War in the Sahel: a European cause
The Mali conflict has caught the EU asleep at the wheel. But with support from across the Union and credible, limited aims, a European intervention in Mali can be successful.
Commentary
Lost Tribes
The Israeli election on Jan 22 is not about Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu. It is best understood as a “Tribes of Israel” election that will take identity politics to a new level and may accelerate Israel's journey towards hegemonic nationalism.
Sanctions: a useful but flawed alternative to war
Sanctions are the EU's sole coercive instrument of power short of military action (Brussels, mercifully, does not engage in warfare). The EU needs to understand their impact so that it can use them more effectively.
In 2013, the great global unraveling
The main theme of 2013 is likely to be the unraveling of the global economy and supporting political integration.
Ten trends for 2013
2012 saw continuing crisis in the eurozone, growing Euroscepticism and populism in some corners of Europe, faltering transitions in Egypt and elsewhere, more violence in Syria, a new leadership in China, and both Putin II and Obama II. So what will 2013 hold?
Bringing Turkey back to the EU debate
Shunned by the EU with membership talks effectively blocked, Turkey feels empowered. It is no longer on the European periphery, but at the centre of its own world.
Democracy and Political Islam after the Arab revolutions
Islamists are in charge in Egypt and Tunisia because they were chosen by the voters in free elections; not because they won the battle for the streets. What is happening in the Arab countries is not an ideological revolution – it is a fight over the distribution of political power.
Reinventing Europe – Three French conundrums: the voters, the president, and the country
As part of the ’Reinventing Europe' project, ECFR is publishing a series of papers on the national debates within EU member states over the crisis and the future direction of Europe. In the fourteenth of the series Thomas Klau analyses the situation in France.
Reinventing Europe: Portugal – integrate or be marginalised
As part of the ’Reinventing Europe' project, ECFR is publishing a series of papers on the national debates within EU member states over the crisis and the future direction of Europe. In the thirteenth of the series Teresa de Sousa and Carlos Gaspar analyse the situation in Portugal.
Navigating Egypt’s political crisis
Understanding the contours of Egypt's most acute political crisis since President Hosni Mubarak was deposed two years ago.