The European Council on Foreign Relations

ECFR podcasts

2013-06-05T12:00:45+00:00

ECFR reports: life and politics in Gaza

ECFR reports: Julien Barnes-Dacey on Syria's conflict

ECFR español: Jose I. Torreblanca sobre el Broken Link

ECFR agenda: the Italian 'Sleeping Beauty'

ECFR Deutsch: Thomas König erklärt die Nord Korea Krise

ECFR italiano: Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi sull' Iran

Europe sticks a warning label on the settlements

2013-06-18T15:05:13+00:00

With no real case to make, the bullying opponents of the European Union's long-delayed plan to label produce from Israeli settlements in the West Bank are crying anti-Semitism, cheapening the term at a particularly inopportune time.

Syria: the view from Turkey

2013-06-18T10:39:31+00:00

This essay forms part of ECFR's "Syria: Views from the Region" project, exploring the regional responses and ramifications of the Syrian uprising and civil war. The project will include eight essays documenting the dynamics driving the key regional states and actors most affected by the conflict.

Syria: the view from Jordan

2013-06-17T10:11:23+00:00

Amman has gradually escalated its anti-Assad posture, providing wider political and military support in a bid to try and prevent the emergence of a chaotic no man’s land on its border, it continues to seek a political deal to end the conflict.

Syria: the view from Iran

2013-06-15T22:28:26+00:00

Iran views Syria through the prism of the larger struggle it perceives being waged against the Islamic Republic by regional and Western actors. It fears that the ouster of the Assad regime will pave the way for the emergence of a new Syrian and regional order intrinsically and actively hostile towards Tehran.

Syria: the view from Iraq

2013-06-14T08:41:04+00:00

The government of Nouri al-Maliki has positioned itself as a firm supporter of Bashar al-Assad, notably out of fear that his defeat would empower similar Sunni opposition forces in Iraq. But Iraq’s Sunni actors and Kurds are using the crisis in Syria to assert their own ambitions.

Syria: the view from the Gulf states

2013-06-13T14:45:08+00:00

The Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have been key to shaping the Syrian uprising. However, while their desire to dislodge Syria from the Iranian orbit has been central to their efforts, this does not account for the full complexity of their interests.

The opportunity for peace and security in the Middle East

2013-06-13T14:38:09+00:00

The opportunity to find a two-state solution to the Palestine/Israel question is in danger of being squandered, and that the world will turn its back on the Israelis and Palestinians

Syria: the view from Jordan

2013-06-13T10:28:31+00:00

Syria: the view from Iran

2013-06-13T10:26:57+00:00

Syria: the view from Iraq

2013-06-13T10:13:43+00:00

Syria: the view from the Gulf states

2013-06-13T08:24:36+00:00

Do democracies have the guts for diplomacy on Syria?

2013-06-06T08:24:36+00:00

People used to ask whether democracies had the makeup for war. But when it comes to Syria, it seems that it is diplomacy rather than warfare that is most difficult for Western onlookers to digest.

Turkey’s people power tide

2013-06-03T07:55:35+00:00

The eruption of protest in Istanbul and other Turkish cities expresses vigorous opposition to the political direction of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This is a big, even historic, moment in Turkey.

Europe flunks the solar panel test

2013-05-28T09:15:47+00:00

The debate over whether Chinese solar panels benefit from unfair subsidies is damaging to the EU and its negotiating position. Thanks to changes in the energy market it is the wrong test case for Europe as it deals with Beijing.

De-escalating the Syria conflict

2013-05-24T09:30:35+00:00

A rare moment of opportunity has emerged to renew diplomatic efforts to resolve the Syria conflict. The priority now must be de-escalating the level of violence and the reducing the threat of regional spill-over

Europe can keep the two-state solution on track

2013-05-10T08:11:14+00:00

As the prospects of a two-state outcome on Israel/Palestine fade, Europeans need to apply tougher love to both parties before it is too late.

UK Independence Party renews culture wars

2013-05-10T07:39:26+00:00

UKIP is just a small part of a broader phenomenon spreading across the developed world that resembles a political backlash against globalization and interdependence. But how should mainstream parties respond?

Time for a strategic pause in EU - Russia relations?

2013-05-08T08:47:32+00:00

The time has come for the EU to rethink its relationship with its biggest neighbour. Instead of talking about strategic relations with Moscow, the EU should consider a strategic pause.

A sandcastle in the sun: Putin’s first year back in power

2013-05-05T08:56:58+00:00

Vladimir Putin may still be the most popular politician in Russia, but his system of government is showing certain signs of weakness one year after returning to power.

Think again: European decline

2013-04-29T10:20:32+00:00

Although it may seem that Europe is down and out as it struggles with multiple crises, things are in fact far, far better than they appear on the surface.

The remarkable rise of continental Euroscepticism

2013-04-25T10:30:58+00:00

A new ECFR analysis shows that trust in the EU has plummeted across the continent. Both southern debtors and northern creditors feel like they are victims.

Serbia, Kosovo and the benefits of normalisation

2013-04-24T08:24:06+00:00

The EU-brokered deal between Serbia and Kosovo settles the most acute dispute in the Balkans and is likely to have an impact on the wider region. Yet it may be too early to declare victory in the Balkans.

Revolt of the technocrats

2013-04-18T17:25:28+00:00

Does the launch of a new Eurosceptic party in Germany suggest there is fertile ground for a real alternative ahead of elections later this year, despite Merkel's refusal to countenance change?

Do we need a European Margaret Thatcher?

2013-04-17T14:28:44+00:00

British public opinion is polarised over the legacy of Margaret Thatcher. But whether she was right or wrong she recognised the need for fundamental change in Britain in the 1970s - and that is something that Europe could learn from now.

For a European Republic

2013-04-11T22:51:43+00:00

Whether political leaders or citizens, the pragmatics have failed to build a prosperous and wholly democratic EU. The system we live in neither provides for nor admits any legitimate representation for the citizens of Europe. Now it’s the turn of the dreamers. Today, they are the true realists.

Serious straits: why trouble looms in the Gulf

2013-04-10T10:48:57+00:00

An understanding of the importance of the Gulf States is vital for explaining how the wider Middle East functions, thanks to their wealth, their energy resources, their geostrategic position, and their straddling of many of the MENA region's major faultlines.

Putting an end to the EU autopilot on Georgia

2013-04-08T09:20:15+00:00

The outcome of last October's parliamentary elections has sent Georgia on a bumpy road of political transition. The EU can help by stepping up its engagement and gain a more impartial foothold in the country.

Europe’s misgovernment

2013-04-05T11:05:17+00:00

The Cypriot crisis has made it brutally clear just how bad misgovernment with the EU - and the eurozone - really is. The only way to fix this is for genuine banking, fiscal, and economic union within the eurozone, backed by legitimate political instruments.

Lebanon: Locked into escalation?

2013-03-26T10:27:53+00:00

The collapse of Lebanon’s government has thrust the country into a deepening political crisis. The war in Syria and recent actions by Hezbollah also suggest that internal conflict may return to Lebanon.