Armed Conflicts

NATO’s Southern Neighbourhood: The Alliance Needs a Strategy for the Regions to its South

Allies in the Mediterranean region rightly expect NATO to take threats and challenges from the south as seriously as they do those from the east. NATO needs to work out and to implement a comprehensive strategy and plans for the south that include concrete aims, joint actions, and resources. Alliance cohesion and solidarity depends to a substantial extent on the ability of the Allies to do this. The north-eastern flank Allies are ready to play their part, but it is the Mediterranean Allies who have the understanding and expertise necessary to define the content of a strategy for the regions they border.

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Syria is Getting Hotter

On December 11th 2017, five days after he announced his expected intention to run for the fourth time for Russia’s presidency, Vladimir Putin visited Hmeimim air base, met Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and declared that Russia’s military mission in Syria had been “accomplished.”

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Consequences of Crime and Punishment in Syria

The cruise missile strike ordered on Syria by President Donald Trump in the early morning (local time) of April 7, 2017, was not really a military show of power. It did not devastate completely the Shayrat airbase, something that was no doubt intentional in light of the two-hour evacuation warning. Instead, the Tomahawks sent a very serious political message both to Bashar al-Assad, and particularly to Kim Jong-un, setting in motion new dynamics in US-Russian and Sino-American relations.

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