Photo by James Gordon / Wikimedia Commons
What stands behind Moscow’s support to the Assad regime?
Briefing Paper
Responsibility to protect... itself? Russia’s strategy towards the crisis in Syria
Despite attempts to present itself as a neutral force, Russia de facto supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime by both political and military means. Moscow’s main goal was to defend the regime against the pressure to relinquish power to the opposition, and also to deter any attempt at a Western/Arab military intervention in Syria. Moscow seems to be ready to accept any scenario which will effectively prevent a regime change in Syria, through prolonging the conflict and the “Lebanization” of Syria, or via an interim agreement which would freeze the status quo. This offers little room for cooperation between the West and Russia, Visiting Researcher Marek Menkiszak argues in the latest FIIA Briefing Paper.
Photo by EU Naval Force Media and Public Information Office
Global Maritime Security Environment in Transition
European Parliament Report
The Maritime Dimension of CSDP: Geostrategic maritime challenges and their implications for the European Union
A recent European Parliament study argues that the global maritime security environment is in the midst of an important transformation which requires an upgrading of the maritime dimension of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). FIIA researchers Timo Behr, Jyrki Kallio, Mika Aaltola, Charly Salonius-Pasternak and Coordinator Maija Salonen contributed to the study.
Working Paper
Securing global commons: A small state perspective
Mika Aaltola, Joonas Sipilä, Valtteri Vuorisalo
Photo by European External Action Service
European foreign policy in the 21st century
FIIA Report 36
Equipping the European Union for the 21st century - National diplomacies, the European External Action Service and the making of EU foreign policy
In the latest FIIA Report, published jointly with the European Policy Centre, Rosa Balfour and Kristi Raik argue that the European External Action Service needs to be at the centre of an emerging EU system of diplomacy.
EPC Issue Paper
The European External Action Service and National Diplomacies
Rosa Balfour & Kristi Raik (eds.)
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Photo by Katri Pynnöniemi
Russia's evolving challenges
Report 35
Russian critical infrastructures: Vulnerabilities and policies
The Russian policies on critical infrastructure protection, which were outlined in the early 2000s, are evolving against a background of the degeneration of infrastructures critical for the country’s economic and social development, and the de-legitimization of political institutions. The recent major catastrophes in Russia, the forest fires in 2010 in particular, have become examples of political events that offer a point of reference for the current regime’s failure to uphold its promises of ‘order and stability’.
Briefing Paper
Russia’s pressure politics: The Kremlin’s uncompromising approach to opponents threatens political stability
Sean Roberts
Photo by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Peacebuilding during economic crisis
Event / Video
Building Peace and Preventing Conflicts during Economic Turmoil
While observers warn that the conflict in Syria could escalate and expand, the UN Security Council has failed to agree on how to deal with the situation. A high-level seminar organised by CMI in cooperation with FIIA addressed the issue of peace mediation in a situation where the economic crisis seems to direct media attention away from the human suffering in conflicts. The key note speakers included Nobel Peace laureate President Ahtisaari, George Soros, BBC World Special Correspondent Lyse Doucet and Major General Robert Mood.
Event
From peace project to efficient peace-maker? Strengthening the EU’s mediation capacities
Brussels, 16 Nov
Photo by Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America
Listen to FIIA Lecture Series on US Elections online
Event / Audio
The New Red Peril: America's Public Debt Problem
Professor Iwan Morgan argued that the solution to the debt problem lies partly in restoring economic growth but primarily in finding bipartisan political solutions to structural fiscal problems that will oblige the Republicans to accept higher taxes and the Democrats to accept entitlement reform.
