The Black Sea region is a disputed notion that is geographically bound to the actual area of the Black Sea, which comprises according to different sources: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and going beyond possibly integrating other countries that are economically, strategically and by means of security liked to the region (M. Aydin, 2004). This crossroad of geopolitical interests, economic routes and influence areas is turning out to be decisive for the future Wider Europe, as the biggest problems that arise before the continent (migration, frozen conflicts, energy security, weapons and drugs trafficking) as well as the biggest opportunities for cooperation are present here. Another way of defining the region is as a civilization crossroad in between Orthodox, Muslim and Western culture. After a series of events that threatened the whole base of the Western Civilization (9/11, War on Terrorism, military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq) have brought to attention this region as a potential solution to numerous security threats, as well as a stabilizing factor for the borders of the European continent. Yet, the region for decades was neglected by political scientists, reappearing as a preoccupation due to the factors mentioned above. This “Bermuda Triangle” of Western Security studies was largely ignored because it is situated at the periphery of three major security systems: European, Eurasian and Middle Eastern, being considered not so important for a long period of time. Before the emergence of the Soviet Union, the focus was on the Baltic States as well as on the Western Balkans, afterwards the aim ...
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...e on different stages of development. Most of the Black Sea countries are oriented to the high economic development level of the European Union, some (Romania and Bulgaria) have achieved the membership of the union, Turkey is undergoing negotiations and many of the other countries are striving to reach EU-like economic standards.
In the aftermath of the USSR’s dissolution, one can establish clear patterns of economic development of the Black Sea countries: all of them are oriented towards a market economy with varying level of success. Many of these countries are pacing in the transition process, facing mainly the same challenges, that they should address with common efforts in order to achieve the best results. After the global economic and financial crisis, most of the countries of the region have received financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Blacksad: Vol 2 Arctic Nation is written by spanish author Juan Díaz Canales and drawn by spanish artist Juanjo Guarnido. The story and setting is film noir style, in late 1950s Americana with all anthropomorphic characters. The story begins when private investigator Blacksad sees a lynching of a black vulture, where he meets a reporter named Weekly (weasel), his future sidekick. It is revealed that Blacksad is working for Elementary school teacher Miss Grey, who asks to look for a missing girl named Kaylie, and tells him her suspicions that the girl was kidnapped by white supremacist group Arctic Nation. After befriending Weekly, they go to local dinner joint, where they are harassed by members of Arctic Nation. After this encounter, they are at the police station, where it is revealed that the leader of Arctic Nation
In a recent White House brief, President Obama called the Russian invasion of Crimea a clear violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and international law. When assessing the Russo-Ukrainian crises in Crimea, the commander of European Command (EUCOM) and the Supreme Allied Commander of European Forces (SACUER) must account for U.S. interests in the region before deciding a proper course of action. This essay aims to assess four of the United States’ national interests from the perspective of EUCOM and SACUER. The first section will outline the role of EUCOM and SACUER in the European region and assess the overall problem of Russia invading Crimea. The second section will outline four of the United States’ national interests at stake: international order, trade and economic prosperity, energy supply, and freedom of the seas.
The information war between the West and Russia had intensified once again and reached levels higher than the levels of Russo-Georgia war (2008). Russian media naturally is defending its annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol as a democratic referendum and justifying the military intervention as the protection of rights of the Russian population of Crimea. The referendum was very controversial since it had an unusually high voter turnout and the Pro-Russian vote has created speculations that the referendum has been falsified by the Russian government. The Western media condemns Russia for the anne...
International organizations such as NATO and the UN are essential not only for global peace, but also as a place where middle powers can exert their influence. It is understandable that since the inception of such organizations that many crises have been averted, resolved, or dealt with in some way thro...
Hay, Eloise Knapp. The Political Novels of Joseph Conrad: a Critical Study. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1972. 120. Print.
International politics as one may imagine includes foreign affairs. This is why the topic and focus of this paper revolves around the current event within Eastern Europe. It will focus on both Russia, Ukraine, and the world, and from it, it will be analyzed by using the resources provided within class. After all it is a International Politics course, and one of the best ways to effectively put the skills and knowledge to use is to focus on an event or current event. The paper will attempt to go over in a chronological order of the events that has happened, and what is happening currently over in Ukraine. Afterwards, an analyzed input will be implemented providing reasoning behind Russia's actions, and actions of the world, and potentially some solutions.
Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well, educated population, and diverse industrial base, continues to experience, formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. President Yeltsin's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing trade. Russia, however, has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy.
The present risk assessment work emerged from my interest in the BRIC countries and the fact that they represent a big part of the world’s economic potential. In the following analysis I will focus on the main economic, political and financial risks in Russia.
I read an interesting fact recently online; it said that if one ever feels alone to remember that at any given point that they are in proximity to at least ten ghosts and their butts. What this has to do with Wide Sargasso Sea and the issue of race within it? Absolutely nothing; just thought it would be nice to know given it is Halloween. If one feels inclined, they can also give love to those ghosts by blowing kisses to them, just because they are dead does not mean they do not enjoy a smooch.
Wilk, Andrzej. "The Military Consequences of the Annexation of Crimea | OSW." Www.OSW.waw.pl. N.p., 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. .
Morocco, a nation in the Northern part of Africa bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has demonstrated improvements in their economic landscape in recent years. The nation’s gross domestic product for the year ending 2013 was $180 Billion (reported in USD), representing an increase of $7.8 billion from 2012 and placing them 60th amongst the world’s nations (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014, Economy). The gross domestic product is the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014, References & Definitions). These figures prove that Morocco has increased their output from 2012 to 2013, therefore reinforcing the fact that the nation’s economy has shown signs of growth. In 2012 alone, the Moroccan economy grew 3.2%, driven mainly by internal consumption and public investment (African Development Bank Group, 2014, para.1). Funding the economy and its growth remains a challenge, however, the government has already began to seek ways to increase investment within the nation and develop strong relationships with other nations.
Taking into account that states asses its strengths in order to adopt the most effective strategies to deal with potential menaces, westerns states understand the advantages of the aforementioned theory. The current threats that the Western world take into account are composed by local, regional and global menaces. To this paper it is essential recognise the scope of all of those elements that configure a threat to the West. Among many others there are drugs, crime, and terrorism, geo-strategic actors such as the Middle East and Russia, and growing powers such as China. These are complicated patterns that states need to strategically cope with. In fact, the security strategy from Western states is framed between the combination o...
Murphy, A.B. 2006. ‘The May 2004 Enlargement of the European Union: View from Two Years Out’. Eurasian Geography and Economics. Vol. 47 (6). Pp 635-646.
Gaining membership to the European Union (EU) has been a frustrating process for Turkey. The Near East nation began its campaign for EU membership nearly 30 years ago under the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community. In 2005, 18 years after beginning the application process, Turkey was finally invited to enter accession negotiations. The protracted delay was a result of unfavorable economic conditions in Turkey as well as Turkey’s tumultuous relationships with EU members Greece and Cyprus. Yet, the question remains: why hasn’t Turkey been granted membership to the EU?
The Aral Sea Disaster Abstract The Aral Sea and the entire Aral Sea basin area have achieved worldwide notoriety due to the environmental disaster. The example of the Aral Sea disaster has sent a signal to the entire international community demonstrating how fast and irrevocable the environmental system can be ruined if there is no long-term thinking and planning in place. This paper gives a broad overview of the policies that have resulted in dying of the forth-largest inland body of water. It concentrates on the policies and approaches of the international organizations towards the problem, describes examples of the projects and presents a conclusion on effectiveness of such policies. Introduction The Aral sea used to be the forth largest inland body of water.