically. More drilling for oil and gas in the region and growing shipping and ecotourism as new shipping routes come into existence are just a few of the examples of increased human activity in the Arctic.

Critical Issues for 2012

sherry — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Critical Questions for 2012

ian — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500

From international security and regional study to global challenges, CSIS experts will address many of the world's most difficult policy concerns and critical questions in 2012. To kick off the new year, we asked 25 of our scholars to identity what worries them most and what are the biggest opportunities in their respective areas of study.

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis in Review and Happy Holidays to You!

ian — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

We thought it would be appropriate to celebrate this festive holiday season with a review of the past 12 months of the European debt crisis. Europe has been constantly in the headlines this year, but very little of it has been good news. As the year draws to a close, we have written the following analysis in the spirit of a favorite holiday song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Is Britain Leaving Europe?

sherry — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

At an EU summit meeting in Brussels, December 8 and 9, Britain’s Conservative prime minister David Cameron provoked a fury by vetoing a planned new EU treaty imposing tighter fiscal discipline on euro members to help resolve the debt crisis in the eurozone and prevent its recurrence.

A New Transatlantic Approach for the Western Balkans

jdunton — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

For the past decade, accession to the European Union (EU) has become both the journey and the final destination for peace and democracy in the Western Balkans. EU political and economic engagement in the region has had a profound and positive influence, from encouraging the rule of law, human rights, and economic reform, to establishing a regional dialogue.

“If the euro fails, Europe fails,” according to German chancellor Angela Merkel. And if Europe fails, we all fail.

ian — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Fourteen summits in 21 months; the collapse of six eurozone governments; four bailout packages; and still we have an economic crisis on the verge of engulfing the world’s largest economies—this is the picture of political failure.

DIIG Current Issues No. 26: Framing Defense Cuts

rlivergood — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Since the crisis over America’s debt rating and the formation of the super committee, there has been a surge in debate about how to reduce defense spending. Despite talk of “all options being on the table,” the lack of both breadth and depth in active proposals is remarkable. Efficiency initiatives and across-the-board cuts have been advanced as solutions.

Wider Europe, Fall 2011

bbocka — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

A Warning for Bosnia
Excerpt "An insightful report just released by the U.S.-based Democratization Policy Council and the Sarajevo-based Atlantic Initiative issues a stern warning about renewed ethnic violence in Bosnia. The authors, who are seasoned Balkan analysts, are not predicting imminent violence, but their warnings need to be heeded by international actors who assume that the current status quo can last indefinitely."

So, What’s the Plan Europe? The European Sovereign Debt Crisis and the October 23 Summit

ecurran — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On Sunday, EU leaders will meet in Brussels for yet another high-stakes summit on Europe’s escalating sovereign debt woes, with the future stability of the global economy in the balance.

Central-East European Policy Review 2011

jdunton — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This policy review, an annual publication of the CSIS Lavrentis Lavrentiadis Chair, monitors and assesses developments in the central and eastern parts of Europe to provide recommendations for policy initiatives by Western governments and multinational institutions. The first volume in 2010 focused on the Western Balkans.

U.S. and Iranian Strategic Competition: Competition Involving the EU, EU3, and non-EU European States

sherry — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

US competition with Iran has become the equivalent of a game of three-dimensional chess, but a game where each side can modify at least some of the rules with each move.

Confronting an Uncertain Threat

jdunton — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Al Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM) have become an increasingly diffuse security threat. Although the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderlands may have represented the epicenter of global terrorism in the past decade, al Qaeda’s various regional affiliates are growing in prominence.

Russian Soft Power in the 21st Century

jdunton — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This study examines the current state of relations among Russia, Estonia, and ethnic Russians living in Estonia. The report pays special attention to the Russian Compatriot Policy, which seeks to codify the relationship of the Russian diaspora to its homeland, and to evaluate its effectiveness as a soft power foreign policy tool in Estonia.

Toward an Appropriate Mix of Conventional, Nuclear, and Missile Defense Forces

sherry — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 2010 Strategic Concept declared that the “modern security environment contains a broad and evolving set of challenges to the security of NATO’s territory and populations.” To meet these demands, the accompanying Lisbon Declaration called for a Defense and Deterrence Posture Review (DPPR) to explore, among other topics, what should

Going to Extremes: Can Norway and Europe Address the Growth of the Far Right?

sherry — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

On July 22, 2011, a right-wing extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, attacked a government building in central Oslo as well as a political youth camp on the island of Utøya, killing 76 people including many youth of the country’s liberal political elite.

