EDITORIAL

Marco Faias
(A trained analyst and information management specialist with over 25 years of experience in major international organizations and agencies such as the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Interpol, Europol, Frontex, and Schengen. He has worked extensively in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe, dealing with complex and sensitive issues related to organized crime and terrorism. He also studied and lived in six European Union Member States, acquiring a deep knowledge of the European context and culture. He holds six academic titles in various fields, including international relations, terrorism, law, and information technology. He is passionate about artificial intelligence and its implications for law enforcement and counter-terrorism efforts)

Copyright: @ 2024 European Intelligence Academy (EIA). All Rights reserved.

Note: The information and view set out in this research paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Intelligence Academy. Neither the European Intelligence Academy, the Research Institute for European and American Studies, nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this research paper lies entirely with the author.

The re-establishment of security within the semi-desert areas that span across the entire Sahel is difficult due to the scarce population that is distributed through a myriad of villages and hamlets. This difficulty is compounded by a high porosity of the borders, both intra Sahelian and extra-Sahelian. The difficulty in managing the border is not only a security or political issue but is also a socio-cultural one, driven by communities that have lived in the area for centuries without concern about borders while trading and smuggling goods across countries... Read more

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

Jacob Rosen Koenigsbuch
(Jacob Rosen Koenigsbuch is former Ambassador of Israel in Jordan)

Copyright: @ 2024 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 28 January 2024

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

For years, Jordan has battled attempts to funnel narcotics across its 375-kilometer desert border with Syria. Jordan has frequently reported busting drug smuggling operations on its border with Syria, with its soldiers sometimes engaging in shutouts with smugglers trying to break through from southern Syria.. ... Read More

Dimitrios Tsailas (ret) Admiral)
(He has taught for many years, operational planning, strategy, and security, to senior officers at the Supreme Joint War College. He is a member and researcher of the Institute for National and International Security)

Copyright: @ 2024 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 20 January 2024

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

Amid war and uncertainty, Hellenism's interests in the near Middle East in the Mediterranean Sea are evolving. Athens cannot isolate itself from ongoing tensions in the Mediterranean, because no trade-off or alternation between strategic initiatives will benefit its ambitions. The Hamas-Israel war and the changing geopolitical dynamics in West Asia could potentially cast a significant shadow over the much-discussed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The regional infrastructure initiative that had promoted the IMEC Economic Corridor that would connect India with the Middle East and Europe, via Haifa and Piraeus, at the G20 summit in New Delhi, seemed to point towards the value of the Aegean-Mediterranean axis. ... Read more

By Glen Segell

(University of Cambridge, Visiting Professor and Research Fellow in the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, South Africa. He is also Research Fellow at the Ezri Center for Iran & Gulf States Research, University of Haifa, Israel, and Editor of The Middle East Tracker and The London Security Policy Study. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Western Galilee College and serves as an Executive Advisory Board Member of the International Political Studies Association Research Committee on Armed Forces and Society. He holds the rank of Brigadier-General (Reserves) and is an expert for NATO STO)

Copyright: @ 2024 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 14 January 2024

Since the 7 October 2023 invasion of Israel by Hamas and Israel’s response the question at the fore of everyone’s agenda and minds is what will happy next. Some have used the expression “the day after.” However, in my opinion there isn’t going to be a gong and announcement that “the war is over.” So, the day after is an ongoing process that is currently underway. I call it the day before the day after because there will be no essential difference between the two..... Read more

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

Copyright: @ 2024 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 7 January 2024

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

The Red Sea is one of the world's most important trade routes, with its southern tip in Bab al-Mandeb strait (between Yemen and Djibouti) and its northern edge in the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba. The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is only 29 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. About 12 percent of global trade passes through the Red Sea, which connects to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, including 30 percent of container traffic. ... Read more

Stephan Blancke PhD
(Dr. Stephan Blancke is a political scientist whose research focuses on the intelligence and clandestine activities of North Korea and China. Previously he worked in an Intelligence and Analysis Unit in the United Kingdom Home Office and was a researcher at King’s College in London. He is a contributor to Jane’s Intelligence Review, Intelligence Online, NK News and others. Since 2022, he has been an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. Dr. Blancke may be contacted through his personal website, which is available at Stephan.blancke.de/)

Copyright © 2024 The European Intelligence Academy. All rights reserved
European Intelligence Academy (EIA) Research Paper Series # 6 - January 2024

Note: The information and views set out in this research paper are those of the author and do
not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Intelligence Academy. Neither
the European Intelligence Academy, the Research Institute for European and American
Studies, nor the any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use
which may be made of the information contained therein. Responsibility for the information
and views set out in this research paper lies entirely with the author.

Introduction

Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, protests against the restrictive measures
taken by the authorities to contain the spread of the virus occurred in many European Union
(EU) countries from spring 2020 onwards. The protests attracted ordinary citizens as well as
a diverse crowd of conspiracy theorists, esotericists and extremists.

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