Security Praxis

Re-Thinking the EU’s Contentious Role in Central Asia’s Borderlands

2021 has been a restless year for Central Asia – from Sadyr Japarov’s rise to the presidency in Kyrgyzstan to interethnic tensions in Kazakhstan and low-level violence in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.[1] Next door in Afghanistan, the Taliban captured Kabul and formed a new government. Bishkek has taken a cautious stance vis-à-vis the new neighbours, Tashkent has tried to keep out Afghan refugees, while Dushanbe has adopted harsh rhetoric and aims to fortify the Tajik-Afghan border with Chinese support.[2] Russia, meanwhile, has shored up military exercises with its Central Asian allies ⋙

Debate, European Union, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Central Asia

Research Highlights

Conference Call for Papers: The Role of Women’s Civil Society Organizations in Peace Processes

On 5th-6th April 2022, the University of Siena and the University of Milano, in collaboration with the Scuola ⋙

Sant'Anna Seasonal School on “African Perspectives: Change, Conflicts, Connections”

From 7th until 11th March 2022, Prof. Francesco Strazzari coordinates the intensive Seasonal School in “African Perspectives: Change, ⋙

Roundtables on Geopolitics and IR, 13-14 January 2022 (SSSA-SGRI)

Roundtable 1 : The “return of geopolitics” and the study of International Relations On Thursday, 13th January, from 15 ⋙

warbling security

migrants

The Symbolic Wall: Notes from the Field

In this piece, criminologist Ellen Van Damme, who is doing research on female migration from Honduras to the United States (USA), at the Center for the Study of International Migration ⋙

Interviews

A matter of context: power, conflict and climate change. A conversation with Tor Benjaminsen

From the security crisis in the Sahel to the migration flows in the Mediterranean, from past and present civil wars to wildfires and flooding in Europe, a specter is haunting ⋙

Afghanistan

China in Afghanistan: risks, interests and regional politics

After nearly 20 years the United States and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan at the end of August, abandoning their Afghan allies at the mercy of the Taliban, who ⋙

Afghanistan

Betrayal in Kabul. Staccato reactions to Western self-regard

Failure, debacle, fiasco. These are the most frequently used terms in the English language mediascape to assess the US and NATO performance following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. ⋙

Afghanistan

Taliban rule in Kabul: authoritarianism on the rise, democracies on the defensive

A world of mediation, alliances and ideological amalgamation, the resurgent Islamic emirate aims to gain legitimacy in the international system The Taliban are more careful today than twenty years ago ⋙

Liberalism

Is the Liberal International Order coming to an end? Uncovering how populists cooperate internationally

A seemingly never-ending stream of observers claim that the populist emphasis on nationalism, identity and popular sovereignty undermines international collaboration and contributes to the crisis of the so-called Liberal International ⋙

nuclear weapons

The New START and the geopolitical (dis)equilibrium: what role for the EU?

Nuclear weapons are perceived as an old story, especially after the end of the Cold War. The issue is still alive and still controlled by the United States and Russia. ⋙

Gaza

The urbicide of the Gaza Strip

The war in the Gaza Strip did not end on 21 May 2021, just as it did not begin 12 days earlier. In a sort of contemporary reinterpretation of many ⋙

Covid-19

Waiting for the next pandemic: Strengthening our preparedness and response capacity through human security

The global spread of Covid-19 has already taken the lives of millions of people in the world. Unfortunately, this may well not be a once-in-a-century event. Several interrelating factors – among ⋙

Turkey

The deep crisis of the Turkish mafia-State

Last month the notorious mobster Sedat Peker started posting incriminatory videos on Turkish media. Staring at the camera, Mr Peker discloses some alleged secrets and crimes of the so-called Turkey’ ⋙

terrorism

Lessons from 9/11: the politicization of espionage and the collapse of the US intelligence

President Biden recently announced the withdrawal of the 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan, to be completed by 11 September, ending America’s longest war on the 20th anniversary of ⋙

European Union

Pivoting Stabilisation in the Sahel: competing visions and implementation checkpoints

EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has recently announced greater transparency from (and better conditionality with) Sahelian leaders following a visit to the region in April. This follows intentions for ⋙