Historically, the Arctic has been a ‘low tension area’. The intergovernmental body that presides over the high north, the Arctic Council, only has the authority over certain ‘soft’ matters. These include, but are not limited to: the promotion of and cooperation with scientific research, search......
19 January, 2020
The growing strategic significance of Greenland By Emanuel Skoog Greenland is the world’s largest island, a cold and remotely located territory covered in ice, with only 56,000 inhabitants, making it the least densely populated country in the world. At a first glance, it may seem......
12 January, 2020
By Sander Mulder Last year, we tried to map out the biggest political trends for 2019. Since geopolitics is a complex phenomena, many of the trends we described are still relevant, while they simultaneously lead to new developments as well. The big disruptions caused by new......
05 January, 2020
By Giles Longley-Cook If you are a popular liberation movement looking to gain international attention, 2019 generally will have been a good year for you. Were you hoping to translate this attention into tangible political gains however, you might well have been disappointed. The short-attention......
22 December, 2019
By Koen de Hek Historically, women have played a relatively small role in armies compared to men, mainly because they were often barred from entering armies in the first place. Even during the Second World War, when many women entered the army because of a......
15 December, 2019
By Aileen Schuurmans Conflicts often seem to follow a similar pattern: men fight, women and children suffer, and peace is achieved through the external intervention of an armed peacekeeping mission. However, more goes on beneath the surface. We often perceive conflict through a male perspective,......
08 December, 2019
By Emanuel Skoog A lot has been written about China’s role in Africa and the underlying factors pertaining to its activities on the continent. Far less discussed, is the role and spread of Russia’s current presence and plans for Africa. During the heyday of the......
01 December, 2019
By Jessica Sciarone In 2015, the world was shocked when many Western women, young and old, decided to give in to the siren’s call of the newly established caliphate, comprising of parts of Syria and Iraq. Traditionally, women have been regarded as nurturing, caring and......
24 November, 2019
By Steven van der Plas In December 2017, an Iranian woman was incarcerated after she removed her hijab on a busy street in protest of the country’s strict religious laws. Footage of this event was widely shared on social media, which inspired many more Iranian......
16 November, 2019
Lorenz van der Ven Lebanon is facing a societal stand-still. Already suffering from a struggling economy, the country is facing lasting protests as well. From impoverished Tripoli in the north to Tyre in the south, from the capital Beirut in the west to Baalback in......
03 November, 2019
By Willemijn Bertels To many, the mafia is perceived as something mythical, a legend of Italy’s past. Books and movies such as The Godfather often portray romanticized images of bold men defending their family’s honour, theatrically murdering anyone standing in their way. A contrasting, but......
27 October, 2019
The war in the Donbass region, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, served as a flagrant reminder for the international community of similar conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan in the 1990’s. Indeed, the separatist movements in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts......
13 October, 2019
The ongoing back and forth between the people of Hong Kong and Beijing is the literal embodiment of David and Goliath. Only this time David is equipped with a mask and umbrella, dodging teargas and baton, and Goliath is sitting safely in one of the......
30 September, 2019
By Giles Longley-Cook When vast swathes of Syria rose up in rebellion in 2011, many commentators predicted that Assad’s regime would fall. Eight years later, not only is the grueling civil war winding down, but Assad looks set to win it. Much less attention was......
22 September, 2019
By Koen de Hek For more than a decade, the Nigerian government has struggled to contain an Islamic inspired uprising in the northeast of the country. Behind this rebellion is a group called Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, popularly known as Boko Haram. The group......
15 September, 2019
Earlier this summer, on the 25th of July, Beji Caid Essebsi, the first democratically elected president of Tunisia since the Jasmine Revolution, passed away. Essebi embodied the bridge between the post-independent past and post-revolutionary future. His death presents new challenges for the already uncertain future......
08 September, 2019
By Rik van Dijk Since last month, the European Commission acquired a new weapon in the fight against cyber-attacks on EU soil. The European Council, the heads of the European member states, decided that to protect the EU’s interest, a set of ‘tools’ is needed......
23 June, 2019
By Aileen Schuurmans Last month, the Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina passed away, author of the essay ‘How to write about Africa’. The essay, published in 2005, is a cynical parody of the way in which Western journalists and writers tend to write about Africa, as......
17 June, 2019
By Charley Steur This article first appeared in JASON Magazine 43-2: Opportunities in a changing world For most time in history, men have dominated leading positions at the negotiation table. However, women and men experience conflict differently. Therefore, the inclusion of women is critical to......
09 June, 2019
The Strategic Use of Cultural Heritage on a Global Stage This article first appeared in JASON Magazine 44-1: Strategy By Sander Mulder The destruction of cultural heritage in conflict areas has been a recurring theme throughout history. In modern conflicts, which are characterized by more complex,......
02 June, 2019
By Lorenz van der Ven Iran is expanding its influence in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. By supporting the Shiite-run Hezbollah party, it hopes to gain both political and military influence. Besides, strengthening Shiite influence in Lebanon can be seen as an additional counteract......
26 May, 2019
This article first appeared in JASON Magazine 44-1: Strategy By Willemijn Bertels In today’s world, one may open any newspaper and find an item related to terrorism, be it on the front page or in the short foreign news section. Around the globe, terrorists have......
