EDITORIAL

And Why You Should Be
Q & A

Tassos Symeonides
(Academic Advisor)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 18 December 2016

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

Late last year the Swiss Army chief, Lieutenant General Andre Blattmann, warned his countrymen to be prepared for “social unrest” and seek to arm themselves to protect their homes and families. Isn’t this extreme when addressing a free democratic country like Switzerland?
No, it is not. In fact, we should praise Switzerland for having developed a political system in which opinions of senior figures, with an established record of service, deliver the bad news just when warnings are necessary....Read more

Ioannis Mantzikos
(RIEAS Research Associate)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 10 December 2016

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

Unfortunately, the nature of terrorism which has been an unfortunate part of our lives has fundamentally changed. The EU has to find ways to respond. A new paper, Towards a ‘Security Union’: Bolstering the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Response, published on April 20, 2016 by the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC), asked whether it was time for the EU to have its own intelligence agency. Read more

Tassos Symeonides
(Academic Advisor)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 3 December 2016

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

At the time of the Imia Crisis, in an assessment brief produced for diplomatic consumers, I offered the following conclusion:
It is now obvious that the Turkish leadership may switch back to Cyprus invasion mode with the aim of militarily contesting Greek sovereign island territory in the Aegean. This re-direction of the Turkish strategic plan will be most likely preceded by a period of persistent Ankara demands for a “global redefinition” of the international regime introduced by the 1923 Lausanne Treaty. While Lausanne is not a bilateral but, rather, a multilateral international treaty, which is immune to tweaking according to Turkish whim, questioning its essence, constantly and persistently, could lead to the rise of Turkish demands for “justice” in the Aegean that would gather support from several Alliance members which insist Turkey is indispensable to Western security....Read more

Τάσσος Συμεωνίδης
(Ακαδημαικός Σύμβουλος)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 30 November 2016

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

Seventeen years later the above is current and relevant except for Turkey having lost its “indispensability” for Western defense--although some continue to argue along the old Cold War lines in favor of Ankara....Read more

Τάσσος Συμεωνίδης
(Ακαδημαικός Σύμβουλος)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 13 November 2016

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)

“We have witnessed something epochal and grave. It is the beginning of a new era whose shape and form are not clear, whose personnel and exact direction are unknown. But something huge and incalculable has occurred. God bless our beloved country... The people did this. As individuals within a movement.”...Read more

Τάσσος Συμεωνίδης
(Ακαδημαικός Σύμβουλος)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 9 November 2016

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)

Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
Isaiah 50:2.... Read more