The Center for International and European Studies (CIES) in cooperation with the Vienna-based International Institute for Peace (IIP) hosted a webinar where experts from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus assessed the state of affairs in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Three developments in the Middle East during the first months of the Biden Administration will have to be observed. First, if and how the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) will be implemented; second the impact of the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United States and some Arab States on the security situation in the Middle East; and third the issue of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the Middle East (NWFZME), which will be again on the Agenda of the Nonproliferation Review Conference this year. The event will discuss what the relations between these issues are and whether it will change the balance of power situation in the Middle East.

With the end of the Soviet Union, its main successor, the Russian Federation has experienced a period of brief democratization but also economic and social turbulence. Since Vladimir Putin came into power in 1999 Russia moderately stabilized. It has however gradually turned into an authoritarian state. On the global stage, the old rivalry between East and West re-emerged, with NATO enlargement to Eastern Europe perceived as aggression in Moscow, and the war in Georgia in 2008 and the annexation of Crimea shocking the Western public. Recently, EU-Russia relations have hit a new low, with the EU-Russia dialogue assessed by some observers as obsolete and belonging to the past era.

The shores of the Black Sea bring together countries of diverse economic, political and cultural orientations. Bulgaria and Romania are EU and NATO members, while Turkey is a NATO member and a prominent actor in the Middle East. Russia is the biggest regional power with a strong military presence and political clout in the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have problematic relations with Russia, and they aspire for closer ties with the EU and NATO. Armenia and Azerbaijan are less ambitious with regard to the EU and look towards other regional actors, namely Russia and Turkey respectively. Considering these diverse and sometimes adversarial relations, does the Black sea unite or separate the countries on its coast and its wider regional context?

Last year marked many anniversaries related to women´s roles in international relations, most notably the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000. However, beyond celebrating anniversaries, how do the international community, including states, international organizations and civil society continue working towards a gender perspective in international politics and greater inclusion of women in decision-making processes?

Seit sieben Monaten gehen die Menschen in Belarus auf die Straße um gegen die Führung von Alexander Lukaschenko und die gefälschte Präsidentschaftswahl zu protestieren. Das Regime antwortet mit einer massiven Repressionswelle, mehrere Menschen ums Leben gekommen, zehntausende Menschen wurden festgenommen und zum Teil zu mehrjährigen Haftstrafen verurteilt. Eine Ende der Proteste ist trotzdem nicht in Sicht.

Belarusians have taken to the streets of their cities and towns for over six months now, demanding free and fair elections after the presidential vote in August had been blatantly rigged. The longer the political crisis drags on, the more Russia’s and the EU’s perceptions of this crisis and subsequent actions matter. The elites in Russia view the protest as coordinated by the West, whereas the EU considers it as a purely domestic issue. Russia has a high interest in Belarus, in terms of security, economics, culture etc. For the EU, stability in its neighboring country is the primary goal. The Belarusian crisis has thus gained a geopolitical dimension that will play a decisive role in its future development.