Voices of conscience in the Middle East: Raif Badawi

Raif Badawi is famous for a sinister occurence: he was condemned by the Saudi Arabia authorities to 10 years of prison and 1000 lashes - yes, we are still in the 21st century - plus fines of an amount of the equivalent of 194,00 Euro, for his texts published on his blog. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, who is a strong militant for his release, run the country together with their 3 kids and is a Canadian resident. 

His only guilt is to have been approached sensitive issues for the theocractic Saudi Arabia, such as secularization, need to get rid of religious extremism, liberalism, pluralism, respect for diversity of religions and freedom of thought. The texts published on his blog between 2010 and 2012 were erased by the high tech authorities who are meanwhile maintaining a strict control of the www, in order to prevent any actions or writings against the predominant Islam. Some of the short written interventions were gathered in a thin book. Pledging for the adoption of a secularist model similar to that introduced in France after the French Revolution, he approaches various issues at stake in the Middle Eastern and particularly Saudi society: the contradictions between religious assumptions and scientific reality, the chutzpe of wanting a mosque close to the ruins of the WTC destroyed during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, equality between men and women, the rejection of autocratic movements such as Hamas. He also warned about extremists and the danger of the 'Caliphate'. There are a lot of interesting ideas and concepts outlined but unfortunately this is only the beginning of a larger discussion and clarification of concepts that as long he is in prison cannot be continued or developed. The original texts were published in Arabic, but translated in several languages. Personally, I've read the German version.

In December 2015, Badawi was awarded the prestigious European Sakharov prize by the European Parliament for freedom of thought. His condemnation is going on, with the last January 50 of the 1,000 lashes being done, although medical warning about Badawi's health situation were issued. At the end of the last year, he went on hunger strike for a short while.

He is not the only member of the family persecuted by the authorities. His sister, Samar Badawi, a human rights avocate was shortly detained this January. 

Meir Dagan, almost the end of an era

The picture of his grandfather before death used to be in his office

The death of the former cheif of Mossad for nine years, Meir Dagan, can be almost the end of an era, of an old generation of public personalities in Israel whose personalities were defined by the World War II. Dagan, born as Huberman, on the train between Soviet Union and Poland in 1945, used to have in his office the picture of his grandfather down on his knees before being killed by Nazis, made a life mission that Holocaust 'will never happen again'. 

Dagan served as director of the Israel's most powerful intelligence agency beetween 2002 and 2011, under three prime-ministers: Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu. He ended his mandate on medical reasons, although during the exhange of declarations during the last years elections, Netanyahu affirmed that in fact he refused to extend his mandate. Dagan offered to the media the proof of his letter resignation letter where he requested the replacement. 

Officer of the Israeli Defense Force - IDF - he fought during the Yom Kippur War and the 1982 Lebanon War. As chief of Mossad, he ordered several operations, some of them together with other secret services, aimed at killing terrorists who put in dangerous the state of Israel. During one of them, for instance, operated together with the CIA, was killed Imad Mughniyeh, the so-called Minister of Defence of Hezbollah. After becoming a public figure, he often criticised Netanyahu for the way in which he managed the Iran problem and was a harsh opponent of the idea of an Israeli attack against Tehran. In Dagan's opinion, the then and current prime-minister turned Iran into an Israeli problem, thus limiting the interest of the rest of the world in the issue. During the last elections, he supported Isaac Herzog, part of a tandem with Tzipi Livni that used to work for the Mossad during his mandate.

Dagan was also active in the business sector, and was an amateur painter and a vegetarian too. 

Obama in Cuba: why and what to expect

President Obama's visit to Cuba between 20-22 March, the first in almost 90 years, will probably bring a lot of hopes and possible deals for US companies, but will not change too much the massive human rights violations on the island. After decades of economic and political isolation, Cuba is progressivelly opening to businesses, but the high number of arrests among dissidents in the last weeks - around 2,555 in the first months of the year according to local and international human rights NGOs - shows that there is a very long way till the country will achieve democratic standards, if ever.

Obama is accompanied by a massive delegation of business people, among which representatives of AT&T, Xerox, Marriott and Starwood hotel chains, as well as bi-partisan senators. In the next months it is expected that US airlines will start commercial flights to Cuba. A full lifting of the embargo is not possible too soon, given the strong opposition of the Republican-dominated Congress, many of them strongly opposing this visit. Over the years, the Congress created exceptions to embargo, allowing, among others, US companies to sell construction materials, or agricultural and telecommunications equipment. White Houe is considering revising various regulations to allow American dollars to be used in transactions with Cuba and give green light to Americans to travel individually in Cuba. As for now, after decades long when visiting the Caribbean island was definitely forbidden, American can visit only part of groups. 

Compared with Nixon's visit to China - except that Obama does not have a smart help as Kissinger - the coming agenda includes meeting with Raul Castro, the brother of the Fidel who used to throw diatribes against the US, a possible attendance of a US-Cuba baseball game - Major League Baseball is part of the delegation too looking for deals for getting easily Cuban players -, a public speech at the University of Havana and a meeting with dissidents, most probably carefully chosen by the authorities. What will be avoided at any price will be a photo opp with Fidel, but do not forget that Raul was comrade in arms with his brother and part of the same system. 

US consulting companies warn that given the difficult legal and economic environment in Cuba, it will be quite complicated for American firms to operate in the communist country, but probably there was little choice left to the US given the high interest of countries like France, Japan and Russia to start serious businesses with Havana government. If we think about the good Cold War relations between Havana and Moscow, it is hard to believe that Russians ever left, with many elites well trained in the Soviet institutions.

The official publication Granma, who over the years made a hobby from publishing many pages anti-American propaganda announced in one of its last issues that Cuba will not cede 'one inch' in its 'unconditional commitment to its revolutionary and anti-imperialist principles'. On the other side, Obama also announced in December, during a Yahoo interview, that he will not visit the island if the human rights conditions will not improve. It is hard to say now who won, but democracy and human rights did not for now it seems. 

The warming up of the relations started in September 2014, when Castro and Obama met during the UN General Assembly. According to the diplomatic practices, an official visit of Raul Castro to Washington may follow, but it is hard to say if it will happen during the mandate of the current president. 

To be continued...

Book review: Aleppo, by Philip Mansel

Once upon a time, it was a city, with a vibrant life, and beautiful buildings and an European flair. Its name was Aleppo and was almost destroyed by the latest civil war, although escaped for centuries big wars, riots or earthquakes. I personally never traveled to this city, but luckier travelers friends of mine told or showed me interesting stories or pictures from here. All these pictures are mostly showing places that are just memories. 

