european security

As the European Union enlarges, the continent as a whole - from Madrid to Moscow and Istanbul - is shadowed by terrorism. Richard Torne assesses the political fallout of a civilian massacre on a traumatised Spain. James Appathurai, a leading NATO policy official, argues that the Euro-Atlantic community now needs a confident Europe, in which Russia is a key partner, to share responsibility with the United States in meeting post-9/11 challenges.

Monday 11th April

The end of “normalization“?

Stephan Vormann, 11 April 2011

For the first time in its history, Germany has abandoned its allies by abstaining from the vote on Resolution 1973. Twenty years after the end of the Cold War the gap between pretension and reality in German foreign policy seems to broaden again.

Friday 25th March

Rethinking Euro-Med policies in the light of the Arab Spring

Nathalie Tocci and Jean-Pierre Cassarino, 25 March 2011

The uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East have swept away decade-old dictators, but not their regimes. It will take far more than protests to ensure that they are throughly replaced. Here's how the EU can contribute to this process.

Wednesday 27th October

EU disaster response: too little, too late?

Erik Brattberg, 27 October 2010

We must not allow the development of the EU’s new External Action Service to succumb to short-termism, argues Erik Brattberg

Wednesday 2nd June

Ukraine: the immobile state

Taras Kuzio, 2 June 2010

The electoral defeat of the figureheads of the “orange revolution” of 2004 raises profound questions over Ukraine’s political future. A realistic assessment suggests that the views of both alarmists and optimists will be confounded, says Taras Kuzio.

Thursday 28th January

EU and Russia: an Eastern Partnership Muddling on?

Alexander Sergunin, 28 January 2010

Moscow’s attitude towards the EU fluctuates. There are deep-seated doubts that the EU is attempting to undermine Russia’s geopolitical positions in its traditional sphere of interest. Alexander Sergunin examines Russian concerns.

Monday 31st March

European missile defence: the America-Russia-Iran knot

David Webb and Tom Sauer, 31 March 2008

United States military systems in Poland and the Czech Republic will provoke a new arms race

Tuesday 22nd January

Europe's Afghan test

Daniel Korski, 22 January 2008

Afghanistan's hope of progress and security is withering. It's now or never for Europe

Tuesday 16th March

ETA after Madrid: the beginning of the end?

Diego Muro, 16 March 2004

Even if it is exonerated of responsibility for the pre-election Madrid massacre, the militant Basque group that has waged a thirty-six year struggle against the Spanish state faces a difficult future.

Monday 15th March

Why the Spanish government lost

Diego Hidalgo, 15 March 2004

The defeat of the ruling party in the Spanish elections three days after the attacks in Madrid on 11 March marks an extraordinary and unexpected turnaround. A founder of “El Pais”, Spain’s premier national newspaper, assesses the reasons for the government’s defeat and looks to the future of democracy in Europe.

The Madrid bombings: the 'war on terror' comes to Europe

Paul Rogers, 15 March 2004

The implications of the "11-M" bombings go far beyond the Madrid carnage. In the heart of Europe, coordinated security failed to detect the coordination of terror. The impact on Washington’s wider war will be substantial.

How to say 'no' to terrorism

Marie-Claude Souaid, 15 March 2004

The real challenge of terrorism is to the quality of Europe's democracy. A response fueled by unchecked power can become fuel for a global civil war. There is, there must be, a better way.

First lessons from Spain

Mary Kaldor, 15 March 2004

The Madrid bombings have taught us a powerful lesson: the ‘war on terror’ plays into the hands of its enemies. Politicians must learn to be modest in the face of those who perpetrate “jihad”.

Friday 12th March

Spain's 3/11: democracy after atrocity

Richard Torné, 12 March 2004

The death of 200 people in Spain’s worst-ever terrorist attack is a landmark in the country’s politics as well as its modern history. After three days of national mourning and the 14 March general elections, the new government will face the task of articulating a coherent political programme in a time of national trauma.

Wednesday 6th August

Russia's future in balance: Putin versus Khodorkovsky?

Charles Grant, 6 August 2003

The unofficial pact between Russia’s parliament and its business ‘oligarchs’ has been an important element in the country’s recent political stability and economic progress. Now, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is targeting executives of the giant Yukos oil corporation – including its ambitious head, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, interviewed here. Are both pact and progress now at risk?

Thursday 6th March

Liberate Iraq on the world's terms

Paul Hilder, 6 March 2003

The slogan ‘No to war: No to Saddam!’ leaves the world polarised and incapable of concerted action. What would it take to reconfigure this crippling divide so that a clear choice helps the world move forward? Could the European Union’s foreign policy coordinator, Javier Solana, lead the way?

Tuesday 20th August

Europe's security priorities: a Nato perspective

James Appathurai, 20 August 2002

The political-military environment of European states has been transformed by post-cold-war developments. A leading Nato policy official says that the Euro–Atlantic community now needs a confident Europe, in which Russia is a key partner, to take a more equal share of responsibility with the United States in meeting new challenges.

Tuesday 11th June

Europe's political aims: a military perspective

John Downey, 11 June 2002

The European movement has allowed economic and social interests to blur the wider aims of its founders, greatly reducing the influence of the EU in the world and dampening public enthusiasm for the EU project.

Thursday 7th March

Response to Pierre Bourdieu

Roger Scruton, 7 March 2002

So far the European project has involved precisely what Bourdieu deplores - namely governments progressively divesting themselves of 'the power to control economic forces'.

Wednesday 27th February

Europhoria

Reinhard Hesse, 27 February 2002

As a special convention on the EU’s constitutional future opens in Brussels, Reinhard Hesse argues that an active, cohesive European foreign policy is essential. The successful launch of the Euro is its own lesson: we can see Europe with fresh eyes.