Love It or Leave It: The Future of the Euro in the Balance

ian — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

International markets will turn their full attention to the outcome of the Thursday (July 21) emergency summit of European heads of state and government of the 17 eurozone countries. At stake is whether these leaders will be able to agree on how best to organize a second bailout package for Greece.

Capacity and Resolve

jdunton — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The last decade has seen the United States involved in two wars, an ongoing worldwide struggle against terrorism, and more recently a severe economic recession. This period has exposed two great structural challenges facing the United States. First, in a globalized world, vectors of prosperity quickly become vectors of insecurity. And second, the center of gravity in world affairs is shifting to Asia.

When Democracy and Austerity Collide: A Guide to the European Sovereign Debt Crisis

sherry — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

For the past several weeks, large-scale and at times violent demonstrations and strikes have erupted in Greece and Spain, fueled by unemployed youth (which in Greece stand at 36 percent and in Spain at 44 percent), students, and public-sector workers.

Misplaced priorities: Turkish assessments of U.S. Power

ian — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Turkish elites and the general public retain a wary respect for American economic and hard power but remain dubious that this enormous capacity will be used in ways that will advance Turkish regional and global interests.

Fading Sentimentality: German Assessments of U.S. Power

ian — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Void of emotion or fanfare, German elites assume that over the next ten years the United States will experience a period of relative decline (militarily and economically) as China, and to a lesser extent India and Brazil, will experience a period of ascendancy.

A Conversation on Emerging Power Geometry

ian — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The following conversation derives from an online chat between Global Forecast editors and four CSIS scholars on the rise of China, India, Brazil, and Turkey.

The recent global financial crisis has been a huge headache for the West. Three years later, do China, India, Brazil, and Turkey look back at it as the beginning of an opportunity?

Debt Or Defense? Difficult Choices Of A Financially Constrained NATO

ian — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Imagine if the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan only consisted of 11 contributing nations as opposed to the 48 that contribute today. Imagine if ISAF had only 90,000 American soldiers at its disposal rather than the 132,000 troops and 37 European countries currently engaged.

Wider Europe, Summer 2011

bbocka — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Serbia and Kosova: Talks Need Political Targets

Turkey’s June 12 Elections: Will Erdogan Maintain His Ascendance?

ian — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Turkish voters go to the ballot boxes on June 12, 2011 to decide if the governing Justice and Development Party (JDP), which has been in office for just over eight and a half years, will win its third successive general electoral victory.

Health Diplomacy of Foreign Governments

jdunton — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In the fall of 2010, the CSIS Global Health Policy Center hosted three seminars featuring experts on regional politics, global health policy, and diplomacy to facilitate discussion, information exchange, and analysis regarding the linkages between health and foreign policy in key countries.

A Diminishing Transatlantic Partnership?

jdunton — Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Over the past five decades, the United States, its NATO allies, and other European Union countries have been partners in maintaining transatlantic security and leading contributors to international stability and economic development.

Libya: Managing a Fragile Coalition

mentman — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

The members of the broad international coalition implementing the no-fly zone over Libya and military actions to protect civilians from attacks by the Muammar el-Qaddafi regime have differing interests, political sensitivities, and goals. Sustaining the coalition will require a difficult balancing act.

Rebuilding the Euro or Disassembling the Union? Implications of the March 24–25 EU Summit

ian — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Despite the fanfare at the time of its unveiling in 1999, the euro was a flawed monetary project of inharmonious fiscal policies and dissimilar economies void of fiscal unity. At the time, the euro’s systemic flaws were masked by German creditworthiness and exploited by profligate periphery states.

Turmoil in Libya: The View from Europe

sherry — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Fallout from the continued violence and unrest in Libya—only 180 miles away from Italy’s Lampedusa Island—is now washing onto European shores. Muammar Qaddafi’s murderous crackdown has cast a bright light on Europe’s complex political and economic relationship with Libya, most notably Italy’s.

Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship 2010

jdunton — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

This report provides an end-of-year assessment of the 2010 Kazakh chairmanship of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The CSIS-IND Task Force has provided extensive analysis and comprehensive recommendations to the Kazakh government in order to assist it in providing effective leadership of the OSCE.

