At a time of constrained budgets, getting the EU to invest more in conflict prevention and human rights protection in faraway places like Sudan and Kyrgyzstan may be a hard sell. But, as Richard Gowan argues, the alternative is another generation of Kosovos.

In its advisory opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice said that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008 "did not violate general international law". But is statehood the real question hanging over Kosovo? Richard Gowan believes that corruption, rather than statehood, is the biggest issue facing Kosovo. 

The Political West (the US, Europe and Japan) are in the doldrums while the BRICs keep growing. A third of world economic growth in the last decade has taken place in BRIC countries. So far, so good for the BRICs. But what next?

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?

Russian and EU leaders will gather in Rostov-on-Don for their bi-annual summit on 31 May – 1 June. The geographical symbolism is not good: Rostov is only a few kilometres from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The political mood leading up to the summit seems a little better.

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.

The Ukrainian pendulum is swinging in the direction of Moscow. This is not necessarily just because of gas or economics. It could also be because Kiev feels Russia is a better long-term bet than the West, and that should be worrying a lot of people.

The tragic plane crash in Smolensk has brought Russia and Poland closer together. Emotions aside, what do they both want to gain from the rapprochement?

Eggs, smoke bombs and the Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine is back to playing the game it knows best: the balancing act between East and West.

The tragedy of the Polish air crash has formed a new bond between Poland and Russia. But will they be able to do in the east what France and Germany have done in the west?

The tragedy of the Smolensk plane crash has led to a strengthening of the rapprochement between Moscow and Warsaw. But is the reconciliation built upon more than a hug between Vladimir Putin and Donald Tusk?

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.

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

President Yanukovych could be a ‘Ukrainian Nixon’: Just as Nixon used his anti-communist credentials to pave his engagement with China, Yanukovych could use his pro-Russian credentials to reassure Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population while reaching out to Europe

The Yanukovych Paradox – How the new Ukrainian president can be good news for Europe.