EDITORIAL

Raagini Sharma
(RIEAS Senior Analyst, and Research Director, Indic Researchers Forum)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 26 September 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

Introduction

The Indian Ocean is a wide region that stretches from the Malacca Strait and Australia's western coast in the east to the Mozambique Channel in the west. It stretches from the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. 71% of the surface of the Earth and 97% of the water on Earth are contained in the Indian Ocean. The ocean is the third largest water body in the world. The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is bounded by 38 countries, in terms of demography, it has over 2.5 billion population which is one-third of the population in the world. ... Read more

Alexander Drivas,
(Strategic Analyst based in Athens, Greece)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 23 September 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

It would be very interesting to bring to the table some ideas of one of the most significant neorealist scholars. Kenneth Waltz, the founding father of Neorealism, had predicted the collapse of NATO before the unipolar moment started. The most recent agreement among the USA, UK, and Australia shows a future that is aligned with the neorealist structure. The dynamics of the current international system are driving world politics into a multipolar era that is unpredictable. Beyond its obvious geostrategic reasoning, AUKUS implies more than a single effort to contain China. What are the main issues that are implied by the AUKUS partnership? .. Read more

Pauline Mortel
(Researcher, 2021 RIEAS Internship Program)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 19 September 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

This research paper will detail the security cooperation and close partnerships that have been developed by France, India and Greece with one another, and which have encompassed, among others, joint military exercises and arms deals. Beyond the military and economic benefits that they have brought to Paris, New Delhi and Ankara, these alliances have also enabled these three countries to develop their power and therefore intervene militarily in their region, in particular in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific. Read more

Shaul Shay
(Senior research fellow at the International Institute for Counterterrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 12 September 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

The Taliban announced on September 7, 2021, an interim government for Afghanistan. In announcing the Cabinet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid emphasized that the appointments were temporary, but he did not say how long they would serve. ... Read more

Dr. Glen Segell
(Ezri Center for Iran and Gulf States Research, University of Haifa, Israel)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 2 September 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

Introduction

It’s the same old story even though there are three new leaders, President Biden in the United States of America, Prime Minister Bennet in Israel and President Ebrahim Raisi in Iran. Why is it the same old story? The facts remain the same, the threat is that Iran is about to become a nuclear state very shortly, yet it is not actually becoming one. We have been hearing about this for at least 15 years if not 30. The story is that the Iranian’s are threatening. And it’s just that, a threat and no more. There are no nuclear weapons. That’s okay with everyone including the Iranians because this is their version of Nuclear Deterrence. ..Read more

Alexander Drivas
(Strategic Analyst, PhD Cand, Panteion University, Greece)

Copyright: @ 2021 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 29 August 2021

Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Re-search Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)

The Three Seas Initiative and its purposes

The Three Seas Initiative (or 3SI) is a newborn regional platform of cooperation. Poland and Croatia were the main builders of that platform, with the support and blessings of the USA. The Three Seas Initiative was funded in 2016 and its goal is to promote cooperation among 12 European States. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria seek integration and growth among them. The geopolitical value behind the cooperation is obvious. To cut the long story short, the main reason of the cooperation among the 12 states is to connect the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea. Most of them are post-Communist regimes that followed the Euro-Atlantic pillars after the collapse of the USSR. The Chinese economic expansion combined with the European financial crisis and the renaissance of Russian influence in Moscow's backyard (Eastern Europe & The Balkans) raised the need of the poor states to boost their economic growth by deterring the Russian influence... Read more