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Anti-Americanism and Russian propaganda in Greece

Author(s): George X. Protopapas / Language(s): English

Keywords: Greece; Anti-Americanism; Russia; propaganda;

The foreign policy of Greek government towards Russia has sparked reactions among politically opposed parliamentary parties and from public opinion. The reactions vary: from the anti-American sentiments of the left-wing and far-right parties; maybe in an effort to get political gains. In this context, the Russian propaganda once more found a way to penetrate segments of Greek public opinion; geographically wise, its impact is stronger in Northern Greece.

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Putin’s War, Extended

Author(s): J Scott Younger / Language(s): English

Keywords: China; Russia; Ukraine; war; economic policy;

This has been going on for 6 months now and the last period has been almost a stalemate. However, there have been other events taking place elsewhere, particularly in the case of China. They were very angry with the US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a senior member of the administration, deigning to visit Taiwan against their wishes. They threw a tantrum and gave a military demonstration of their short-term aim to absorb the island which they consider as a breakaway province, in no way an independent country.

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2022 North Macedonia: Country’s Future is Laid Out

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: North Macedonia; 2022; future; predictions; politics;

On 8 September 2022, North Macedonia marked the 31st anniversary of declaration of independence. Year 2017 was a milestone in the modern Macedonian history. The regime of Nikola Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE), who remained in power from 2006 to 2017, collapsed. A new government headed by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev (SDSM) was established. With the signing of the Prespa Agreement Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras defeated the doctrine pursued by Slobodan Milošević and Constantine Mitsotakis, with the assistance of some Macedonian political parties, which did not envisage existence of Macedonia as a state and Macedonians as a people. The full-fledged membership in NATO fulfilled century long dream of Macedonians and other citizens to have their own state whose territorial integrity and sovereignty would be guaranteed by the biggest and strongest politico-military alliance in the world- NATO. This provided for defeat of hegemonic projects that involved or included aspirations with respect to North Macedonia.

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2022 General Elections in BiH: Political changes are required, but are they possible?

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: BiH; 2022; general elections; politics; changes;

The ninth general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina will take place on 2 October 2022. At the elections, members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representatives in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the Republika Srpska, two vice-presidents of Republika Srpska, representatives in the Republika Srpska National Assembly (NSRS), and representative in the assemblies of 10 cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be elected.

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2022 General Elections in BiH: Can the Voters Beat the Media, Religious Communities and Foreign Influence?

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: BiH; 2022; general elections; voters media; religious communities; foreign influence;

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Open Balkan 2022: Crisis Response Tool - Winter 2022/23

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Open Balkan; 2022; crisis; response tool; Western Balkans;

From 1 September to 2 September 2022, a summit of the Open Balkan initiative, which is a joint project of Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania based on the idea of free flow of people, goods, capital and services, was organized in Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski participated at the summit of the leaders of the Open Balkan regional initiative. The political leaders primarily came together to consider the future and look for optimal solutions for the complex situation in which the Western Balkans region is currently embroiled.

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Putin’s war – cont’d

Author(s): J Scott Younger / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; Vladimir Putin; war; Ukraine; annexed territories;

We in Britain are just getting over a lengthy mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, and saying goodbye to the longest reigning monarch in British history. Perhaps Vladimir Putin waited, as a mark of respect, before he addressed the Russian people to give them the next phase of his plans for his ‘special military operation’. It was hard to witness his drive in the streets of London in an open-topped limousine smiling, beside the Queen, some twenty years ago! Relationships with Russia have certainly soured since then.

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Ukraine 2022: Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; 2022; war; conflict; nuclear threat;

With the Russian-Ukrainian war entering its eighth month and a stalemate along the front lines, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered on September 21, 2022, the first military mobilization in the country since World War II, warning the West that if it continued what he called its “nuclear blackmail” Moscow would respond with the might of all its vast arsenal. “If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use all available means to protect our people - this is not a bluff,” Putin said in in his speech, which was broadcast on Russian television.

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Ukraine 2022: The war in Ukraine or “the special military operation in Ukraine”?

Author(s): Corneliu Pivariu / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; special military operation; war; 2022;

On February 24 2022, around 5 AM Moscow time, on Vladimir Putin’s order the Russian army launched an unprovoked war against Ukraine. There is no chance for us to fall into Kremlin’s propagandistic trap and accept circumventing the term war for this aggression and use Moscow’s expression. The re-invasion Russia launched on ground, from the air and from the sea is the largest attack of a state against another state in Europe after the WWII. The 2014 invasion should not be forgotten and that is why we used the term re-invasion which is, otherwise, coming across in the international media.

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BiH Judiciary: How politics destroyed independence

Author(s): Branko Perić / Language(s): English

Keywords: BiH; politics; independence; judiciary; HJPC;

Establishment of an independent regulator in the area of judiciary was one of the most important steps in the reform designed by the international community (OHR) in BiH, after a comprehensive analysis of the functioning of the judicial system.[2] The process commenced with the imposing of the law on three high judicial and prosecutorial councils, which functioned as a single body consisting of national and international members[3]. The main goal was to eliminate the powerful political influence from the election of judicial office-holders and establishment of independent judiciary. The next step was the signing of the Agreement on the transfer of competences in the area of judiciary from the entity to the state level[4] and establishment of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter the HJPC). These measures laid the foundation for an independent national judicial system.

