May 31, 2014
The recently-signed Eurasian Union agreement between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan in Astana has brought into being the world’s newest trade bloc, as envisaged by President Putin since 2010. The current size of the bloc is rather small, as it includes only about 170 million consumers. If, however, the Eurasian Union is destined to be the… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
May 25, 2014
In the allocation of world power, the periods of hegemonic transition have always been fraught with major confrontations. One hundred and ten years have passed since the British geographer and economist Halford J. Mackinder published his notorious paper on geopolitics, The Pivot of History, otherwise known as the Heartland Theory. In his view, economic and… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
May 11, 2014
Current developments in Ukraine might lead us to forget why the crisis has erupted in the first place. In short, Putin’s project for an Eurasian Union and his desire to include Ukraine within it had prompted the Maidan protests and the overthrow of the Yanukovych administration. Less debated these days is Mrs Clinton’s role in… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
May 7, 2014
“Groupthink is said to occur when a group makes faulty decisions due to group pressures to conform. Groupthink often leads to deterioration in moral judgment, a demonization of other groups, ignorance of alternative approaches and, ultimately irrational actions.” In cursul iernii trecute, vestul a hotarat, fara acordul Moscovei, sa aduca la putere la Kiev un… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
May 4, 2014
Last Saturday, Thomas Piketty and a group of French intellectuals have launched a manifesto which is intended as a guide to would-be reformers of the European Unions’ policies and institutions. Central to the manifesto is the idea of introducing an EU-wide corporate income tax which, according to its authors, will prevent both fiscal dumping and… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
April 5, 2014
The landslide success of Erdogan’s party, the AKP, and Vladimir Putin’s skyrocketing domestic popularity in the wake of the Crimean crisis are golden opportunities for a rethink of Western officialdom’s policies towards Turkey and Russia. Unlike my counterparts in Washington, I prefer to label the Turkish and Russian political systems as “alternative democracies”. Sure, on… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
February 23, 2014
Saturday’s collapse of the accord brokered on Friday by the three EU foreign ministers in Kiev calls into question the wisdom of Western involvement in Ukraine. Over here we all knew that Ukraine was not only a new country on the map of Europe, but also very vulnerable to being partitioned in two by superpowers… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
January 31, 2014
About four years ago I have written a post on the tense geopolitical situation affecting the internal affairs of Romania and Ukraine. I provide readers with its link below because I believe it is as relevant today as it was then, and also because a high-ranking White House official freely admits that the US and… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
January 26, 2014
The 2014 annual gathering of the world’s business and financial elite in Davos was initially supposed to consider major issues of our time, such as inequality and climate change. I say consider and not debate because one cannot rationally expect a serious discussion of possible ways to tackle inequality at a conference which reunites its… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
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, Africa, China, E.U., economics, Middle East, neoliberalism, USA |
January 5, 2014
The New Year begins with a myriad of tribal, ethnic, religious or state-to-state conflicts affecting large areas of the world, from Europe to Africa and Asia. Closest to home is a long-running geopolitical confrontation between the West and Russia for the inclusion of Ukraine within their respective spheres of influence. The contest, which had started… » read more
Posted by Florian Pantazi
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, Africa, Asia, E.U., Middle East |