19 May, 2019
By Ruben Tavenier Although the origins of the current Venezuelan crisis can be traced back to the policies of former president Chavez, the situation steadily deteriorated after Maduro took office in 2013. The severe economic crisis escalated into a humanitarian crisis, causing millions of Venezuelans......
12 May, 2019
By Matthijs Olde On the 5th of May, the Netherlands celebrates its liberation of Nazi occupation in 1945. Ever since the Second World War, western countries have known 70 years of peace. Instrumental to this has been the institutionalisation of global multilateral institutions, such as......
05 May, 2019
The flexing foreign policy and military muscles of the United Arab Emirates By Emanuel Skoog Over the past decade, the small Gulf Arab country of the United Arab Emirates (the UAE) has taken on an increasingly prominent position, playing vital roles in several dramatic regional......
28 April, 2019
By Stijn Gabriël In November 2009, a burned-out Boeing 727 was found in the desert of Northern Mali. It had departed from Venezuela and carried vast amounts of cocaine, before it was set on fire by the traffickers to eradicate the evidence. This marked a......
21 April, 2019
By David Mendelssohn ‘In chess, players seek to dominate the centre and conquer the opponent. In Weiqi (a Chinese game dating 2000 BC), players seek to surround the opponent. The philosophy behind Weiqi is to compete for relative gain over time rather than seeking complete......
14 April, 2019
By Dominique Deinum The war that ravaged Syria seems to be nearing its end. Due in large part to the Russian intervention on behalf of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian regime seems to have escaped being overthrown, and has been able to reassert......
07 April, 2019
By Sander Mulder On June 23rd, 2016, 55,8% of the Northern Irish population voted in favour of remaining within the European Union. However, the discussion about the border with Ireland has become one of the most controversial elements of the Brexit negotiations. Even though the......
31 March, 2019
Political breakthrough or maintaining the status quo? By Lorenz van der Ven Last week, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appointed his new Prime Minister, dr. Mohammed Shtayyeh. He will be the successor of Rami Hamdallah, who resigned late January after the Fatah Central Committee recommended forming a......
24 March, 2019
By Layla van Wieringen & Stijn Gabriël Burkina Faso has been plagued by terrorist attacks since 2015. The International Crisis Group put the deteriorating security situation on its infamous “Global Watchlist”, underlining the gravity of the situation. Especially the last two months have seen a grave degradation:......
17 March, 2019
Examining the geopolitics of infrastructure By David Mendelssohn We all know the symbolic function of ‘building bridges’, it could easily be the theme of a political conference about regional integration and cooperation. This Sunday Read, however, focuses on the completion of two sea bridges in......
10 March, 2019
By Marijn van Rees Liberal internationalism is in crisis and the West is in decline. Or so we are told, at least. Disruption among the P5 in the UN Security Council, leading to paralysis over Syria, proved telling for the shifting power configurations that supposedly......
03 March, 2019
By Koen de Hek Since April 2014, the Netherlands has been contributing to the ongoing United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). According to the Ministry of Defence, the main purpose of the Dutch troops......
24 February, 2019
National emergence and the danger of imperial allies in Northern Syria By Giles Longley-Cook In geopolitics, it is highly dangerous to have a powerful enemy who is both obstinate and erratic. To have an ally like that can be just as dangerous. Continuing their record......
17 February, 2019
By Valérie Deridder What do tech billionaires such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have in common besides money and a disappointing love life? They both own a satellite company, are involved in the spaceflight industry, and have an unprecedented degree of power in society.......
10 February, 2019
By Aileen Schuurmans Earlier this month, the Dutch cabinet publicly accused Iran of involvement with two murders on Dutch soil, and asked for EU sanctions to punish some of Iran’s officials for it. However, many people regard the sanctions as weak and as ‘symbol politics’.......
03 February, 2019
By Steven van der Plas It has already been half a year since the Dutch government implemented the new law on intelligence and security services (WIV), which simultaneously expanded the powers of the Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD) and the Militaire Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (MIVD)......
27 January, 2019
Change and continuity in the EU’s security environment post-Brexit By Daniël Stuke Last Tuesday, amidst a lot of commotion and posturing, the UK’s House of Commons voted against the proposed Brexit-deal between the UK and the EU. Meanwhile, only 68 days remain until the moment......
20 January, 2019
2018 has been a turbulent political year all over the world. The election of populist leaders, changing international power dynamics and rise of non-state terrorist actors have all challenged different levels of governance. Simultaneously, citizens used social media and the act of protest to show......
19 January, 2019
Power Politics in Papua New Guinea By Emanuel Skoog In November this year, the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit in Papua New Guinea (PNG) that the U.S. will partner with PNG and its longstanding Pacific ally Australia......
23 December, 2018
A Crash Course on Hybrid Warfare Contemporary wars are different from the ones we witnessed in the preceding centuries. The fundamental characteristics and conducts of armed conflicts have entered a new paradigm in which the state is not the only target of warfare. Instead, we......
16 December, 2018
For over 70 years, art. 9 of the Japanese constitution has guaranteed Japan’s pacifism and contributed towards peaceful conflict resolution in a dangerous region. Currently, Japanese policy makers struggle to deal with a resurgent China, an unpredictable regime in North Korea and a vital, yet......
09 December, 2018
By Tarik Soliman Osman Dear Reader, Today is Sunday, the 2nd of December 2018, and I am on my university exchange at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. As the winter season is slowly but surely rolling in, the city feels gloomier and colder by the day.......