In his latest book, Philip Mansel covers the history of the city as part of the greater Middle East and the main trade routes. It is the story of a city "with a rhythm of its own, challenging categories and generalisations. Lying between the desert and the sea, the mountains of Anatolia and the banks of the Euphrates, it was Arab and Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish". 

Until the latest civil war, the city kept at a great extent a peaceful character and went through the big world conflicts without serious damage. Together with Damascus, to whom it places itself in antithesis, it is one of the oldest continously inhabited cities in the world. Faithful to the Ottoman Empire, it was used often as a basis during the frequent wars with Iran over the control of Iraq or the battles between Sunni and Shi'a. Although its commercial role will diminish by the 17th century, it will remain till the 21st century, an important hub of cultural, trade and diplomatic resources. The impressive number of sayings and proverbs typical for Aleppo that entered the public conscience in the region are an example of the special status of this city. My favourite by far is: "If you do business with a dog, you should call him Sir". It testifies about a special sensibility and a local code of values. 

The book has two big parts: one dedicated to cover various historical and political stages of development of the city, with its main benchmarks, and the other covering fragments from travel accounts about Aleppo. It is an interesting perspective which offers the chance to get a glimpse of the ambiance and profile of the city through direct accounts. 

It is an informative interesting read, of academic consistency and well written. My only regret is that the author commits the big sin of many historians approaching the 'multicultural' Middle Eastern cities of pretending that there was tolerance towards the Jewish inhabitants. Only at the beginning of the 19th century there were couple of infamous "blood libels" that are not mentioned in the book. Anyway, this was not the main topic of the book, but more attention to this detail will help countering the stereotype of the 'tolerance' in the Middle East. 

A lecture recommended to both historians and political scientiest, as well as to journalists covering the Middle East. 

The book will be released the 28th of April.

Disclaimer: I was offered the book for review via NetGalley.com, but the opinions are, as usual, my own.

Faces of refugees

There is a lot to say about the refugee crisis that made the first page of many European newspapers for weeks the last year and still remains a very important challenge and test for the European policies and solidarity, especially at the EU level. There are dramatic aspects regarding the security, especially from the point of view of the terrorist threats, as well as of public diplomacy. or human rights.

As I am living in Germany, refugees are more than an abstraction or desperate beings shown on TV. Especially in some parts of Berlin, you can see them on the street and even approach them. A couple of days ago, while passing by a local office of Sparkasse bank, a human chain in the front of the door with a patch of paper on their jackets writing: Refugee Support. I also known quite a lot of people around involved on a regular or volunteering basis in helping the refugees and even telling their stories further.

Outside Germany refugees can be an abstraction and the representations of local population can be limited to the scary images of the yellow media. Again, I am convinced there are so many details and nuances to consider when it comes to this issue, but on the other hand it is important to embrace the entirety of the topic.

Thanks to social media though, the nuances can be offered, in their simple happening. A couple of days ago, when browsing the Instagram for new interesting photos from sunny places, I stumbled upon a reference to a project of the Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei, of documeting the arrival and life of refugees reaching the island of Lesbos in Greece. His account is: #aiww. I spent the next hour looking at the pictures or video gathered: first hand images of people, many of them children, upon their dramatic arrival on the island. Expressions of hope, happiness, relief, deep sadness, insecurity...the usual repertoire of humanity in its simplest manifestation. Especially the videos and the faces of small children are very moving.

Ai Weiwei's account is an example of the good changes that can be brought via social media. It also offers a chance to information and the possibility to make your own ideas and opinions based on what you see. The final political decisions are based less on feelings and emotions, but at least for us, the citizens, it is important to see all sides of the coin. 

Germany for refugees, the information level

In order to answer questions and cover the lack of information about Germany among refugees, Herder.de and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung released at the end of 2015 a bilingual book - German-Arabic - about Germany. Under the title 'First information for Refugees', it offers in a simple language - I can certify for the German as I am not familiar with different Arabic dialects - basic data about culture, work culture, everyday life, history, rule of law, food and drinking habits, transportation rules etc. It starts with a 'Welcome to Germany' address outlining the need to know the main rules in the society, The reader will learn that Germany is rich in forests, but also that there is a complicated tax system in place. On several occasions it is reminded the Shoah and the negative load of the WWII history. There are offered links about the halal food or circumcision. The authors mentioned that women can find in Germany in stores special outfits such as abbaya or hijab. Different stages of the registration process are also explained.

The readers are informed that beating your wife is not practised in Germany since 1928 and also that bigamy and poligamy are forbidden. Germans have many hobbies and are members of different associations and societies, and among others like to swim or do yoga. During the summer, the reader is told, women do dress light and it is ok. Also couples - gay or heterosexual - may manifest publicly their feelings. This is also ok. 

Talking about culture, it is mentioned that 'The situation of culture was never better'.but also that the role of the media is not only to inform but also to have a critical stance against the government. The readers are warned to avoid downloading illegaly documents from the Internet.

At the chapter regarding cultural habits in Germany, are mentioned, among others: being in time, not being very offensive towards women, respecting the time of rest during the day, not talking loud on the phone. There is also said about how important is to wash your hands but I suppose that the authors forgot the customs of the muslim society. Also at the hygiene part, there is extensively explain how to correctly use the toilet and what not to throw inside. Talking about practice, I suppose you do not have to be a refugee for being informed about that...Many locals also need some training in this respect.

Another important information for refugees: Germans love their cars and may overreact if their car will be scratched. 

At the end of the book, there is a basic vocabulary list. The booklet is also available as app.

How valuable is the information presented here for the refugees? Despite some clumsy approaches, it is useful, at least in the first stage of the journey. However, besides reading, many of the people reaching Germany would need some time to know the culture and the mentality. This cannot be done overnight and books do not always help, but the direct contact with the people and the society as such. 

How do I find the news

With over 10 years of practice in the traditional media, out of which more than 7 years dealing with foreign affairs and 15 years of various blogging, including in the field of foreign affairs and diplomacy, I am familiar with a lot of sources useful for finding inspiration for articles. Able to read and communicate in several languages, I have the advantage of getting first hand access to a variety of worlds. I am not a big TV fan, and I usually prefer once in a while some podcasts, so the non-written sources do not have too much chaces unless there is a high emergency.

