Politics

From 11 to 15 January of this year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe was on a scheduled tour of a number of Greater Middle Eastern (GME) nations, a region of growing importance in Japan’s foreign policy course. This is evidenced by, for instance, the increasing frequency of visits by high-level government officials from Japan to the GME and vice versa…

A month ago, we published an article about Harry B. Harris, the US Ambassador to South Korea and a retired Navy Admiral, becoming the “the target of hatred” for pro-government and nationalist groups because of his unabashedly direct views. First, let us remind you about the context. 4-star Admiral and former head of the US Pacific Command (USPACOM)…

A fairly dangerous situation involving Iran has seemingly remained unchanged for some time now. Each side is waiting for its adversary to make the next move, but no one is taking any decisive actions as yet. They are, at present, equalizing their positions and evaluating pluses and minuses. In the meantime, more and more questions are arising among members…

In 2019, when the US announced to ‘withdraw’ its forces from Syria, it did this only to relocate them to Iraq, which was, as I had written then, to become the main territory for the US military entrenchment in the region against Iran, as also Russia and China. This was decided in the wake of the…

In recent decades, the African continent has been the target of USA’s expansionist policy, which ramped up after the collapse of the Soviet Union. At the time, the United States of America turned towards Africa, a continent rich in natural resources and of strategic importance. Donald Trump’s political course helped consolidate this policy by the pivot away…

Officially, the relationship between Japan and China is “somehow improving”. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is even expecting a visit by President Xi Jinping this spring. But, frankly, the relationship between the two mightiest countries in Asia is up and down, still very complex and hardly transparent. To date, the US nuclear-armed air force bases…

During his election campaign in 2011, the current leader of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, expressed his intention to bring to life several grandiose political and infrastructure initiatives. The most ambitious of these projects entails the construction of a new waterway, to the west of the Bosporus, that will connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Officially…

Thailand’s opposition is openly backed by powerful foreign interests, particularly those in Washington. As the opposition attempts to secure power and help serve as a vector for Western special interests, the spectre of a Western-sponsored “colour revolution” increasingly looms over Thailand’s future. Thailand is a key Southeast Asian nation, with the second largest economy in…

Whenever there’s an examination of Russia’s resurgence in Middle Eastern and African affairs, the narrative is always about weapons, economic competition, and Cold War-era detente. Few analysts or reporters examine the non-transactional elements of the policies of Vladimir Putin. To really understand the recent successes of Mr. Putin and Russia, we…

In its commitment to detente in various parts of the globe, Russia is increasingly focused on the complex situation, in danger of transforming into an armed conflict, in the Persian Gulf region. It has, therefore, come up with a concept aimed at ensuring collective security. And we are not simply referring to an attempt to avoid a flare-up in the region…