02 December, 2018
New country, old games Russia’s active measures and hybrid warfare strategy in the Cold war and now. By Matthijs Olde MSc Hybrid warfare is back on the agenda. The Russian government uses this strategy to influence foreign political campaigns, public opinions abroad and international violent......
25 November, 2018
By Ruben Tavenier During a campaign rally in Nevada last October, president Trump announced that the US is planning on terminating the bilateral Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) [1]. This seemingly sudden decision to withdraw from the treaty – of which national security advisor John......
18 November, 2018
By Matthijs Olde MSc The time China was a minor regional player is long gone, and Beijing knows it. The Chinese leadership openly expects to be the world’s biggest superpower before 2050. Chinese president Xi Jinping declared China to ‘lead in the reform of global......
11 November, 2018
By Willemijn Bertels The EU plans to ban the top 10 single use plastic items that are most often found in the sea. Or, in any case, those items for which “alternatives are readily available and affordable”. The consumption and production of other single use......
04 November, 2018
By Charley Steur From dictatorships to democracies: hostility towards the media is spreading. Journalists around the world are threatened by government censorship, organized crime and by commercial pressures caused by the growth of the internet. The sheer brutality of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal......
28 October, 2018
By Alba Léon It is becoming apparent that the liberal democratic ideal is having a hard time, all around the world. In many countries, governments have become synonymous with their charismatic rulers. From Russia to the Philippines, from Viktor Orbán’s Hungary to Venezuela’s Maduro, these......
21 October, 2018
By Bas Kleijweg Back in August, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok was forced to apologize for comments he had made in an ostensibly private speech. In that speech, Blok remarked that there was no such thing as a successful multicultural society and called Surinam......
14 October, 2018
Path of Blood – A Review By Giles Longley-Cook Jonathan Hacker and Thomas Small’s 2014 book ‘Path of Blood’ opens with a scene that sets the tone well for the subsequent narrative. In unsparing detail, the authors recount a Saudi police raid on an Al......
07 October, 2018
Feminist security theory as a supportive approach to solving international issues On September 21 and 22, Canada hosted the first-ever female foreign ministers summit. Politicians coming from 17 states, including Indonesia, Croatia, South Africa, Sweden and Ghana, gathered to discuss some of the most pressing......
30 September, 2018
By Steven van der Plas On the 14th of September 2018, head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker gave his annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament, in which he addressed several major issues and prospects for future EU budgets [1]. The......
23 September, 2018
By Emmanuel Skoog In mid-June this year, the U.S. President Trump announced the creation of an additional branch of the U.S. military, complimentary to the existing Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy branches. This “space force” should be “separate but equal” to......
09 September, 2018
Methamphetamines and the Changing Landscapes of Drug Cultivation in Myanmar By Lewie Clough Changing local and regional drug habits are sustaining conflict and supplying several of Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) with vast revenues. In a region long synonymous for its opium cultivation, Myanmar remains......
09 September, 2018
By Daniel Stuke and Niels van de Ven Central Asia finds itself on the cusp of major geopolitical changes, driven primarily by China’s powerful economic engine. The Central Asian republics are traditionally a solid part of the Russian sphere of influence, but a reorientation is......
02 September, 2018
By C. Morrin Surprisingly enough Japan and Russia have never signed a World War II peace treaty, a consequence of their embroilment over several small islands: Shikotan, Kunashir, Iturup/Etorofu and the Habomai group. The islands are part of the Kuril chain and are located north......
19 August, 2018
By Emanuel Skoog China’s meteoric economic rise during the last couple of decades in conjunction with its large-scale ongoing military modernization programs have facilitated its emergence as a major actor on the international arms trade stage [1]. Prior to 2013 China imported more conventional weapons......
22 July, 2018
By Valerie Deridder It is easy to look back on historic agreements and find fault with them. We often tend to forget the climate of political unrest that preceded them and become critical of major milestones in international relations. On July 2015, such a historic......
15 July, 2018
By Tarik Soliman Osman The European Union, as a socio-political project, initially had mainly to do with the economic interdependence of Germany and France—two of the world’s most notorious historic rivals. By, after the Second World War, making them economically interdependent of one another, the expectation......
01 July, 2018
By Charley Steur Since the end of the Cold War era and especially since the attacks of 9/11 it has become conventional wisdom that the serious dangers posed to U.S. and world security are no longer military threats from rival great powers. Instead cross-border threats......
24 June, 2018
By Agata Chmiel Unless you have not checked your inbox for the past two weeks, you probably have heard of the EU’s new regulation on data privacy which came into force on the 28th of May. The General Data Protection Regulation is a directly enforceable......
10 June, 2018
‘The Customer is always right, right?’ Part II Last week we talked to our Marco Hekkens about the need for a comprehensive approach towards the maritime security capacity building efforts in Somalia (the article can be read here). This week we look at some of the......
05 June, 2018
By J.M. (Matthijs) Olde Hybrid warfare, disinformation campaigns and election meddling have been the keywords used to describe the foreign policy strategy of Russia of the last few years. They have been discussed at length in literature, books, and even at the highest ranks of......
03 June, 2018
By Steven van der Plas On 17 July 2014 Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was brought down over eastern Ukraine. Last week, four years after the incident, international investigators of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), claimed that Russia was the culprit behind the disaster [1]. The......
