The European Council on Foreign Relations

Egypt’s popular putsch

2012-01-26T14:50:11+00:00

It is too early to write off Egypt's revolution. Unlike in the past, politics is now a live issue across the country, and that popular force is a difficult one to control or stop, and even the steps that have been taken now seemed impossible just over a year ago.

The year of the HUBRICS

2012-01-12T09:07:09+00:00

With Europe and much of the West facing a seemingly painful decline, attention continues to shift to the BRICS and the world's other rising powers. But are these countries overplaying their hands as the cracks begin to show in their economic virility?

A post-cavalry CSDP

2011-09-26T08:07:09+00:00

Poland learned from its World War Two experiences and changed its military policy, ditching the cavalry. Now Warsaw, along with the other states that are pushing for a European military headquarters, must learn from more recent history – notably the Libya intervention – and abandon this latest outdated plan in favour of a CSDP that will actually be effective.

Without military reform Egypt cannot democratise

2011-07-05T08:15:58+00:00

Egypt will struggle to progress towards democracy unless some form of military reform takes place. The first challenge is to make sure that any moves towards reform are palatable to the entrenched interests of Military Inc.

Lay off the Lady

2011-05-23T08:03:04+00:00

Since her apppointment 18 months ago, Catherine Ashton has been a useful scapegoat for European leaders and officials keen to point the finger of blame for the EU's foreign policy failures. Some of those people should take a more critical look at themselves.

Club Med and the migrants: Europe’s response to the Arab Spring

2011-05-10T11:55:37+00:00

Comparisons between the Arab Spring and 1989 are hollow if European leaders fail to rethink their approach towards those fleeing unrest. The EU now has a chance to rethink its approach to the Middle East and North Africa, but it needs the "Club Med" member states that know the region best to engage.

Bin Laden was killed by Facebook

2011-05-02T11:20:43+00:00

Bin Laden and his ideology were mortally wounded not yesterday in a house in Abbottabad, but months ago in the streets of Cairo, when the young Muslims of the Middle East got a new, democractic and liberal, narrative.

Mission manual

2011-03-21T08:17:47+00:00

Wars are easy to start, hard to fight, and often harder still to end. Learning the right lessons from past wars, recent and old ones, is absolutely key. In Libya the international community must also keep its focus on political rather than military aims.

Libyan regime change is now the only option

2011-03-01T09:05:13+00:00

The West is finally ramping up its response to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s murderous last stand, but it must go further. World leaders must act to make Gaddafi’s demise inevitable, for the sake of the Libyan people, the revolutions elsewhere in the region and the West itself.

These are the real birth pangs of a new Middle East. Time for Europe to don a midwife’s unifor

2011-01-31T11:29:53+00:00

Europe must do what it can to ensure a healthy birth for democracy in Egypt, and elsewhere. It is still unclear how the situation there will unfold, and the EU would be taking a risk by putting itself firmly in the pro-deomcracy camp. But the risks of not doing so are greater.

Stop Albania’s Self-Destruction

2011-01-28T10:17:20+00:00

Albania is teetering on the brink of catastrophe, fuelled by the rivalry between prime minister and opposition leader. The EU must make clear to them that it will not tolerate the use of violence, or the destruction of Albania's institutions.

Richard Holbrooke, master diplomat

2010-12-15T14:11:58+00:00

Richard Holbrooke, the veteran US diplomat who died this week aged 68, had a reputation for being brash and abrasive. But he was perhaps the best Secretary of State that his country never had.

Kyrgyzstan: Russia?s Rwanda

2010-06-18T07:56:39+00:00

Just as France maintained links with its former colonies in Central Africa, Moscow has maintained ties with the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia. In light of the recent violence in its backyard nation of Kyrgyzstan, what lessons can Russia learn from France?s experience in Central Africa?

Western Balkans: The way out of the EU?s waiting room

2010-05-26T10:32:29+00:00

Pre-occupied with its financial troubles, the EU is no longer paying attention to the Western Balkans. As a result it is losing credibility and influence in a region that may slide back towards instability.

KorskiCleggservatives

2010-05-12T14:42:44+00:00

Forget reputations. Britain's new coalition government of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats will temper its foreign policy approach with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

KorskiCleggEuroElection

2010-04-22T09:49:49+00:00

The emergence of Nick Clegg in the British election campaign means Europe is an issue that can no longer be ignored by the other candidates

Break down these walls

2010-04-21T10:09:58+00:00

The EU should reinvent its crisis management capabilities / An open letter to the 27 Permanent Representatives to the EU.

KorskiGodementVolcano

2010-04-20T08:56:00+00:00

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano has created transport chaos, but the EU can lead the way in finding a trans-national solution to a cross-border crisis.

The EU?s ?slow food? enlargement

2010-04-14T15:29:40+00:00

The EU enlargement debate used to be about expanding freedoms and preventing conflict. But a lot of Europeans now think that whatever lies outside the EU?s borders can stay there.

What kind of interpolar world? daniel korski

2010-03-30T08:31:51+00:00

Two stories about the Middle East ? Israel?s latest settlement plans and Iran?s nuclear programme ? shed more light on the world?s power structure than the pages of a thousand history books.

Korskisoftpowerhardstates

2010-03-22T09:24:20+00:00

It's tempting to think that hard states like China and Russia cannot offer anything in terms of soft power. But Europe and the US need to understand that this viewpoint is no longer valid

KorskiBosniaThirdOption

2010-03-08T14:48:20+00:00

Debate over how to help a crisis-striken Bosnia ranges from involvement to encouragement. But a third, unpalatable option for a frustrated EU may lurk just behind the scenes: abandonment

KorskiSunTzuGymnich

2010-03-04T13:50:44+00:00

European foreign ministers at the informal Gymnich meeting should take a leaf out of Sun Tzu's book, and discuss the larger trends shaping Europe's place in the world rather than institutions and methods

Partners in Decline daniel korski

2010-03-03T10:42:49+00:00

Europe is an easy target for a frustrated Washington. But this misses a fundamental point. The US and Europe are the best allies they?ve each got. Both are declining powers that need to stick together.

Europe et op?rations ext?rieures liberation korski gowan

2010-03-02T13:00:15+00:00

Daniel Korski et Richard Gowan sur la strat?gie de s?curit? civilo-militaire de l?UE. L?Europe peut-elle passer de la rh?torique ? l?action?

“Mushtarak”, le Guadalcanal agfhan? korski le monde

2010-02-26T17:11:43+00:00

Daniel Korski dans le Monde sur l?op?ration Mushtarak en Afghanistan et pourquoi elle doit ?tre une campagne militaire et politique et pas simplement une bataille.

KorskiDefenceinEurope

2010-02-24T10:34:42+00:00

European defence ministers are meeting at a difficult time, with Robert Gates accusing Europeans of threatening Euro-Atlantic security, and the recent collapse of the Dutch government over Afghanistan. The defence ministers urgently need to re-examine how the continent thinks about its security

KorskiAshtonBalkans

2010-02-19T15:54:16+00:00

Catherine Ashton visits the Western Balkans in her first official foreign trip, and is again roundly criticised. But this troubled region could do with her attention

Europe and the rise of the world’s lynchpin states korski

2010-02-16T11:23:37+00:00

While Europe focuses on India and China, a host of medium-sized emerging powers are helping to reshape global diplomacy. Is Europe ready for the rise of the lynchpin states?

ashtonboldturkeyeu

2010-02-10T16:48:14+00:00

Europe has a lot to gain from being inventive. A Turkish-EU troop offer could help unlock Gaza - and the Middle East peace process