The Serbian presidential elections this weekend look familiar – but Serbia is a very different place to how it was in 2004 and 2008. It is normalising fast and its core concerns are far more similar to other European countries than they were before.
The prospect of a victory by François Hollande may be causing nervousness in Berlin and elsewhere, but the socialist candidate in the French presidential elections is a natural compromise-builder, and Europe should have no real reason to fear his victory.
Europe can help Burma reform, but its help must be gradual
No one wants to deal with dictators. But one year after the Syrian uprising began, the harsh truth is that Bashar al-Assad maintains the upper hand and the opposition – with its international backers – may have little choice but to cut a deal with him if they want to ease the Syrian people’s suffering.
There are encouraging signs that the junta ruling Burma is starting to reform, and the country has been visited by Hillary Clinton and several top politicians from Europe. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, also needs to pay Burma a visit, and soon.
Last year was a tipping point in China's approach to the world, and expectations are rising that Beijing will shoulder ever greater responsibility on the global stage. But if China joins the US as a world policeman, should the rest of us be worried?
After a frenetic 2011, what are the big trends that are going to shape Europe and the wider world in 2012? Here are ten that ECFR experts think are likely – and one widely predicted trend that we don't think will happen…
A defining figure of late twentieth century Europe, Václav Havel, has died. Among his many roles he was an ECFR Council Member, and is being mourned by those who knew, respected and – sometimes – argued with him.
Algeria did not catch fire in the year of the Arab Spring, but this does not mean that it does not deserve the attention of the EU. Algeria needs to reform if it is to remain stable, and it needs European help to do so.
Russia's election results are bad news for Putin for two reasons. Firstly United Russia did badly despite the election being biased in its favour, and secondly it shows that Putin can no longer rely on an apathetic population.