I travel often and an additional source of inspiration is represented by the direct contact with people and eventually, participation at various events related to foreign affairs, such as international conferences or events.

As I also have an academic background, with PhD in history, I prefer to let the topic cold down a little bit, till will achieve a bigger understanding of the entire context. There is always a temptation to write on the spot and as a journalist I follow very often this impulse. After all, we always needed to cover what everyone covered and missing the big subjects of the day would have mean a disqualification of the paper and especially of the journalist. Hence, the joy of being my own boss, with the blog as my playground and no one else to held me accountable for my omissions. I love to wait and see the different angles and first and foremost to read as much as possible for properly covering the issue. When you need to cover an instant news, you never have more than maximum 5-6 hours to do the research, ask questions and finish the writing. As a blogger, I do not care to offer news - although I am still looking forward to share that big secret no one else know about it before - but perspectives and views.

But there are also some predictable aspects of my daily search for diplomatic meaning: I do  have also a schedule of big international meetings and events - such as international gatherings as NATO or EU summits or big benchmarks - trying to give an idea about the possible agenda and the predictable consequences. 

As for now I am based in Germany, covering the local topics is predominant but expect to have covered other perspectives as well. 

Egypt versus Iran, and not only

In an interview offered to a very pro-Iran sympathetic Dieter Bednarz from Spiegel the last week, the foreign minister of Egypt, Sameh Hassan Shoukry outlined several times the unsatisfaction with the constant involvement of Iran in the internal affairs of other countries from region, such as Syria, Bahrain, Iraq or Yemen.Following the latest evolutions in the region and the high proof of Iranian influence especially in Yemen and Syria, based on an expansionist conception focused on strengthening of religious - Shiilte - ties in the region, Egypt stays for now on the side of the opposition to Tehran politics, similarly with Saudi Arabia. Egypt does not  have diplomatic relations with Iran, following the peace treaty with Israel. 

Currenly, Egypt is coping with a resurgence of ISIS regroupement in Sinai,which jeopardizes not only the security in the region, but also tends to isolate Egypt. In the last years, the country kept losing significant amounts of money due to the diminishing of touristic presence. 

In the interview offered to Der Spiegel; Shoukry repeats on several occassions that Tehran involvement is wrong and the opposition against the Iranian officials is justified, including through the measures took against its influence agents, such it was the case of the Shiite leader Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. The Sheikh was condemned to death the 2nd of January. He often pledged for religious freedom in the Kingdom who practices a Wahhabi version of Sunni islam and considers the Shi'a as heretics. Western media and NGOs portrays the sheikh as a fighter for religious freedom. 

Shoukry, a close confident to current president Sisi and former ambassador in the US, Austria and Switzerland during Mubarak, gave the interview before his official visit to Germany.

As things look now, there is Iran against the rest of independent states in the region, with no benefits for anyone, especially for the regional stability.

Back on the writing track

For almost two years, this blog was silent. Other writing assignments and interests kept me away of one of my biggest passions: foreign policy. Now, with more time in my pocket and a lot of writing ideas, I am ready to continue.

The content will not change too much. I will try to post at least twice the week, analysis and researched articles on daily topics. I would also try to write once in a while fresh content with interviews with experts on different topics and book reviews on topics relevant to foreign policy. The focus will be on analysis, trying to understand current events and trends as well as to give different answers to common questions. We will always use a mixl approach, which combines the fine psychological observation with the deep historical knowledge and familiarity with the usual trends and tendencies in the political arena.

Although Europe and the US remain important global players, I will prefer as often as possible to offer more space for analysis to the countries and regions outside the usual mental comfort zone.

As I am preparing for this year the publication of two books on topics related to foreign affairs, one of them dedicated to the influence of social media to diplomatic trends, I will regularly write on issues of interest for my upcoming editorial projects. 

There may be many dramatic changes endeavoured but only in the second part of the year, after I have the guarantee that my blog is finally back on the track.

As for now, time for preparing the next posts and the editorial agenda for the coming days and weeks. I hope that this long silence was a useful respiro for a dramatic change of the blog, following the new insights and understandig that I won while being offline. 

Keep in touch with good writing news!

What's going on in Ukraine?

Is Ukraine close to jump into chaos? What are the possible outcomes of the situation? What can be done to stop more death? Who are the main strategists behind the protests?

Here are a couple of possible ideas:

The last evolutions

Ukraine won its theoretical independence from Russia 22 years ago, but Moscow's influence never ceased to make most of the games in the country. Especially the Eastern and Southern parts of Ukraine, where most of the resources and heavy industry are concentrated, is under the influence of people with strong connections to Moscow, both in terms of business and politics. With a young generation aspiring to be part of Europe, and a political elite tributary to the old Soviet practices, the gap between reality and aspirations is huge and explains the current clashes.

The latest in the series of protests, the clashes from the last night are the last stage of 3-month protests. Organized around the main center - and according to many independent observers, the most corrupt - of power, the Parliament, the protests escalated into violences that lead to the dead of 25 people, among which policemen and possibly a journalist, and 241 injured. Vyacheslav Veremyi, the local correspondent of the pro-governmental Vesti was shot by masked men while returning home in a taxi. As in the case of many 'revolutionary movements' - such as Romania in 1989, Tunisia, Egypt - the 'whos' and 'whys' are less important right now. According to a late release by the OSCE, since the unrest started, around 165 journalists were targeted by the violences, 27 of them only in the last night.  

The outcome from Kiev created new centers of protests in the country, with demonstrations expected in the next hours in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil.

The main leaders of the opposition, Vitaly Klitschko and Arseny Yatsenyuk, had a discussion with the contested president, Viktor Yanukovich, without a truce on sight. This morning, the protesters, were ready for a new day of fights, while many European and international leaders called the leadership in Kiev warning with possible sanctions.

The story

There is a long historical complicated background that explains the current divisions. On December 8, a huge statue of Lenin in Kiev was toppled, but many don't know probably that there are plenty of many others Lenins all over the country, especially in the East. One of the most impressive - and frightening at the same time - is the one in the main square in Kharkiv, also considered one of the biggest squares in Europe. As everywhere, Lenin means more than an ideology - that most probably many aren't acquainted with at all, it is a clear symbol of allegiance to Moscow.

Russia never lost influence in Ukraine after the independence, mostly because it needs its resources and the strategical positioning of the country to keep away both NATO and EU. 

Since 2008, Ukraine is a candidate to NATO, despite the desperate protests of Russia, and is receiving through dedicated programs a significant support to implement civil and military reforms. 