27 May, 2018
“Look at me! I am the captain now.” When one thinks of Somalia’s maritime security, people immediately assume protection from Captain Philips-like imagery. However, while piracy tremendously diminished in Somalia in the last years, maritime security in the seas around Somalia is a highly complex......
21 May, 2018
By Ruben Tavenier It seems like North Korea has made a 180 degree turn in its behavior, in comparison to not more than half a year ago. Powerful images of North and South Korean leaders holding hands on the demilitarized zone, while both leading the......
20 May, 2018
By Rik van Dijk Artificial Intelligence is one of the most hyped developments of the 21st century. Researchers, pundits and policymakers alike philosophize and speculate how A.I. will change the way we travel, leisure and work. A 2017 McKinsey report estimated that as much as......
06 May, 2018
By Emanuel Skoog “Cidade maravilhosa” meaning marvelous city, also known as Rio de Janeiro. What first comes to mind when one thinks of this, as the locals refer to it, marvelous city, are the Rio carnival, Copacabana beach, almost perpetual sunshine and the recent Olympic......
29 April, 2018
By Martine van Mil As Myanmar readies itself for the third 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference scheduled this May, a critical debate about the future of the country’s security sector appears to be at the heart of the ongoing negotiations. A particular contentious topic that generates......
23 April, 2018
The monuments of Northern Greece and what they tell us about the modern state. By Giles Longley-Cook Walking along the promenade on Thessaloniki’s harbour is an eclectic sensory experience. The water lapping beside you is greasy and dull blue with pollution from the nearby shipping......
15 April, 2018
By Daniel Stuke If we don’t do something now, humanity could face extinction in a matter of years. That is the worry about the threat of lethal autonomous weapon systems, as expressed by numerous experts in the field of Artificial Intelligence and robotics. To the......
08 April, 2018
By Caitlin Morrin Last week the EU pressed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to take part in a conference, scheduled for the 13th of April, aimed at tackling the humanitarian crisis in the African country. The donor meeting, organised by the EU, UN, the Netherlands and the......
01 April, 2018
By Rik van Dijk This week the new Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok released the Geïntegreerde Buitenland- en Veiligheidsstrategie (GBVS), the international Defense and Foreign Affairs strategy. The strategy, titled “Wereldwijd voor een veiliger Nederland” (Global for a safer Netherlands), projects the Dutch priorities in the areas......
23 March, 2018
By Casper Stap Trump was elected in office with his now famous message of America First. According to Trump America should be done with its foreign entanglements, with its wars in jungles and deserts thousands of miles away, with its vast spending in cross-Atlantic partnerships......
18 March, 2018
By Alba Leon For decades, the United States and the European Union championed an international political and economic system based on institutions such as the World Trade Organization, whose mission is ensuring that trade “flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.” [1] Yet, the......
11 March, 2018
By Charley Steur “Never again”, a phrase often chanted by the international community after the horrors committed by Nazi-Germany during World War II. This strong rhetoric emphasized the commitment and need for action by the international community to prevent such mass atrocities in the future.......
04 March, 2018
By J.M. Olde On the 13th of February, Halbe Zijlstra stepped down as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dutch government after a lie about attending a meeting in which the Russian president Vladimir Putin underlined his plans for a reunited and expanded Russia. This lie......
25 February, 2018
By Ruben Tavenier The 2016 presidential elections of the United States have been tainted by allegations of Russian interference. Russian hackers were responsible for hacking the email accounts of members of the Democratic National Committee, which severely affected the presidential campaign of both sides (Chivvis,......
18 February, 2018
By Mercedes Abdalla The Russian leadership has indiscriminately been using its natural resources as a tool to exert political pressure – be it against its adversaries or allies. And new episodes are in full swing of Russia’s resource war series. A long-running dispute over gas......
11 February, 2018
By Steven van der Plas On the 26th of January 2018, Dutch media channels were dominated by a report from journalists of the Dutch newspapers Volkskrant and Nieuwsuur [1]. The report shed light on the activities of the Dutch intelligence services (AIVD) in recent years,......
04 February, 2018
Door Rik van Dijk Afgelopen week stemde de Tweede Kamer over een initiatiefvoorstel van Han ten Broeke (VVD) en Martijn van Helvert (CDA) over het toestaan van gewapende beveiligers op Nederlandse koopvaardijschepen. De Nederlandse koopvaardij, zo beargumenteerden de Leden, lopen orders mis omdat alleen vessel protection detachments......
28 January, 2018
By Agata Chmiel On December 3rd 2017,Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a financial“world war [1] against the countries imposing economic sanctions on Venezuela. For this purpose, he is launching a new cryptocurrency [2] called ‘petro’, which is to “advance in issues of [Venezuelan] monetary sovereignty” [3], combat “Washington-backed conspiracy to sabotage his government [4]”, and to “overcome the......
13 January, 2018
How postmodern Authoritarianism overtook modern culture, and threatens global stability By Giles Longley-Cook Despite the frequently hysterical associations made by the press, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin actually seem to have just one truly common feature. That is their phenomenal ability to remain both ubiquitous......
07 January, 2018
By Alba Leon It is a truth well established that the world, as seen through the lens of international relations, is in a state of anarchy.[1] Sometimes, for brief periods, a system arises that will make relative sense of the chaos. But chaos is the......
