PART II: Geopolitical Struggle for the Black Sea Region - Shared and Conflicting Interests in the Black Sea Region 🎬

PART II: Geopolitical Struggle for the Black Sea Region - Shared and Conflicting Interests in the Black Sea Region 🎬

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?

Politologe Gärtner: „Die Großmacht-Konkurrenz verstärkt sich“

Politologe Gärtner: „Die Großmacht-Konkurrenz verstärkt sich“

Washington, Moskau – Nach dem „Killer“-Sager von US-Präsident Joe Biden sank das Verhältnis zwischen Washington und Moskau gestern zunächst auf einen neuen Tiefpunkt. Russland berief seinen Botschafter zurück und kündigte an, die Beziehungen zu den USA zu überprüfen. Kremlsprecher Dmitri Peskow kritisierte Bidens Aussagen als „sehr schlimm“ und beispiellos. Der Vizechef des russischen Föderationsrats, Konstantin Kossatschow, verlangte eine Entschuldigung und drohte weitere Schritte an, sollte diese ausbleiben.

Part III: USA: BACK TO MULTILATERALISM? The Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Middle East (NWFZME) 🎬

Part III: USA: BACK TO MULTILATERALISM? The Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) and a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Middle East (NWFZME)  🎬

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.

EU-RUSSIA: HOW TO DEAL WITH EACH OTHER? 🎬

EU-RUSSIA: HOW TO DEAL WITH EACH OTHER?  🎬

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.

PART I: Geopolitical Struggle for the Black Sea Region - A Struggle for Dominance in the Caucasus? 🎬

PART I: Geopolitical Struggle for the Black Sea Region - A Struggle for Dominance in the Caucasus?  🎬

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?

Biden Is on the Verge of Making the Same Mistakes 🗞️

Biden Is on the Verge of Making the Same Mistakes 🗞️

There are two reasons in why is Biden moving too slowly to revive the JCPOA: First, there is strong opposition domestically and from some US-allies against reviving the JCPOA. Therefore, President Biden and his Secretary of State want to appear tough towards Iran. Large parts of Congress, including members of the Democratic Party, want to renegotiate the JCPOA and attach new conditions. Also, they want to include missiles and regional issues. These arguments are a pretense since there is no arms control agreement in history that includes behavior or only the weapons of a single country.