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What Factors Affect Strategic Stability? Russian Experts’ Assessments

Author(s): Alexander G. Savelyev,Olga M. Alexandria / Language(s): English

Keywords: strategic stability; space weapons; missile defence; precision weapons; nonstrategic nuclear weapons; third-country nuclear weapons; cyber weapons; growing conflict intensity between leading world powers; Russia; U.S.; China; NATO;

The article analyses the data obtained in a survey that involved twenty leading Russian experts specializing in international security, arms control, and strategic stability. The survey was conducted in December 2021. The respondents were asked to name factors that, in their opinion, currently have (2022) or will have a tangible impact on strategic stability in the foreseeable future (until 2036) and to list them in order of their significance. In addition, they were asked whether and how these factors would be taken into account in the future. Two-time frames were chosen for analysis: up until the year 2026 (when the “extended” START-3 Treaty will end) and up until the year 2036 (when a possible nuclear arms control agreement that may replace START-3 will expire). The experts were also asked to assess the degree to which the proposed factors may affect strategic stability in 2022, 2026, and 2036.

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Unmasking War Propaganda against Russian Aggression: An Investigative Approach

Author(s): Masahiro Matsumura / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; aggression; war; propaganda;

Since its unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, Russia has inundated the world with misinformation and disinformation in efforts to justify its military operations and to claim its strict observance of the rules of warfare. Unsurprisingly, many of these efforts have often been penetrated due to the poor and blatant construction exposed by the mainstream Western mass media that perhaps interact closely with the intelligence circles.

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Recontextualization of Ukraine (Return of the Wir wussten nicht)

Author(s): Anis H. Bajrektarević / Language(s): English

Keywords: Ukraine; Recontextualization; politics; 20th century;

“He who does not wish to speak of capitalism should remain forever silent about Nazism” – I quoted West Germany’s Max Horkheimer some two years ago discussing the disastrous, cynical and absolutely unnecessary attempts towards the equation of communism with Nazism, of fascism and anti-fascism. Many dismissed it, labelling it routinely as yet another intellectual alarmism, but look at us now: Only one step from the nuclear obliteration. Right than – in that text – I also borrowed from yet another Frankfurter, Herbert Marcuse on the self-entrapment of Western society. Back in 1960s, it was him labelling as “repressive tolerance” if someone in future ever considers a dangerous and ahistorical equitation between Nazism and anything else, least with Communism. Regrettably enough, that future of de-evolution started pouring in by 1990s: It was manifested in decontextualization coupled with psychologization which eventually culminated in the current Covid-19 iron fist and the binary categorisations over Ukraine. L’avenir est comme le reste: il n’est plus ce qu’il était (the future is no longer what it used to be), as Paul Valéry ironically remarked.

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2022 Parliamentary elections: Slovenia between Brussels and Budapest

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: 2022; parliament; elections; Slovenia; Brussels; Budapest;

In Slovenia, the year of 2022 has been dubbed “super election year” because parliamentary, local and presidential elections will be held in it. Ninth parliamentary elections since the declaration of independence of the Republic of Slovenia will he held on 24 April 2022. The elections will be organized according to the proportional electoral system in eight constituencies, comprising of 11 election districts. The total number of eligible votes if 1,699,433. Each constituency is assigned 11 representative mandates (one per district), which will subsequently be divided at the level of the constituency and the state level among political parties proportionally to the share of votes won. In addition to 88 representatives, separate elections are organized for two representatives of ethnic communities (Italian and Hungarian), which will be elected according to the majority system in two separate electoral units (so called ethnic community electoral units). Hence, members of ethnic communities will vote two times at the elections for the Slovenian parliament, which amounts to positive discrimination. The election threshold is 4%.

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The philosophy of the preamble to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

Author(s): Milan Jazbec / Language(s): English

Keywords: Vienna Convention; diplomacy; diplomatic relations; preamble; philosophy;

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR), alongside the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), presents the very essence of diplomatic and consular law, as well as of diplomatic theory and practice. Both conventions were adopted and put into force 60 years ago – the VCDR in 1961 (61 signatories) and ratified in 1964 (192 ratifications), and the VCCR in 1963 (49 signatories) and ratified in 1967 (182 ratifications). Having in mind the time sequence, structure, and their correlation, the VCCR derives from the VCDR (compare the third and fourth clause of the VCCR‘s preamble, as well as the second function of a diplomatic mission), but they share a complementarity and not a hierarchical correlation.

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Putin’s War – 5; etc.

