Crimea: the Cornerstone of Putin’s new USSR

Historical facts Crimea is a peninsula that has belonged to many nations over the centuries. It was initially part of the Ottoman Empire but after the 1792 victory of Russia over the Ottomans, Crimea has belonged to Russia. It is in 1954 that Nikita Khrushchev decided to give the territory to the Republic of Ukraine …

David and Goliath: Iceland, fish, and Great Britain

Iceland is a recent democratic regime, independent for less than a hundred years. As such it has had to create a national identity for itself in the aftermath of World War II. Fishing was their most important source of revenue and one of the most important sector of their economy, hence an important part of …

Perception and Misperception: A new Understanding of the Russian Georgian War

“They are by proxy trying to fight war with the West”[1]. This sentence could have been pronounced at the heart of the Cold War period. Yet, it was declared on August 13th 2008 by the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to describe the russo-georgian war that lasted five days. It may seem surprising: the Cold War …

Changing the Discourse of Intervention: Looking at Somalia

In November 1992, the United States intervened in Somalia by launching one of the first humanitarian interventions. Marko Marjanovic defined in “Is Humanitarian War the Exception?”, a humanitarian intervention as the state’s use of “military force against another state when the chief publicly declared aim of that military action is ending human-rights violations being perpetrated …

Lost In Translation: The hidden motivations behind the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

"Now where are these torpedoes coming from?" – Lyndon B. Johnson "Well, we don't know." – McNamara In 1964, Vietnam was torn apart by a civil war which erupted after the country’s independence from France. The Communist North and the Viet Cong guerilla were engaged in unconventional warfare against South Vietnam, a US ally. Until …

Rwandan Genocide & French Strategic Culture

The trial of Pascal Simbikangwa for genocide and crime against humanity started last month and will last until December 9th, 2016. As a Rwandan officer, he had an important role in planning and executing the genocide of the Tutsi population from April to July 1994, known as the Rwandan Genocide. More than 20 years after …

SYRIA: What is at stake for Putin?

Today, Vladimir Putin can undoubtedly be considered as one of the most influential leaders of the world. His ideas and his foreign policy have worldwide consequences. Yet, it remains very difficult to have a clear picture of how indeed, Putin takes decisions and by which factors he is influenced. However, one can see that various …

From reactive to proactive: Chinese foreign policy in the South China Sea

On April 8, 2012, a rough standoff between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Philippines, in the Scarborough shoal of the South China Sea, marked the beginning of what was to become a radical shift in China’s foreign policy in the region. By threatening to use force and sending in civilian maritime coast …