Volume 3, Issue 1
Transnational Organized Crime in International Relations
Yuliya Zabyelina
Although it has never been central to IR theories, transnational organized crime (TOC) is inherently an international phenomenon that has an impact on international security, world politics, international trade, and human rights. Yet, TOC unquestionably occupies a niche within the domain of IR and should be explained and understood both theoretically and empirically.
European Arrest Warrant: Implications for EU Counterterrorism Efforts
Oldrich Bures
This article provides an analysis of the introduction, implementation and implications of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for the European Union (EU) counterterrorism efforts. In addition, it demonstrates that EAW represents the only major practical application of mutual recognition in EU’s Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar thus far. As such, experiences with EAW are bound to influence the ongoing debates concerning the most appropriate mode of governance in this pillar.
Securitizing Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia
Bilyana Tsvetkova
Piracy off the coast of the failed state of Somalia has been growing at an alarming rate. Last year (2008), over 120 attacks have been reported, resulting in the seizure of more than 40 ships and the kidnapping of more than 600 crew members, and about $30 million (USD) in ransom has been paid. Somali piracy disrupts international trade, funds the vicious war in Somalia, provides breeding ground for terrorists, a convenient route for illicit economies, and can lead to serious environmental damage.
The Gulen Movement: An Islamic Response to Terror as a Global Challenge
Ibrahim A. El-Hussari
Whilst globalization seems to be winning the battle against both modern and traditional movements which were, until fairly recently, quite active on both the national and the regional levels, it is doubtful that the challenges brought about by globalization can be easily met by some of the world’s stronger movements, some of which have been bred by the clashing visions of globalization itself.
Bush, Clausewitz, and Grand Strategic Imperatives: Keeping Political Ends Primary
Bryan Groves
As former President George W. Bush relinquished the reigns as Commander-in-Chief to President Barak Obama, it is fitting to reflect on how the US will remember Bush in years to come. Whether or not one agrees with his decision to commit U.S. forces to military action against Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Party regime in Iraq, it is clear that Bush’s legacy will largely be determined by how Iraq turns out – as a stable, free, and peaceful democracy or something short of that.
The EU-Iran Dialogue in the Context of the Ongoing Nuclear Crisis
Pierre-Emmanuel Dupont
The EU-Iran ‘Comprehensive Dialogue,’ launched in 1998 following the election of reformist President Khatami, did not achieve any significant results, mostly as a consequences of the controversy surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. It involved high-level discussions on political matters, as well as on energy and commercial relations (through the construction – by the European Commission – of two bilateral Working Groups).
Evaluating the Current Global Order: A Canadian Perspective
Marketa Geislerova
The financial crisis currently gripping the United States, and reverberating around the world, has strengthened the claims of a growing number of observers and political scientists that the American unipolar moment is passing. On September 25 in a speech to the Bundestag, German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck deemed that the crisis will cost the United States its role as a superpower of the world financial system.
EU Enlargement and Current Adaptation Challenges
Jaroslav Jaks
The European Union’s (EU) enlargement process was an integral part of the EC/EU’s wider integration project and, surprisingly, it has not yet halted. The journey from six to twenty seven has been a long and complicated one, and the realisation of some of the projects has required much time and political consideration. It seems that the queue of countries that are on the waiting list to join the EU remains a long one even after the 2004 and 2007 enlargements.
Putin’s Foreign Policy and the Founding of the NATO-Russia Council
Jakub Kulhanek
For Russia, NATO represents a major foreign policy challenge that continues to create friction within the European security architecture. Although many expected the end of the Cold War to usher in a new era of cooperation, Russia and NATO have continued to harbor mutual suspicions and old biases. This work primarily analyses former Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy against the backdrop of the evolution of Russia’s relations with NATO leading up to the founding of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC). When appropriate, NATO’s internal debate will be duly discussed.
Russian Relations to the Gulf Region in a Changing Geopolitical Environment
Marat Terterov
Scholars of most academic disciplines across the social sciences have a fondness for comparing different regions in order to evaluate why one may be developing more rapidly than another, why democracy may be stalled in one region or flourishing in another, or why the benefits foreseen by economic reform have proven less conclusive in some regions when compared to others.
The Role of G8 Economic Summits in Global Monetary Architecture
Konstantinos J. Hazakis
The 1970s saw turbulent and dramatic economic transitions. The breakdown of the Bretton Woods System introduced new monetary conditions that ended a period of consensus among most capitalist states regarding ideal regimes to form their monetary relations. Until 1971, the interests of financial capital were embedded in domestic and global monetary regimes in what Ruggie termed the “compromise of embedded liberalism” (1982).