Author(s): J Scott Younger / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; war; 2022; foreign policy;

The war in Ukraine, Putin’s war, is now over 100 days old and reaching a point of stalemate. One day the Russians have made small gains in the Donbas, the eastern border lands of Ukraine, and in the next day or so we hear that they have been stopped and pushed back. In the meantime, the promised more powerful armaments, with a bigger range, from Britain, the US and from some European countries, are coming on stream, albeit late and slowly, and these may, should push the Russians back. One hopes so that it is more than just talk. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister is not at all pleased at this development of the west’s support for what maybe in a short time a member of the EU, and warns of an escalation of activities. Perhaps that is a risk Ukraine has to take in order to take back the lands lost.

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Putin’s War and beyond

Author(s): J Scott Younger / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; war; 2022; situation;

The war in Ukraine goes painfully on. After 4 months, the Russians show slow gains and have taken much of the Donbas, E Ukraine. In fact, if we count Crimea and the land along the south coast as well, Russia has grabbed almost 20% of Ukraine land, and most of it the most valuable, including where the wheat is grown. The south coast, which involves Mariupol, is vital as the sea outlet to the country and it is being blockaded by the Russians. In the past few days, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, S Africa) have been meeting in China, hosted by Xi Jinping. The BRICS countries, total 40% of the world population and 20% of the world’s GDP, so they are a formidable bloc and forecast to become bigger and stronger. Currently, China and India are absorbing much of the oil and gas embargoed by the western powers so Russia is partially getting round that important component of the total block on trade. Perhaps that is why Vladimir Putin, along with his gains in the Donbas region, feels emboldened and having discussions with the Belorussian president, Alexander Lukashenko.

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2022 Open Balkan: The future belongs to the peoples of the Balkans

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: 2022; Open Balkan; Western Balkans; EU;

The European Union’s treats Western Balkans states as a wicked stepmother. While this has not significantly changed even after the Russian invasion on Ukraine, it did triggered a fundamental debate on whether the EU wants at all to admit the remaining six Western Balkan countries (Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo) to full-fledged membership. If the EU would have an intent to admit the listed countries to its membership, the question to be asked is how it could do that. Namely, 19 years have passed since the adoption of the Thessaloniki agenda for the Western Balkans, which envisaged membership of the Western Balkan countries in the EU. Other than the promises about European perspective of the respective countries, nothing concrete has happened with respect to their membership in the EU.

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Albania 2022: “House of Freedom” vs. Drug-cartel

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Albania; 2022; Drug-cartel; house of freedom; politics; elections;

Although the European and global public is currently focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, majority of political parties in the Republic of Albania are focused on the partial local elections scheduled to take place on 6 March 2022. In Albania, local elections were held on 30 June 2019. The opposition boycotted the local elections. As a result, after the local elections candidates of Edi Rama's Socialist Party (SP) occupied all the positions at the local government level. The councilors elected at the illegal local elections, which were not announced by the President of the Republic of Albania Ilir Meta, in the entire state did not include representatives of the opposition. The Democratic Party (PD) boycotted the elections without well-founded reasons, although it would have been logical that it had participated in the elections and then offered justifiable reasons to boycott the work of municipal councils.

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JHA Diplomacy Towards the Universal Criminal Justice - 20 Years After

Author(s): CARLOS LOPEZ-VERAZA PÉREZ,Anis H. Bajrektarević / Language(s): English

Keywords: JHA; diplomacy; international regime; multilateral treaties; trafficking in human beings; terrorism; UNODC; universal criminal justice;

The year 2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Palermo Convention and its Protocols, the main instruments in the fight against transnational crime. Both authors, one as an active participant in the Palermo system treaty-making and the other as a prosecutor passionate about human rights, revisit, rethink and sum up the first 20-year period after the creation of these important international instruments on organized crime and corruption. The following lines are a brief assessment of the central institutions and instruments relevant to universal criminal justice. A due reference is made to corruption, trafficking in human beings, migrant smuggling, and terrorism. The present text appeared in 1999 for the first time (in a considerably shorter form, as the working paper dealing only with the critical similarities and differences between ‘smuggling of’ and ‘trafficking in’) before the ICMPD Steering Board – Ministerial.

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Series:IFIMES Research Papers

Anti-Americanism and Russian propaganda in Greece

Putin’s War, Extended

2022 North Macedonia: Country’s Future is Laid Out

2022 General Elections in BiH: Political changes are required, but are they possible?

2022 General Elections in BiH: Can the Voters Beat the Media, Religious Communities and Foreign Influence?

Open Balkan 2022: Crisis Response Tool - Winter 2022/23

Putin’s war – cont’d

Ukraine 2022: Russia's nuclear sabre-rattling

Ukraine 2022: The war in Ukraine or “the special military operation in Ukraine”?

BiH Judiciary: How politics destroyed independence

What Factors Affect Strategic Stability? Russian Experts’ Assessments

Unmasking War Propaganda against Russian Aggression: An Investigative Approach

Recontextualization of Ukraine (Return of the Wir wussten nicht)

2022 Parliamentary elections: Slovenia between Brussels and Budapest

The philosophy of the preamble to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations

Putin’s War – 5; etc.

Putin’s War and beyond

2022 Open Balkan: The future belongs to the peoples of the Balkans

Albania 2022: “House of Freedom” vs. Drug-cartel

JHA Diplomacy Towards the Universal Criminal Justice - 20 Years After