Ukraine is included as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy and in the last years several deals for free trade and political associations were signed. The signature of an Association Agreement with the EU was delayed, probably following a discussion Yanukovitch had with Putin at Sochi recently, who also probably promised him a membership into the Eurasian Customs Union, with Belarus, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. Viewed from Europe, this union may look as ridiculous as it is, but from Moscow, it is an important tool to create regional bodies to counter the EU influence. The spirit of CSI/USSR is not dead and when Russian-faithfully spin doctors are accusing the European Union of being a kind of Soviet Union, they know what they wish for.

Euromaidan

Mid-November 2013, the Euromaidan was created, using the tools of the social media and gathering mostly young educated people having enough of the confused politics and corruption. After the 'Orange Revolution', who was anything but not a revolution as the former actors, among which, the then resigned prime minister Yanukovich, in 2004, those protests are the most significant and pro-European.

As for Europe, personified by the EU, it did not too much to help, probably afraid that the complicated corruption network will channel all the energies and help to Moscow. Generously, Putin offered a $15 billion bailout to Kiev and most probably is ready to offer even more. 

Brussels played the confused card of the European Partnership, often considered as an instrument created to temper both Russia and the pro-European elites, a sine die antechamber to full membership.

It is also possible that Brussels and Euromaidan are talking a different language: when some are generously speaking about trade and negotiations, the others are covering themselves in the EU flag and talking democracy and freedom. The same misunderstanding seems to characterize the dialogue between Moscow and Brussels, the EU bureaucrats never fully understanding that Putin's Russia is hardly involved in geopolitical games that in the West Europe have been abandoned for decades. 

As for the social society, since the 'Orange revolution', it changed and developed a lot, and learnt how to wisely use social media and the Internet. 

Yanukovitch

As many other local leaders born in the former Soviet Union, Yanukovitch has an adventurous biography. With a Russian mother and a Polish-Belarusian father, and Polish-Lithuanian family background, he spent some months in prison, for robbery and assault. His first language was Russian, and often he mentioned that Russian should be offered equal status with the Ukrainian language. Former governor of Donetsk Oblast and a protege of the not less controversial Leonid Kucima from whom probably he leaned how to eliminate his enemies. Shortly after winning the elections, he sent to prison the charismatic opponent Yulia Tymoshenko, for corruption (as she was connected with Russian oligarchs outside Yanukovich's own circle of 'friends').

Too much politics and deals can make you sick and at the end of January, Yanukovich took a leave due to acute respiratory illness and high fever.

The outcome

The protests continued and the future is unclear right now. Most of the online communication is blocked, and Yanukovich continues to claim that the protesters over passed a dangerous line. EU's indefatigable negotiator Catherine Ashton is hoping to obtain a peace truce, but Ukraine, and Russia in general, is not Iran. 

There are divisions and different interests, as well as more or less sympathy towards Russia in the EU; there are also divisions between NATO allies; there are equally divisions between various layers of oligarchs, political leaderships and regional centers of powers. And Russia pretends to know it all. 

Shirley Temple, the diplomat

The child actor, Shirley Temple, who died today at 85, has a lesser known diplomatic and politic activity behind the glamorous lights of Hollywood.

After starting to act at the age of 4, she stopped making movies in 1949. At 21, she remarried his second husband, Charles Black, a Californian businessman she met on Hawaii, who introduced her in the world of politics and with whom she shared 55 of her life.

In 1950s, together with her husband, she campaigned on behalf of Dwight D. Eisenhower-Richard M. Nixon. She ran for the Congress in 1967, but was not elected.

UN appointments

In 1969, she was appointed by Richard Nixon delegate to the UN. Already involved in several international cooperation on behalf of the Foundation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies, she acquired not only a better network of relations, but also a certain knowledge of the international vocabulary of world affairs. She held various representation positions for the US, as deputy chair of the US Delegation to the UN conference on Human Environment in Stockholm (1970-1972), part of the US Delegation part of the Joint Commission of the USSR-USA Cooperative Treaty on the Environment, in 1972 and between 1972-1974 special assistant to the chairman of the US Council on Environmental Quality. From 1974-1976 she was the US ambassador to Ghana, getting involved in the development of economic relations with the US as well as regional cooperation in the region.

In 1976, Gerald Ford, for whom she campaigned, named her White House chief of protocol, the first such position ever held by a woman. 

Diplomat in Czechoslovakia

Between 1981-1988, during the mandate of Ronald Reagan, her co-star in That Hagen Girl (1947), she held various seminars and workshops for the first time diplomats and their wives. At the end of the public career, she was named by George W. Bush the US ambassador to Czechoslovakia, a country that she visited in 1968, during the Prague Spring, as a volunteer for her Foundation. She witnessed the tremendous changed this country went through, during the democratic transition and the split of the country. 

In an interview in 1999, she declared that even though 'initially', her mission was 'human rights, trying to keep people like future president Vaclav Havel out of jail', 'almost overnight, my concern become economics'.

In the Clinton era she ended her diplomatic active career, remaining a member of the symbolic American Academy of Diplomacy. 

Water makes the regional cooperation easier in the Middle East

At the end of the last year, at the beginning of December, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding at the headquarters of the World Bank in Washington DC aimed to improve the regional cooperation in terms of sharing water resources in the area. Even though at the first sight it looks technical and it has a lot of aspects that should be implemented in order to become operational, it is an important aspect of the dialogue in the area, that don't get usually too much attention. Even though many international media called it a 'rare display of regional cooperation', such a cooperation is a necessary part of the daily regional collaboration. 

The document was signed by the Regional Cooperation and Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom on behalf of Israel, the Jordanian Water and Irrigation Minister Hazem El-Nasser and the Palestinian Water Authority Minister, Shaddad Attilli. 

The idea of this project is discussed for about 20 years. 

It answers two main issues regarding the water resources in the region: the rapid contraction of the Dead Sea and the acute shortage of clear fresh water faced on a daily basis in Jordan. Due to the concerns outlined by many environmental organizations in the region, the added brine effects on the Dead Sea will be carefully monitored. 

The main terms

In its main terms, the agreement offers significant advantages to all parts, even though the practical strategy needs to be established over the next months. Particularly, it helps both Israel and Jordan to answer their immediate needs in terms of water supplies in the South (for Israel), respectively in the north of Jordan.