26 December, 2017
By Martine van Mil As the international community watched the Myanmar military carry out its highly controversial counter-insurgency campaign in Rakhine State, Beijing constantly refused to condemn the atrocities perpetrated by Myanmar’s security forces. Instead, China blocked the attempts by the United Nations Security Council to......
17 December, 2017
By Daniel Stuke In the past, some US presidents have adopted very precisely-defined and circumscribed foreign policy doctrines. Others instead based their foreign policy agenda on more abstract concepts and ideas. However, what every US president in recent history has had in common, is that......
10 December, 2017
By Caitlin Morrin Currently the world’s gaze turns to North-Korea when addressing the threat of nuclear weapons, but this isn’t the only Asian state we should be watching carefully. The hostile relationship between Pakistan and India also brings with it nuclear danger. These two neighbouring......
03 December, 2017
“It was necessary and proportionate for theindividual self-defense of the UK,” (Cameron 2015) By Charley Steur Given the prevailing situation in Syria and Iraq, there is an immense pressure on Western leaders and policy makers to take urgent and forceful measures against foreign fighters.......
26 November, 2017
By Steven van der Plas On the 8th of November this year, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO will open two new headquarters in Europe [1]. The headquarters will serve important roles in implementing new command structures in order to bolster NATO’s effective......
19 November, 2017
By Casper Stap ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’. Although the person behind this quote – president Obama’s former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel – most likely did not refer to it when he said it, the quote is awkwardly applicable to terrorist......
14 November, 2017
By Wouter Witteveen Since 2015 the European Union has seen a large influx of refugees due to ongoing wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Africa. This refugee crisis resulted in thousands of deaths on the Mediterranean Sea and over 1.2 million refugees making it......
05 November, 2017
Door Christiaan Duinmaijer In het eerste deel van dit artikel is op de machtspositie van Hezbollah in Libanon en de rol en status van het Libanese leger voorafgaand aan het uitbreken van de Syrische burgeroorlog in 2011 ingegaan. In dit afsluitende deel wordt ingegaan op......
29 October, 2017
Door Christiaan Duinmaijer “Wij hebben de oorlog gewonnen…[De strijd tegen] ISIS en al-Nusra [was] de grootste test die wij hebben meegemaakt sinds 2010 en gevaarlijker dan de oorlog van juli 2006.”[1] Triomfantelijke woorden van Hassan Nasrallah, secretaris-generaal van Hezbollah, na de overwinning van zijn milities......
22 October, 2017
By Alba Leon The wars of the 20th Century were of a marked nationalistic or even tribal nature. And there was a small chance, and high hopes, that the 21st Century would then be about the post-national. With global menaces such as global warming looming large,......
08 October, 2017
By Niels van de Ven The war in Yemen between the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed Yemeni government and northern Yemeni Houthi-rebels has been raging since March 2015. However, in the West only relatively little attention has been paid to the conflict. In the words of......
01 October, 2017
By Giles Longley-Cook How does one define a foreign fighter in a ‘Global War on Terror’, in which both sides have declared the entire world a battlefield? The disintegration of belief in strong national ties, under the weight of a number of factors, has contributed......
24 September, 2017
By Agata Chmiel ~ As the “strongest Atlantic basin hurricane” [1] so far, Hurricane Irma has been gathering increasing media attention for the past two weeks. Among daily updates on death tolls, damage and upcoming threats, there seems to be an increasing media focus on societal consequences......
17 September, 2017
By Ruben Tavenier As of 2011, Venezuela is the country with the world’s highest proven oil reserves. It has surpassed countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, making them very dependent on the oil price, which has proven to be volatile[1]. The Venezuelan oil and......
09 September, 2017
By Emanuel Skoog German foreign policy has over the last decades been an oxymoron. An economic dynamo with the possibility for an integral leadership role in Europe, however, the country has often been accused of subscribing to a too cautious or uncooperative approach in addressing......
03 September, 2017
By Claudia Elion In the past three years, jihadist attacks in European cities killed more than 200 people. Over 5.000 European citizens went to Syria to engage in combat. And the Bataclan and Stade de France attacks were one of the most complex terrorist operations ever carried out in......
20 August, 2017
By Rik Evers Since 2012, over 4000 European citizens have left their country in order to join the Syrian conflict. It is estimated that as many as 30% of these foreign fighters have returned [1]. This is a major concern for many European countries, where......
18 August, 2017
By Maarten Lemmens In present Western discourse, the ‘Israel problem'[1], as conceptualized by several notable authors, is often constructed as a never-ending ‘overseas conflict’: something which is the logical persistence of an ancient hostility between foreign peoples and religions. Although this view seemingly helps to understand recent......
06 August, 2017
By Karlijn Arts At first glance, you’ll probably think: how does this topic relate to peace and security studies? Well, to be honest, I think that topics surrounding man-made climate change should be on top of the bill for JASON magazine as the biggest threat......
23 July, 2017
By Eline Hietbrink On June 18, 1985, then President of the United States Ronald Raegan stated: ‘let me further make it plain … that America will never make concessions to terrorists – to do so would only invite more terrorism’ [1]. This claim would be......