G is for Grand: Presidents Obama and Sarkozy Talk G-8/G-20 Grand Strategy

sherry — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

In his second Oval Office visit in two years, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France will meet with President Barack Obama on Monday to discuss this year’s upcoming G-8 and G-20 Summits. Over a working lunch, the presidents will also have an opportunity to discuss other pressing international issues, such as Iran.

“Closing the Gap” The Euromissiles and President Carter’s Nuclear Weapons Strategy for Western Europe (1977-1979)

mentman — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Shortly after entering the Oval Office for the first time in January 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his top foreign policy aides – including National Security Advisor Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski and Deputy National Security Advisor David Aaron –were immediately confronted with a serious threat to the security of the Western European members of the NATO Alliance.

PacNet #62 - China Respects European Unity

bMizuno — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The European Union can work together – at least when it is pushed together. China’s heavy-handed effort to get European nations to skip the Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo earlier this month did the trick. Not only did member states show up, but Serbia and Ukraine, countries with EU ambitions, were encouraged to attend as well.

Managing the Challenge of Russian Energy Policies

jdunton — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the leaders of Russia, including then-President Boris Yeltsin, searched for new methods of continuing to exert influence over the former Soviet-controlled region. The Kremlin at first used an energy blockade to the Baltic States in 1990 in an attempt to prevent their breakaway from the Soviet Union.

The NATO Summit: Updated Strategy, Phased Transition in Afghanistan, Reset with Russia

ian — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

On November 19–20, President Obama and the leaders of the 28 member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will gather in Lisbon, Portugal, to approve an updated strategy, a set of priority military capabilities, plans to strengthen partnerships, and a number of internal reforms all designed to ensure that the alliance is able to safeguard the security of its member

The U.S.-EU Summit: Hoping for a Single, Anticipating a Bunt

mentman — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

On November 20, on the margins of the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, President Obama will meet with leaders of the European Union. Dark and inauspicious clouds are forming on the eve of the summit as an economic crisis once again grips Europe.

European Defense Trends

jdunton — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The international security challenges facing European governments are more complex than ever. In parallel, the economic recession has forced governments to make difficult choices in their defense budgets that will greatly affect their near- and long-term military capabilities.

Something Old and Something New? The European Perspective at the Seoul G-20 Summit

mentman — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Since the April 2009 G-20 gathering in London, Europeans have experienced a psychological roller coaster ride that began with the euphoria of President Barack Obama’s first visit to Europe and ended abruptly a year later with the political and economic onslaught of the European sovereign debt crisis.

Georgian Lessons

jdunton — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Russia’s invasion, occupation, and partition of Georgia in August 2008 initially sent shock waves throughout Europe and NATO and appeared to signal a new confrontational phase in Moscow’s relations with the West.

Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship 2010

jdunton — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This report provides an interim assessment of Kazakhstan’s Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairmanship by comparing the stated priorities and agenda of the Kazakh government, as well as the recommendations issued by the CSIS–Institute for New Democracies Task Force, with the actions undertaken by the OSCE chair during the past nine months.

Doing Less with Less? Assessing the Impact of the UK Strategic Defense and Security Review

ian — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Today, the UK government released its much anticipated Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR), which sets priorities for national security spending over the coming decade in light of constrained resources and continuing debate over Britain’s role in the world.

Global Aging Preparedness Index

ian — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The world is being overtaken by a stunning demographic transformation known as global aging. Over the next few decades, global aging promises to affect everything from business psychology and workforce productivity to the shape of the family and the direction of global capital flows.

Role of Nuclear Weapons in NATO Security

sherry — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

NATO remains a collective security alliance whose purpose, as embodied in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, is to defend the territorial integrity of all of its member states.

Western Balkans Policy Review 2010

jdunton — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Western Balkans Policy Review, launched by the CSIS Lavrentis Lavrentiadis Chair, is a unique publication that systematically examines the progress of the Balkan Peninsula and the challenges this unsettled region continues to face.

Economic Transformation and the Future of Capitalism

jdunton — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

“Economic Transformation and the Future of Capitalism: Lessons Learned from Poland’s Success in Economically Turbulent Times” was sponsored and organized by the CSIS Europe Program, the World Bank, the Institute of International Finance, and the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, in association with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and held at the World Bank on November

Kosovo at the Crossroads: Impact of the International Court of Justice Ruling

ian — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: What impact will the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Kosovo’s declaration of independence have on the country’s international standing?

About that Oil Spill … Welcome to Washington, Mr. Cameron

ian — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Q1: British prime minister David Cameron will visit with President Obama on July 20. What will they talk about?