The most important provisions of the Memorandum is the development of a salination plan near Aqaba, that will contribute to sharing the potable water between Jordan and Israel. The salty brines will be pipelined to the Dead Sea.

Israel, on her side, will increase the annual releases of water from Lake Kineret to Jordan. Also, it will increase its sales of water to the Palestinian Authority, following the main lines of the Oslo Agreements.

The desalination plant will produce around 175 million cubic meters of water from the Red Sea, out of which 80 million cubic meter pro year of potable water. Around 50-60% of this quantity will be piped a few kilometres over to Israel. The price will probably be the subject of further discussions, as the Jordanian government needs to issue a tender for the location.

The water from Kinneret still needs an additional treatment in order to be turned into potable water. Nowadays, Israel releases around 50 million cubic meters of water from Lake Kinneret the year. 

As part of the seawater desalination process, 100 million cubic meters of resultant salty brines will be annually pipped into the Dead Sea. 

The precise costs for the construction are not known for the moment. The brine pipeline to the Dead Sea is evaluated at around $240 million and most probably will be financed by donor countries and organizations. World Bank would provide a bridge loan whose value is not known as for now.

Willy Brandt, a different politician

A couple of weeks ago I visited in the center of Berlin, close to the Brandenburg Gate, an interesting photo and audio exhibition dedicated to Willy Brandt. Among many other new and old politicians of the post WWII Germany, Brandt makes a special figure, being one of the few who were fully engaged against Nazi Germany and who constantly fought for a reinstatement of an united Germany on the world scene. The exhibition was extremely interesting, with many audio and video materials, besides documents and photos.

The political CV

Willy Brandt was born in 1913 in the rich and bourgeois city of Luebeck, in the North of Germany. Between 1933 and 1945 he went in exile in Sweden and Norway. Due to his anti-Nazi activities, he lost his citizenship, that he will receive back only at the end of the war. He returned incognito in Berlin at a certain moment, under the cover name of Herbert Frahm, trying to organize some resistance movement. 

While in exile, he tried to create an unified front of the left movement in Europe. He returned in Germany 1945 as a journalist to report about the Nuremberg process, and in 1947, he moved to Berlin where he worked for the Norwegian military mission. One year later, he received back his German citizenship.

Between 1957 and 1966 he was the mayor of Berlin. During his mandate he restored the Reichstag and Schloss Charlottenburg, among other urban projects aimed to rebuilt the city seriously affected by the intensive bombings. JFK appreciated his political influence and predicted that he will be the one to succeed chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Due to his good relations with the Americans, the political propaganda frequently accused him of being a 'marionette' of the Americans.

In 1971, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to prevent a nuclear war and launch bridges of dialogue with the East. He was the first social-democrat chancellor since 1930, a position he held from 1969 till 1974, when one of his closest aides were involved in an espionage scandal. 

'I work in order to regain 2 homelands'

Acknowledging the crimes made by Germany during WWII, Brandt outlined that being German means accepting political responsibility for the genocide of the Nazi era, but was against branding all the Germans as criminals. There are 'criminals and other Germans', he said.

Brandt played an important role in setting the main pillars of the nascent European community, successfully convincing France to accept the idea of the European community and expanding the dialogue not only with the Western allies, but also with the Eastern relatives such as Poland and Hungary. 

His personal life and frequent affairs were often used as a political weapon by his Christian Democrat counterparts. On the other side, he reacted by using the mean techniques of the American style that he embraced frequently for branding his political communication.

The policy towards East and its position towards East Germany particularly, was not always clearly understood. 'I work in order to regain 2 homelands', he used to say, but his recognition of the Oder-Neisse border brought him the accusations of treason. In 1972, he signed the treatise of good relations with the DDR. 

He pledged the cause of Ostpolitik to Nixon and Kissinger and was particularly appreciated at Moscow for his efforts to open doors of dialogue with the former foe. Years later, together with Gyula Horn and Alois Mock, he removed the borders of the Iron Curtain. 

The end of the affair

The end of his mandate of chancellor intervened in the middle of the Cold War tensions and was provoked by the discovery that Guenther Guillaume, a close aid and in charge with the relations with the trade unions was in fact a diligent spy of the DDR. Following the public scandal, Brandt - who said in his memoirs published later that he didn't 'sympathized' Guillaume whose ascension was considered rather the result of party dynamics- resigned as chancellor in 1974, but remained the chief of the party for almost another decade. 

Guillaume was an intelligent agent of Stasi, and a former member of the NSDAP. In 1956, together with his wife, he was sent under his real name in Germany and joined the Social Democratic Party in Frankfurt having a fast political ascension. Condemned to 13 years of prison, he spent only seven and half years without freedom, being subject to an exchange of prisoners. Back in the DDR, he was received with honours and awarded by Erich Honecker the order Karl Marx. In the reunited Germany, he was granted immunity to any further prosecutions and was a supportive witness in Markus Wolf trial in 1993. 

Markus Wolf, Guillaume's direct chef, considered later that the demission of Brandt was a mistake, and regretted in a letter sent to Brandt that 'the intelligence service of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) which was under my command, contributed to the extremely negative political events that led to your resignation in 1974'.

East German fears

According to archives made public in the last years, the KGB and Moscow in general weren't very keen of the change of Brandt with the more 'right' social-democrat Helmut Schmidt. Brandt opened many dialogue doors with Moscow and especially at certain levels within the KGB, he was considered a good partner for improving not only the political ties, but for an eventual economic and even military support for the old techniques used by the Soviets. 

On the other hand, the East Germans were afraid his policies will be made without them, while the West Germany will be the only 'German' voice in Europe. Very often, according to recent documents, Stasi used its 'intelligence' to project a bad image of the Ostpolitik to the Russians. Besides bugging the office of one of the authors of the Ostpolitik, Egon Bahr, who accompanied Brandt since he was the mayor of Berlin, they spent around $1 million to bribe German politicians to vote against the social-democratic policies in the Parliament. 

Most probably, the archives both in Germany and Moscow, still hide many interesting details about those even more interesting times. However, Brandt's role in the post-WWII Germany policies remains unchallenged. 

Sources:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/ostpolitik-how-east-germany-tried-to-undermine-willy-brandt-a-705118.html
Hans-Joachim Noack, Willy Brandt, ein Leben, ein Jahrhundert
Willy Brandt, Erinnerungen

Tensed elections in Thailand

This Sunday, Thailand is organizing general elections, that will take place in a tensed environment following months of political unrest. Around 10,000 security forces will be at work in the next days, trying to guarantee a peaceful electoral process, while the representatives of the opposition are announcing mass demonstrations and made appeal for boycott. 