16 July, 2017
By Alba León The current US administration, led by Donald J. Trump, has made no effort to hide its animosity and perhaps even disdain towards Latin America. Mexico, due to its porous border with the northern giant, has been at the receiving end of most of......
09 July, 2017
By Bas KleijwegIn the Palestinian movie Paradise Now, there is a scene in which the two protagonists record a video testimony for their kin, planning to blow themselves up in a suicide attack against the Israeli occupation. The recording goes clumsily and a second take......
05 July, 2017
By Wouter Witteveen Research (1) shows that we have increasing interest for our national history. We tend to read more and more books and magazines on the history of the Netherlands. We watch more historical documentaries, dissect our family tree and visit more archives, historical......
25 June, 2017
By Panos Kontogiannis The Greek State has repeatedly been faced with political crises in the majority of its modern history. During the 1960s, Greece was shaken by political clashes and violent social confrontations; incidents that were sealed with the military coup d’état in 1967. The......
18 June, 2017
NATO 3.0: ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL; With the end of the Cold War in the early nineties one could see the profound transformation of NATO. NATO has been consistent and strong in keeping its collective defence relevant while at the same time......
10 June, 2017
By Floris van Wieren Since Macron has been elected President of France, there has been a general positive mood in Europe. Europe and policymakers looked with great anxiety to the French elections, as the possibility of Marine Le Pen and her Front National winning were......
04 June, 2017
By Iñigo Alexander Paraguay is usually a discreet country and normally avoids the watchful eye of global Western media. The country has yet to reach the international political and economic prominence other Latin American countries enjoy. Paraguay seemingly keeps to itself. Developments are quickly glossed over,......
28 May, 2017
By Alba León For years now, news from Latin America tried to highlight the successes in the region. After dark years of military rule and dictatorships that lasted in some cases into the 1980s, it seemed as if the region had found its footing. The......
21 May, 2017
By Rik Evers Many political parties in Europe which can be characterized as right-wing populist, have seen a significant increase in popularity and votes. This poses a danger to Europe’s international security due to these parties’ promise to pull their country out of the EU.......
14 May, 2017
By Giles Longley-Cook In a recent interview with Reuters, President Trump, the world’s most powerful man, admitted that he never fathomed how difficult it would be holding the highest office in International politics [1]. It is no wonder then that Trump has remained addicted to......
07 May, 2017
Door Sera Turan Wanneer mensen de media moeten geloven, draait het allemaal om twee groepen tegen over elkaar: Gülen en Erdoğan aanhangers. Mijn twee zussen en ik zijn de dochters van een Nederlandse moeder en een Turkse vader en bij ons thuis is iedereen tegen......
28 April, 2017
By Roderick Buiskool Will Indonesia continue to step up its engagement in UN peace operations, and fulfil its potential as an emerging country in the realm of peace operations, or will the country be engrossed with internal conflicts, and lose credibility as a UN troop contributing......
23 April, 2017
Door: Maarten Visser Een jaar na het uitbreken van de oorlog in Syrië besloot Hezbollah de Syrische regeringstroepen van president Bashar al-Assad te steunen. De Sjiitische militie vormt samen met Iraanse, Russische en Syrische eenheden een bondgenootschap met als doel president Assad aan de macht......
16 April, 2017
By Emanuel Skoog When people think of Sweden, the initial viewpoint that normally comes to people’s minds is a country which adopted neutral positions during both World Wars and the Cold War. The country’s policy of neutrality in armed conflicts has been the guiding defence......
09 April, 2017
By Agata Chmiel ~ This past Wednesday, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Theresa May triggered article 50 (2) of the TFEU [1], or in other words, sent signed divorce papers to her European counterpart, Donald Tusk. As in formal marriage disputes, at this point it......
05 April, 2017
By Daniel Stuke In February this year, Beijing escalated its already menacing language towards its island neighbour Taiwan, stating that “Independence means war”. [1] This caused anxiety with its most powerful friend, the United States. As China continues to grow in power, adopting an increasingly......
26 March, 2017
Door Wouter Witteveen Op 3 december 2015 schreef voormalig Kinderombudsman Marc Dullaert een brief [1] aan ministers Van der Steur en Asscher om zijn zorgen te uiten over de aanpak van polarisatie en radicalisering in Nederland. Hierin stelde hij dat “blijkt dat het thema voornamelijk......
19 March, 2017
By Kevin Benning & Niels van de Ven With the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991 a lot of barriers came down. One result was the opening of the borders between several nation states, which resulted in a free flow of e.g. cargo,......
12 March, 2017
Door: Floris Grijzenhout Het was in de nacht van 8 op 9 november 2016 dat ik de President’s Night bijwoonde in de Melkweg in Amsterdam. Het was een ervaring die ik niet snel zal vergeten: zelden heb ik zo’n eenheidsworst meegemaakt als bij die gebeurtenis. Afgezien van......
05 March, 2017
By Panos Kontogiannis Today social media has become more present in the daily life of global citizens. There are on average 295 million users of social media in Europe, a number equal to 40% of its total population. Facebook alone counts 232 million active users.......
28 February, 2017
By Dana Cohen In February 2016, Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Antonin Scalia passed away. With his death, a seat opened up in the highest federal court of the country, which normally consists of nine justices (eight associate and......
19 February, 2017
By Anca-Elena Ursu ~ This past week the South China Sea maritime disputes regained public attention when China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) expects Japan to comply with the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Treaty and......
