Is a new global crisis on the horizon? Financial risks and trade wars
Foreign fighters in Europe and the Middle East: tackling threats and formulating responses
The conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya and other countries have attracted tens of thousands of foreign fighters, who traveled to those areas of conflict to join the ranks of the so-called Islamic State (IS) and other armed groups. While this is not a new phenomenon, the size of the mobilization that occurred with the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq was without precedent, with people from at least 80 countries traveling to join the jihadist group. Out of 40,000, it is estimated that about 5,000 came from Europe and almost 19,000 from the MENA region.
Beyond food security: the challenges for the next FAO Director-General
Turkey: what challenges and opportunities for the near future?
From Europe to Asia: who is afraid of Brexit?
China’s Belt and Road at Five. The Challenge of the Sino-US Trade War
Five years after China launched the "Belt and Road Initiative", many countries have joined as partners or members of its main financing institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Many projects are being developed around the world to improve mutual connectivity. However, China is increasingly under pressure, most notably through the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, who criticises Beijing’s expansionist practices and ambition to become a global technology leader. Which impact is the trade war with the US having on China?
Armies, Militias and Constrained Sovereignty in Fractured Arab States
Defence and security sectors in several Arab countries have been undergoing significant transformation in recent years, as a result of civil wars, state crisis and fracturing, and external intervention. Fluid coalitions of national armed forces and armed non-state actors are increasingly engaged in complex patterns of de-confliction, coexistence, and cooperation embedded within a wider context of persistent competition and of geopolitical rivalry between an array of external backers. What does this mean for security governance in fragmented states like Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon?
Energy as a bridge through the Mediterranean Region
ISIS in Iraq. The rise, fall (and future) of a terrorist group
Since Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, Iraq has been enduring severe sociopolitical hardships. Unsolved issues on the sectarian and security level have left the door open to the development of insurgency groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose notorious heir ISIS has sadly characterized the past few years of Iraqi history. How was ISIS born, how did it manage to expand so rapidly, and what led to its decline? Which political and socioeconomic reasons pushed locals to join ISIS? How might the current challenges in Iraq affect the future of ISIS and similar organizations?
Dealing with cyber perils. Defending liberties, managing stability
