Russia’s power over Central Asia perfectly illustrates the notion of a ‘sphere of influence’: A hegemon exerts power over a geopolitically close region. Yet, at the same time, Central Asian states do regularly resist unilateral power impositions by Russia. How can this be explained? A recent paper in the journal Geopolitics posits a ‘negotiated hegemony’ to better understand the political dynamics between an ‘influencer’ and its ‘influenced’.
Not only three actors were involved in the crisis over the status of Jerusalem – not only the U.S., Israel, and Palestine – but instead, fifty-seven Muslim states quickly claimed their legitimate stakes after Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Erdogan’s Turkey was at the forefront in discursively constructing the umma (the Islamic community) as the crisis' major reference point.
The EU aims to export its own energy model towards the Energy Community partners in order to integrate them into its Energy Market, and therefore to reduce their dependence on Russian gas. On the other hand, the neighboring countries have to fully liberalize their energy markets by implementing the EU Energy acquis. This article will analyze the Moldovan and Ukrainian drive for a pan-European energy market.
One of the actual creators of the common electricity market, the Pentalateral Energy Forum is considered one of the most-advanced operational structures for Energy in Europe aiming at a further integration of electricity markets and the development of common approaches in guaranteeing the security of supply. Its activities have grown to become highly elaborated in the recent years, and as a consequence, ever greater expectations are being placed on it.
On 30 November 2016, the European Commission released the latest legislative initiative in the energy field entitled “Clean Energy for all Europeans”. It aims to make the energy transition efficient, smooth and engaging. Its core resides in the Winter Package, which addresses the electricity markets, the renewable energy markets and the energy efficiency issue. How efficient is the EU in integrating national energy markets while trying to provide cleaner energy for tomorrow’s and today’s consumers?
Despite the creation of many legal instruments over the last sixty years, energy policy in the EU remains mainly defined at the national level. Energy policy is linked with the vital security of the state. Therefore, the integration of energy policies in the EU is closely related to the issue of delegating national sovereignty to supranational institutions. The reluctance of governments to commit such a transfer of sovereignty is better understood in the light of the concept of energy security. Specifically, understanding how national decision makers conceptualize energy security brings light on the “diverging national interests” that jeopardize the fulfilment of the European Energy Union.
Some analysts wrongfully depict the Austrian electoral experience from October 2017 as a drift to the (far-)right, fearing that a populist, anti-immigrant anxiety may become embedded into the Austrian government. But the fact that the would-be-chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s stances have at times aligned with the populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) does not mean that his success is based on substantial ‘far-right’ politics. It is rather a new political style, not its content, which led him to victory.
The 5th Eastern Partnership Summit is an opportunity to promote conflict resolution in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood. The initiative brings closer together EU citizens and people afflicted by post-Soviet frozen conflicts, and compels Brussels to engage in mediation whilst defending the territorial integrity of its Partners. In Ukraine, the Union faces the challenge of pre–empting the freezing of a conflict.
One hundred years later, what does Russia think about the events that took place in February and October 1917? Is there a shared attitude towards such figures as Nicholas II as Vladimir Lenin? The narrative of the overthrow of the monarchy, which paved the way for the communist regime after having executed the Imperial family remains to be identified. Most importantly, the absence of a single narrative carried out through education, culture, government positions, and the absence of celebrations might be caused by the fear of the government to commemorate any events that led to changes in the political regime.
„Siebenbürgen, Land des Segens“, in English „Transylvania, land of blessings“, is a Transylvanian Saxon folk song also known as the “Siebenbürgenlied” (Transylvania-song) from 1856[1], which romanticises the region, traditionally inhabited by Germans, Hungarians and Romanians, as a “green cradle of a colourful flock of peoples”.[2] The German inhabitants of Transylvania in a broader sense, including the region of Banat, belong to two groups: Swabians and Saxons. The former settled in the region of Banat around Temeschwar (Timișoara), while the latter settled in the region of Transylvania proper in and around Hermannstadt (Sibiu), Schäßburg (Sighișoara), Kronstadt (Brașov) and Bistritz (Bistrița).