12 February, 2017
By Claudia Elion 800.000 Tutsi’s were killed during the Rwandan genocide. Over 480.000 Sudanese civilians were killed during the Darfur genocide. And 8.000 Bosniaks were killed during the Srebrenica genocide. And three times the international community promised “never again”. But in Syria, already more than......
29 January, 2017
By Agata Chmiel~ President Obama proclaimed January to be the US Human Trafficking Awareness Month, proving that the issue, not only in Americas but internationally, is on the rise. Throughout the last decade of economic and migration crises occurring across the globe, human trafficking in......
15 January, 2017
By Wouter Witteveen ~ Since 2011 Europe has seen an outflux of roundabout 4000-5000 foreign fighters joining the fight in Syria and Iraq [1][2]. Almost all of these foreign fighters come from Western-European countries. The amount of citizens willing to fight their Jihad in Syria......
08 January, 2017
By Alba Leon ~ The Denial of Peter seems to be a good metaphor for the collective and worldwide denial of common sense that seems to be taking hold. Personally, I woke up to news that I couldn’t believe was true three times this year. There were......
25 December, 2016
By Rik van Dijk ~ Title: Arms and the Dudes: How Three Stoners from MiamiBeach Became the Most Unlikely Gunrunners in History Author: Guy Lawson As a disclaimer I must inform our readers that this book nor the movie it spawned is very new. However, I decided......
18 December, 2016
By Emanuel Skoog ~ Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 NATO has focused greatly on working on its deterrence in the Baltic region with stepped up air patrols and the promise to dispatch troops there [1]. However, Russia is giving increased priority to expanding its......
11 December, 2016
By Iñigo Alexander ~ So far in 2016 we have encountered several politically surprising events and outcomes, the prime examples being Donald Trump’s recent victory in the US Presidential election and the UK’s calamitous Brexit vote. The rise of demagogic political rhetoric and the increased......
04 December, 2016
By Quint Hoekstra ~ For over a generation, Western militaries have spent much of their attention on improving military technology while neglecting the damaging effects of their memories of the last war. This mental barrier has prevented them from fully understanding the implications of the......
27 November, 2016
By Giles Longley-Cook ~ Amongst the plethora of conspiracy theories flung around by the present populist movements a common feature is that of a globalizing politician who somehow has the personal power and intelligence to manipulate vast, complex demographic shifts entirely for their own advantage.......
14 November, 2016
By Maarten Lemmens ~ When standing in front of thousands of people in Istanbul celebrating the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople on May 30, 2015, The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred back to the moment of his election as mayor of Istanbul......
30 October, 2016
This interview will appear in the upcoming edition of JASON Magazine, which is all about the US Elections. Make sure you do not miss it! In an exclusive interview for our American Election Special journalist and NOS correspondent in the United States Wouter Zwart was......
16 October, 2016
By Christiaan Duinmaijer ~ This is the third and last in a series of three articles concerning democracy in the Arab World. In the 90’s Francis Fukuyama wrote that liberal democracy would become universal, but nowadays democracy is often declared unfit for the Arab world: imposed......
02 October, 2016
By Christiaan Duinmaijer – Part I: People’s choice or imposed? This is the first in a series of three articles concerning democracy in the Arab World. – In the 90’s Francis Fukuyama wrote that liberal democracy would become universal, but nowadays democracy is often declared unfit......
18 September, 2016
By Karlijn Arts Back in 1945, during and shortly after the conferences which established the UN, Hans Morgenthau was critical about the creation of this major institution. He foresaw two major obstacles in the formation and functioning of the UN as a unifying, peace- and security......
21 August, 2016
By Quint Hoekstra – NATO is in desperate need of a strategy. For decades it has been accused of being a military alliance without an enemy but now that it has a clear adversary in Russia it lacks a coherent plan to confront it. Indeed, ever......
08 August, 2016
By Kevin Benning and Niels van de Ven – The instability of states in North-Africa and the Middle East has given momentum to Islamic terrorist groups, with Islamic State as the main treat. After the start of the Syrian civil war, ISIS gained a lot......
01 August, 2016
By Iñigo Alexander European politics seems to be at boiling point at the moment. The political turmoil in the United Kingdom following their departure from the European Union and the subsequent resignation of Leave campaigners such as UKIP’s Nigel Farage has brought about an unprecedented......
17 July, 2016
– By Giles Longley-Cook - The politics of Fear and urgency have been utilized by governments to override laws and make quick, often dubious decisions as well as to undermine the power of resistance. Recent atrocities in Europe and America display how this mentality is......
28 June, 2016
– By Emanuel Skoog – When one thinks of Australia, the initial thoughts that usually come to people’s minds are endless beaches, perpetual sunshine, exotic animals and a country far removed from the turmoil of for instance the Middle East and North Africa. However, Australia......
12 June, 2016
By Dana Cohen International media coverage of the American primary elections is largely focused on Republican candidate Donald Trump. The bouts of personal name-calling and even comparing of penis size between candidates before all but Trump decided to forfeit were there for all to enjoy,......
05 June, 2016
Het is de gebeurtenis waar de hele wereld naar uitkijkt. Eén keer in de vier jaar vindt de grootste race ter wereld plaats. Locatie: de Verenigde Staten. Op 8 november as. mogen miljoenen Amerikanen op het stembiljet een kruisje zetten bij hun favoriete kandidaat. De primaries zijn......