The elections were called by the prime minister in office, Yingluck Shinawatra, the first woman holding such a position in the democratic history of the country, following the unrest from the last months, that affects the economy and tourism of the country. Shinawatra, originally from the North of the country, was accused of trying to pass a law that might made possible the return to Thailand of the exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, who is in exile shortly after being changed through a military coup in 2006, is still considered a powerful influence due to his numerous businesses still operating in the country, especially in the North and North eastern area. I personally remember how years ago I visited this region and was explained at a silk factory how grateful people are to Taksin for his successful companies employing people and giving them various benefits.

The representatives of the opposition, especially Suthrep Thansuban, a former deputy prime minister for the Democrat Party, called for a boycott of the elections accusing the prime-minister of being a sock puppet of the tycoon.

Thailand went through similar unrest almost 4 years ago, when around 90 people died following the conflicts between the intervention forces and the demonstrants. 

This Sunday early general elections are the 25th since 1933 and organized according to the 2007 Constitution. The votes will be given for electing new members of the House of Representatives. 

What Kerry wants

To be honest, I have big doubts about John Kerry's diplomatic skills and it is my right as citizen of the world to doubt it. In the last decade, the representatives of the American diplomacy in general are nothing but diluted shadows of what the function of State Secretary used to be. Hopefully, the main diplomats preparing the memos and representing the US interests abroad didn't change, but this is another good story.

As for Kerry, the benchmarks of his glorious mandate are not glamorous. During his first speech dedicated to the foreign-aid, an important instrument of branding America abroad, and not only, he branded a new country 'Kyrzakhstan'. Last August, while in Pakistan, he praised the merits of the Egyptian Army in preserving democracy - probably he watched the wrong movie a couple of years late. His speeches about Syria where confusing and created a lot of problems to the White House and other professional diplomats, fighting to correct for hours his risky statements made without watching the files prepared by the specialists.

No wonder that the White House sent a special help for the chief of the diplomats, Jen Psaki, the former spokesperson of Obama during 2012 elections, where will occupy a similar position.

New York Times diplomacy

The practice to use the media for sending diplomatic messages is not new and not invented by the US. However, in big serious issues, the recommendation will be to use the normal channels. Such a tactic is usually employed when someone wants to test certain ideas and initiatives. Somehow, when the ideas and projects are very important, it is not a very smart idea to play such media games.

However, the same Kerry did it by using the pen of the close friend of Obama administration, Thomas Friedman, in the case of the Middle East peace plan.

Due to the stakes and the implications, I humbly think that it is a very childish idea, to keep the diplomatic language.

You don't need to write books about the Middle East to know that most of the ideas presented by Friedman as part of the plan are not acceptable and will never work out. If Washington wanted to know how the political allies of Netanyahu will react, they only needed to hire a good Hebrew reader to watch for a week or 10 days the local media. And if they think that without Netanyahu - who is a skilful politician, to keep the same diplomatic language - they will get any 'deal', they underestimate seriously the situation.

But, remember, Kerry was the one who had a nice dinner with Bashar al-Assad when the same Assad was butchering his people. No comment.

The 'plan'

According to the well informed Friedman, the 'plan' includes: a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank; an increased security arrangement in the Jordan Valley (Obama and King Abdullah are expected to meet the 6th of February in California, anyway); an Arab capital in the East Jerusalem; the recognition of the Jewish state by the Palestinian Authority (whose head, Abu Mazen has big problems not only with recognizing Shoah, but also with managing the extreme militant Islamist elements); the maintenance of a couple of settlements, under the condition of compensation from the Israeli state; the right to return of the Palestinian refugees will not be recognized.

Dan Shapiro, the US Ambassador of Israel, said on the occasion of his participation of a conference of the Institute for National Security Studies that the ideas were mostly expressed by the Israeli and Palestinian representatives and does not reflect a strict 'American authorship'. On the other hand, one day before, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the ideas reflect the American ideas. During the government meeting the last Sunday, Netanyahu said that the Jews living in the West Bank might be under the authority of the Palestinian Authority. 

Right now, the security of the settlements is in the majority of cases guaranteed by the IDF, not becaue they like it, but due to the often serious security threats from their Palestinian neighbours.

Consequences

Present at the same discussion of the Institute for National Security Studies, Stephen Hadley, the former national security advisor under the former US president George W. Bush, an experienced diplomat and security expert, outlined that there might be a coincidence between the 'peace plan' and the negotiations with Iran. Most specifically, Benjamin Netanyahu needs serious guarantees that the deal with Iran will be strong enough to do not expose Israel to an atomic danger and thereafter will consider the peace options at home.

On the Israeli home front, the situation turns to be problematic. Local politicians supporting a peace, like the Finance minister Yair Lapid, warns that the EU sanctions - that were never so fast and serious when it was about dealing with the human rights violations in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Syria and many other parts of the world - will affect seriously the Israeli economy. 

The local economy is going through difficult times already, but mostly to the some disfunctionalities of a primarily socialist system non fully adapted to the market economy. 

The possibilities of local elections are quite high, due to the fact that part of the Likud party as well as the bloc party of HaBayt HaYehudi, will never accept the deal. Naftali Bennett, a young leader with a lot of support in the settlements, and the minister of Economy, warned that the deal will over expose Judea and Samaria to serious security threats. 

This Friday, around 2,000 persons gathered in the Old City of Jerusalem to oppose the main points of the 'peace deal' as appeared in the media. 

As for Mr. Kerry, his office declined the possibility of a visit, the 11th within one year, in the region in the next days. 

The peace in the Middle East is a honest wish for many citizens of the Jewish state and probably for many Palestinians too. But it should be done realistically, understanding the needs of the region and the possibilities of the local elites. Something that the NYTimes diplomacy will most likely fail to address. And a dinner with Bashar al-Assad will not bring good inspiration either. 

The German connections of Khodorkovsky case

Putin's decision to pardon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was obviously a symbolic and propagandistic move, aimed to improve the country's image, before Sochi winter games. Together with Khodorkovsky, who was anyway schedule to be freed this August, the doors of the prison opened too for the Pussy Riots girls. 

