The political developments in Libya are heavily influenced by numerous armed groups. As this will remain unchanged after the upcoming elections it is useful to assess their capabilities, political affiliation, alliances and future intentions.
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Afghanistan faces a major milestone in 2014: the withdrawal of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) troops by the end of the year.
ISAF’s combat troops are scheduled to leave Afghan soil, ending a 13-year war against an unbeatable insurgency.
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This paper offers an assessment of the current situation in Afghanistan through the lens of the Taliban insurgency. As the ISAF presence decreases, the onus will shift to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to secure the country and continue the fight against the insurgents still battling the Afghan government. Moreover, because it is a key regional actor, the actions of Pakistan and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) will be critical to the endgame of the conflict and future direction of Afghanistan.
The US-Egyptian relations have been experiencing serious fluctuations ever since the outbreak of the Egyptian uprising in January 2011. Bilateral relations have even reached their lowest point with the decision of the Obama administration to suspend substantial military aid (1), military training, and other economic aid funds to the Egyptian government in October 2013, pending what US officials called a credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections.
When the decision about shifting the election date to the European Parliament to May was taken, an exceptional opportunity for the party campaigners in the Central and Eastern Europe seemed to arise. It had to be a relatively easy task to combine the stocktaking of the decade of EU membership with the positive narrative as to the future (mainly domestic) challenges, with the politicians ensuring to be the only ones able to properly cope with them and find the right answers.
The outcome of the forthcoming general elections is wide open, and Iraq’s political scene could change considerably in a short time. But, whatever its shape and color, the government that takes power will have to address serious medium-term economic challenges. In one way or another, these challenges all relate to oil – and it is difficult to see how it could be otherwise, as Iraq is already one of the largest oil producers in the world and the third largest exporter after Saudi Arabia and Russia.
