By: Simon Miles Russia will deploy its own missiles, with enhanced missile defence penetration technology, if the US and NATO do not halt in their project for a pan-European missile defence network, President Dimitri Medvedev warned. Furthermore, the western enclave of Kaliningrad will be host to a new arsenal of tactical weapons. With obvious relish, Read More…
5. Authors of the NCC
A list of authors, past and present
A Week of Carnage in Afghanistan
By: James Marcus Bridger A brazen succession of insurgent attacks has claimed the lives of over two dozen foreign and Afghan security personnel in the last week. This wave of assaults sparks fresh fears regarding the militants’ continued ability to strike deep within International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and government-controlled territory. The readiness of the Read More…
Stuck in the Middle with You: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Indian Nexus
By: Kavita Bapat On 4 October, India and Afghanistan signed a significant partnership pact agreeing to increase cooperation on counterterrorism efforts, the training of security forces, and boosting trade relations. Though the pact is a considerable step forward for the India-Afghanistan nexus, it has raised concerns of antagonizing Pakistan at a decisive juncture in the Read More…
The International Implications of a Socialist Victory in France
By: Simon Miles France’s socialist party last prevailed in the 1988 presidential election, won by François Mitterand (the incumbent) by a solid majority. Now, in the run-up to the 2012 elections, many French Socialists hope to repeat that success with François Hollande at the helm. This electoral cycle saw the Parti Socialiste (PS) engage in Read More…
Kenyan Troops Go Where Others Fear to Tread
By: James Bridger Despite attempts to brand itself as a luxury tour destination, Kenya has been unable to escape the harsh reality that it borders a failed state of Hobbesian proportions. Instability has spilled over in recent weeks, as Somali militants launched a series of daring raids into Kenyan territory: On 11 September Judith Tebbutt, Read More…
Canada-NATO Relations, the Future of Afghanistan and its Implications on the Transatlantic Alliance
By: Kavita Bapat In July Canada began the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after nearly a decade of engagement in the war torn country. In the early days of the Afghan conflict Canada contributed troops to Joint Task Force 2 with the aim of routing out remaining Taliban and al Qaeda forces. In 2003 Read More…
Piracy Watch: Preventing the “Somalization” of West Africa
By: James Marcus Bridger An All Too Familiar Event On September 14, armed pirates commandeered an idling tanker, the Matteus I, making off with its cargo of crude oil and 23 hostages. While such events no longer make headlines when they occur off the coast of Somalia, this hijacking took place on the other side Read More…
NATO’s Future Role in the Abkhazia Dispute
By: Simon A. Miles Following the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia declared the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and even Georgia itself, to be within Russia’s sphere of influence. Though Russia has deescalated to a war of words, the dispute over Abkhazia remains an important concern Read More…
Turkish-Israeli Relations Sinking Fast Over Flotilla Fallout
By: James Marcus Bridger Ever since Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel in March 1949, relations between the two states have been marked by a high degree of economic, military, and humanitarian cooperation. What was once a seemingly natural alliance between two non-Arab “outsiders” in the Middle East has however recently devolved Read More…
A War for Oil?
Dr. Dmitri Rogozin, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO, takes aim at the Alliance’s humanitarian intervention in Libya.