On the other hand, Khodorkovsky's cause was constantly supported by German politicians and business circles, many of them travelling to Kremlin often in order to request his release. Before being imprisoned, in 2003, the Russian businessman had a last press conference at Hotel Adlon, in Berlin, where he disclosed the corruption and illegalities of Putin's clique. The German diplomacy regularly brought the issue into the agenda of the bilateral discussions. Khodorkovsky's mother was treated for cancer in Germany.

Upon his arrival to Berlin, Khodorkovsky once very close to the nomenklatura of the 'reformed' Russia, was welcomed at the airport by Hans Dietrich Genscher, who had a great contribution to writing the closing chapter of communism. On September 1989, he convinced the Czech authorities to help the refugees from the then DDR. Together with the Hungarian politician Gyula Horn, to whose funerals he participated the last June, and other reformist Hungarian politicians he built the support for the destruction of the Wall. Genscher is a professional politician, with a long governmental career. Between 1969 and 1974 he was Interior minister under Willy Brandt and minister of Foreign Affaris between 1974-1992, under Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl.
The trip of Khodorkovsky to Berlin was prepared by the German diplomacy, but the transportation was made with the airplane provided by the Swiss-German businessman Ulrich Bettermann, the owner of the concern OBO. Bettermann and Genscher went together to the funerals of Horn. Bettermann has also high-end political connections, being one of the founders of the Davos forum and being often a hosted international statesmen such as Henry Kissinger or Mikhail Gorbachev.
Sometimes, the political connections are intricate and may change over time. The old friendships built in time are not easy to destroy. Khodorkovsky was allowed one-year stay in Germany and received a three-month visa for Switzerland, where two of his children study. Shortly after the release, he announced that will dedicate time and energy to fight on behalf of the political prisoners in Russia. His son is already involved in human rights projects in the US. 

New EU Greek presidency is presenting its priorities

Greece still coping with social instability and serious economic deficit took over today the semestrial EU presidency, one of the most important events of the mandate being the European elections this May. Due to the increasing climate of uncertainties about the economic future of the Eurozone and widespread Euroscepticism, the next months are an important test for the unity of Europe.

Under the motto: 'United we sail further', the priorities of the Greek presidency, presented on the official website since the end of the year, are focused on growth and jobs, creating the conditions for the banking union and coping with illegal migration and a growth oriented towards mobility in the area of freedom, security and justice. These objectives were already on the agenda of previous presidents. 

Greece brings to the agenda its own priority, the creation of an integrated maritime policy for the EU. This covers the domain of maritime spatial planning, fisheries, alternative energies and one of the most proficient domain for the economy of Greece, tourism. The last year, tourism recorded an impressive number of 17.8 million tourists, bringing a 12.5 billion EUR. to the economy. The Greek officials are optimistic about the perspective of negotiating a debt deal till the end of the presidency, on 30 June. 

During the official ceremonies today, a 18-hour ban of protests was imposed, and around 2,000 policemen are expected to be at work the entire day. The majority of left or right groups that are usually protesting will respect the ban, with the exception of some far-left organization that already announced the mobilization for a rally in Athens. 

Alex Tsipras, leader of the main opposition party, Syriza - left - announced its absence from the official ceremonies scheduled in Athens, as a message of open disagreement with the policies of the current government. 

Even though the chances to obtain tremendous results in such a short time and given the fact that many EU politicians will be busy to convince their electorate at home for a new mandate, this 6-month presidency gives Greece a symbolical chance to improve its image abroad. The economic problems of the last years, and the increasing influence of the far-right, as well as the resuscitation of various far-left groups created dramatic problems for the perception of Greece in Europe. The next six months can create many interesting image and diplomatic opportunities for the future of the country. 

Here is the logo presentation animation of the Greek Presidency: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s63ZLujZ8ds

New series of Foreign Policy Focus reports

Various writing and professional assignments kept me away the last year from my foreign policy interests. I continued to read and watch the latest evolutions on the international stage, but did not have too much time and energy to organize my thoughts and to publish too many articles on my blog.

This time, I promise a serious come back, with a new book that probably will be ready in maximum 2 months on a very challenging topic - to be disclosed at a certain unexpected moment - new analysis ready in the next days and also new country reports that I call: Political Guides, covering country profiles and insights about the world countries (if everything will go as expected, I plan to publish at the end of the year a full e-book). I will focus especially on the Middle East and Europe, but also on the influence on social media on daily diplomatic works. An old dream of mine is to try to analyse the frozen conflicts especially from the point of view of the soft diplomacy efforts and its failures and successes. 

Compared with the other years, I plan to be more involved in covering life foreign policy events, mostly in Europe, but also publishing interviews and regular contributions with and from respected authorities on various topics.

Last but not least, I have plenty of books and booklets and reports and other information that I should read as fast as I can for regular reviews. Time is always a serious challenge, and I will try to cope with it in the most gracious way.

Those interested to connect on social media, can find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ForeignPolFocus

or on Facebook, where I recently open a dedicated page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Foreign-Policy-Focus

Let's keep in touch very soon!

Champagne for the spy

I did not read too many spy stories, but from what I've read, it seems that their stories are far beyond our already flamed imagination. What we are told is probably only one quarter of the story, in the happiest case scenario, but still enough to give ideas for thousands of thrillers. 

My latest story from this category is about the so-called Champagne Spy, by Nadav Schirman. The movie is reconstructing the life of Ze'ev Gur Arie aka Wolfgang Lotz, through personal stories of his son, Oded and access to direct access to Mossad operatives and documents. Lotz played an important role in the 1960s as a spy in Egypt, a time when German scientists were helping the anti-Israeli authorities in Cairo to build weapons and eventually nuclear and chemical facilities.

It may be a very simple post-WWII spy story but it's not at all. 

When German can be useful

Lotz was born in Germany in a family of artists. His father, not Jewish, was a theatre director and his mother, an actress, not religious and who did not even care to circumcise her son. The father killed himself when he was 2 and he grew up with his mother. They escaped Germany to the then Palestine , got a new name - Ze'ev Gur Arie. There, he was assigned by the Brits to interrogate the German POWs captured in Cairo. He also worked for Haganah. After the independence of the state of Israel, he was looking for a job and his good German skills helped him to make his way to the intelligence services, using also his good family connections, as a future Shin Beth director was part of his circle of relatives. 