22 May, 2016
By Rik van Dijk – We are getting ripped off by every country in NATO, where they pay virtually nothing, most of them.”[1] The presidential travelling carnival that is Donald Trump spoke openly to his audiences about dissolving what he regarded was an obsolete military partnership......
30 April, 2016
By Daniël Stuke With the announced shutdown of two additional coal power plants last week, it seems the Netherlands is finally stepping up its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Sadly, the measure comes a couple decades too late: recent estimates predict the rise in average......
16 April, 2016
By Ilias Halbgewachs – The Mafia, those masters of fear mongering are not a frequent item on the news outside of Italy but as this article will show the mafia does impact all of Europe and in ways you may not immediately expect. In the......
31 March, 2016
Door Friso M.S. Stevens – Het kabinetsbesluit voor deelname aan de coalitie tegen Islamitische Staat (IS) werd ogenschijnlijk binnen enkele weken genomen. Daar waar de PvdA jarenlang de kabinetten Balkenende kastijdde over de politieke steun die Balkenende I gaf aan de invasie van Irak in 2003,......
30 March, 2016
ECHOES FROM GEORGIA IN UKRAINE TODAY [1] – By Françoise Companjen and Werner Kiel – The 2014 events in Ukraine have given a strong incentive to rethink EU-Russian relations. These international relations are embedded in a complex network of security, energy and economic trade forces,......
29 March, 2016
Het einde van Siberië? Het volgende nummer heeft als thema separatisme van het verleden en vandaag: Libië, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zuid-Soedan, Noord-Ierland, Oekraïne en Georgië. Het artikel over separatisme in Siberië door Werner Kiel belicht immigratie, economische ontwikkeling, en andere belangrijke aspecten van dit proces in Ruslands......
28 March, 2016
De ‘dangerous gamble’ van de legerleiding in Egypte Het juninummer van JASON Magazine zal aan Revoluties in Europa, Zuid-Amerika, Midden-Oosten en Azië. Ivo Roodbergen analyseert in zijn artikel aan de hand van gesprekken met betrokkenen waarom de Egyptenaren nu weer kiezen voor het Egyptische leger......
27 March, 2016
The June issue of JASON Magazine will be dedicated to Revolutions in Europe, South-America, Middle-East and Asia. Ralphaela Kormoll analyses in her article the protests in Bangkok against the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his successors and their demand a return to democracy. By......
26 March, 2016
Why should you vote on May 22nd? By Claudia Elion The European Union (EU) is an unique model of co-operation in the 21st century. One could say that no other regional institution has brought so many benefits to countries as the EU has. It combines supragovernmental......
25 March, 2016
Door Niels van Willigen[1] Eind maart vindt in Den Haag de Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) plaats. Het wordt de grootste multilaterale top ooit in Nederland gehouden, met 58 regeringsleiders en/of staatshoofden. De NSS is een voorbeeld van een ad hoc diplomatiek proces, waarbij staten niet worden gehinderd door bureaucratische......
24 March, 2016
By Natalia Kadenko – Ukrainians have always taken politics personally – their increasingly cynical political humour is a mark of a profound idealism. These days you can hardly hear people talk about anything else beside the ongoing protests; the amount of sophisticated political analysis surrounding......
23 March, 2016
Four different phones are ringing at the same time, one call immediately followed by the next. People are running around, discussing with each other, trying to put some sense and order into the chaos. New information flows in every minute, plans and statements change, arrangements......
22 March, 2016
Pieter Rademakers – A group of Greenpeace has tried to get aboard of a Gazprom oil platform in the Barents Sea, more precisely in international waters, according to media reports. Camera footage shows indeed at least two persons climbed the platform, while several others in......
21 March, 2016
De bloedige burgeroorlog in Syrië raast nog steeds in haar volle verschrikking door. De oorlog heeft het land volledig verscheurd, maar zal het ook zijn buurlanden meeslepen in het strijdgewoel? Zal het kleine buurlandje dat Libanon heet, deze storm kunnen weerstaan? Christiaan Duinmaijer Libanon mag......
20 March, 2016
Interview met Khalil Wedad, stichting Samenwerking Afghanistan-Nederland (SAN) Khalil Wedad, een amicale man van in de vijftig, woont met zijn vrouw en zoon sinds 1997 in Nederland. Geboren in de Panjshirvallei in noordwestelijk Afghanistan, groeide Khalil op in Kaboel. In 1982 vertrok hij als uitwisselingsstudent......
19 March, 2016
Yesterday one of the most influential countries in the world called upon its citizens to decide the cost of healthcare and tax rates, as well as the future of some minor issues like Palestine and Iran. Yes, we, the international security experts from all over......
18 March, 2016
De huidige economische crisis wordt voornamelijk gezien als het resultaat van mismanagement bij Amerikaanse financiële dienstverleners en de grote financiële onkunde van Griekenland, een samenloop van omstandigheden waar de rest van Europa de dupe van lijkt te worden. De eurozone wankelt en haar leden gaan......
17 March, 2016
“The silent hunger crisis — affecting one sixth of all of humanity — poses a serious risk for world peace and security.” [1] The world population is growing, and the arable land is decreasing. For example China has to feed 1.3 billion people, but only has......
16 March, 2016