He goes through the routine training, helped also by his native German skills, and even though in his evaluation is mentioned that he cannot stand torture and he has 'Problems in overcoming passion for women and wine', he will be accepted and assigned to Unit 131, a top secret unit that operated in cover countries posing a war threat to Israel. At the time: Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

Egypt and the chemical weapons

Hardly any German scientist who stayed in the country during the war was not involved in a way or another in the warfare industry. After, many were hunted either for the Americans for sharing the secrets or for being sent to the well deserved prisons for their involvement in the mass killings. Some of them - including notorious war criminals -  escaped and made their way in the Middle East countries. 

Even though the official explanations delivered by Bonn were that they haven't done it for anti-Semitic feelings, their contribution was on behalf of countries who were building up their arsenal with the aim to attack at a further date the state of Israel. The German government was not happy with the situation but could not prevent it either. This ambiguity and the need to answer international pressures would help somehow Wolf/Gur Arie later in his spy life. 

The scientists from Cairo who were involved in developing chemical weapons used to work at the Army Center in Peenemunde, an important center during the war.

Life in Paris

Wolf/Gur Arie and his family were sent to Paris, as part of the military mission of the embassy there. After the war, Paris used to be the European headquarters of Mossad and many of the children who were at the same school with Oded Gur Arie were part of a bigger family of secrets. Compared to them, he had the advantage of being aware of the reasons for the long absences of his father, as knowing his double identity and partially his mission. 

Except the absences of the father, they lived quite well, in a classy apartment in the 16th arrondissement. 

Unusually enough, he even took his son, less than 15 at the time, to a meeting with some liaison in Paris. He was even shown the tools used for the transmission of secret messages, again quite unusual. His wife was also aware and patriotically supported him, waiting for his returns, a couple of time the year. 

Champagne in Cairo

Life in Cairo seemed to be quite extravagant, if we are thinking about how Europe was. Wolf/Gur Arie started his mission by creating a horse racing club, a meeting point of the expats and rich locals, a good hub for making connections and sharing information.

The Egyptian secret services were pragmatical enough to use the knowledge of the Germans while watching them very carefully. 

The things were getting better for Wolf/Gur Arie who posed as a former Wermacht that participated at the Desert Storm. He enjoyed so much the life there that from a certain point on, noticed one of his superiors during the interviews, he forgot who he was. 'Spying is an art and you don't have to stick too much to the surroundings', this operative said, mentioning that Wolf/Gur Arie mistake was that he needed more self restraint.

Another possible mistake that was fatal to his mission was that he was operating completely on his own, as it appears from the movie: he was gathering information, created a base and also performed various direct missions, as the bomb threat letters sent to the offices of Paul Goercke, Wolfgang Pils and Hans Kleinwachter. The explosive were hidden in Yardley soaps and sometimes collateral victims suffered.

Dirty secrets

One Saturday morning, his mother sent Oded to buy, as usual, the International Herald Tribune. He bought the newspaper and he read on the first page that his father and his wife, whose existence was unknown not only to the family, but to Mossad as well, disappeared from their residence in Cairo, together with other German residents.

What was more strange again was that Mossad found out the news from Rivka Gur Arie, who called them to inform about the news read in the newspaper. 

The 'other wife', Waltraud Neumann, who will be faithful to him till her death, was born in East Germany, in a family of Yehovah Witnesses, a religious group that suffered a lot during the war. They accidentally met on a train during one of Wolf/Gur Arie trips to Europe and she followed him in Egypt. Another mistake: he told her too he is a spy, but didn't mention for whom, but she helped him in his efforts. 

The circumstances of his capture are not clear, the main suspicion being that he was caught while sending secret messages from his room.  

The reward

Because Mossad did not want to be directly involved in the case, the German embassy helped them and offered legal representation to Wolf/Gur Arie and his wife, who were tortured and beaten by the Egyptian secret services. It was convenient for the Egyptians too to consider him a German spy, as they were looking to get rid of the German presence there, now that they shared a lot of important secrets. 

He was condemned to life in prison and she to 3 years. The process was transmitted live in Cairo, and Mossad needed to blur the transmission to Israel, avoiding that someone from home will recognize him. 

They were freed though as part of the prisoners exchange after the Six-Day War, in 1968. Mossad suspected that he might have been recruited by the Egyptians and he was debriefed on several locations in Europe. 

Wolf/Gur Arie returned to Israel living with the German wife till her dead, in 1973. 

Oded and his mother returned too, but their lives followed different paths. Oded fought in the Yom Kippur war and after he went to the States to study business administration and made several businesses here where he resides with his family. Rivka Gur Arie and her son received the proper financial support but there were always resentments for her situation and her destroyed family. 

The adventure continues

Once an adventurer, always an adventurer. After returning, Wolf/Gur Arie was helped to set up a riding center in Israel, but he failed. Later on, he remarried twice, always with women that he met accidentally. He pursued various business projects that eventually failed again, and ended up selling fish at a shopping center in Munich. For a while, he got a book contract and wrote his memories and was paid to share his experiences, but this ended up too. At the end of his life, he was bankrupt and living from loans. He died in 1993 in Germany and was further buried in Israel.

As usual in such situation, his work cannot be evaluated in black and white. He lived in hard times, doing his duty, while trying to get the best out of his life, a glass of champagne in his hand. 

Cold War Stories

Being in between project is never easy, including for someone always busy writing, as the author of this small post. However, writing about foreign policy and international relations in general, and bringing to life interesting and fresh perspectives it is not that easy. With that blog I tried various recipes, from simply copy-pasting various international news and organizing it under a theme - long before spotify was on the market, to analyses on particular topics and outstanding information.

As I am (still) writing a booklet about social media and foreign relations, I dedicated quite a good amount of study to this topic and most probably I will continue to outline the topic at least till my work will be published - I hope to happen in the next 2-3 months though. The most important part of the blog will be dedicated to analysis the consequences of the Cold War to the current state of foreign affairs. Being a grown up in the time when the news about the imminent confrontation between the East and the West were permanently in the news I had a strong feeling and still fresh memories about those times. Also, as a historian by background I suspect that the radical change of paradigm to the 'new' world will still take some time and thus, the remnants will continue to hunt our world for a long time from now.

Because history is made up of small histories, I will try to read many of the episodes of the current world using the past background of the cold times. It does not necessarily work all the time, but at least when it comes to some big conflicts, as it is the case of the tensed situation in the Middle East (by the way, did you know for how many months a slaughter is taking place in Syria and not too many otherwise sensitive persons when it comes to other countries seem to feel ashamed for the lack of intervention) or the evolutions in Russia.

I promise, but not sure, that I will be able to post frequently but at least I give my word to my readers that every time something interesting will take place, will always be around to comment.