FIIA Comment
Obama headed for victory: Four reasons why Romney is unlikely to re-bend the arc of history
Charly Salonius-Pasternak
Event / Audio
The 2012 US Presidential Election Campaign: Polls, Money and the Media
Stephen J. Farnsworth
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Photo by mmoneib / Flickr.com
Transition in the Arab World
PISM-FIIA joint publication
Still awake: The beginnings of Arab democratic change
As the Arab world moves from the dismantling of autocratic regimes to the building of democratic institutions, various models of transition have emerged that are shaped by the different political bargains struck during the transition. This suggests that electoral politics will remain messy and that unresolved conflicts will be frozen in the emerging political regimes. However, with some of these transitional bargains now being contested, there is potential for a further deepening of democratic change; but also a real risk that the region will see a re-emergence of political conflict, a report co-edited by FIIA Researcher Timo Behr argues.
Working Paper
Humanizing security? The EU's responsibility to protect in the Libyan crisis
Marlene Gottwald
Photo by the Presidential Press and Information Office of Russia
Putin's third presidency
FIIA Comment
The first 100 days of Putin's presidency see a tightening of the screws
If Dmitry Medvedev was conciliatory in his final months as president, then Vladimir Putin seems intent on a more combative approach. But the Putin administration's confident moves to re-establish order hide a deeper fear of more protests and a possible colour revolution scenario ahead of the autumn regional elections, FIIA Researcher Sean Roberts argues.
Briefing Paper
An alienated partnership: German-Russian relations after Putin's return
Stefan Meister
External publication
Russia and Eurasian economic space: the case of 'Strategic Partnership 1520'
Katri Pynnöniemi
Manuguf / Wikimedia Commons
Challenges of Sustainable Development
Briefing Paper
Ripe and Ready for Rio+20: The UN conference on sustainable development and the European Union
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) marks a historic opportunity to address unsustainable trends in economic, social and environmental development multilaterally. Still, on the eve of Rio+20, the international community lacks consensus and leadership. The EU has taken a very proactive and constructive role in the preparations for Rio+20 but its commitment to the sustainable development agenda is not shared equally across its policies or member states. It is of utmost importance for a successful outcome that the EU works in unison throughout the process.
Briefing Paper
Great expectations: Understanding why the UN climate talks seem to fail
Antto Vihma & Harro van Asselt
Briefing Paper
Fighting climate change: A structural shift towards renewable energies requires concerted policy action
Patrick Matschoss
Once a month
UPI Breakfast Briefing
Breakfast Briefings deal with topical EU affairs which have implications for Finns and Finland. These Finnish language seminars take place at the Annex Building of the Parliament.
FIIA Newsletter, 19.6.2013
FIIA Newsletter 2/2013
FIIA cooperated with the Office of the President of the Republic of Finland to organise Kultaranta Talks in Naantali 16—17 June. In July, FIIA will take part in SuomiAreena in Pori. Moreover, Programme Directors have been appointed for 2014—2016.
In the media, 17.6.2013
Expert hopes the US will turn its gaze to Europe again
Institute Director Teija Tiilikainen discussed the free trade negotiations beginning in July between the EU and the United States (Turun Sanomat 15.6.). She said the free trade agreement talks have important implications both for the economy and politically. (in Finnish)
In the media, 17.6.2013
Asterix's village greatest threat to coexistence
Institute researcher Tanja Tamminen was interviewed by the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet on 15.6. She discussed the issue of North Kosovo's Serb areas in the relations between Serbia and Kosovo. (in Swedish)
Briefing Paper 132
Transatlantic drug trade: Europe, Latin America and the need to strengthen anti-narcotics cooperation
Mikael Wigell & Mauricio Romero
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) maintains an online archive Eilen which consists of speeches and key documents related to Finnish foreign policy. In addition, the site features a chronology detailing the most significant events in Finnish foreign policy since 1973.
The European Union
The European Union research programme focuses on the EU's global and regional role, including the internal dynamics of the Union. The main research themes are the EU's external action, economic policies and institutional development.
The EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia
The EU's Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia research programme studies the EU's eastern environment with a special focus on Russia's domestic and foreign policy. In particular, the programme concentrates on political developments in the region, energy and climate policies. It also studies international relations in the EU's eastern neighbourhood and the relationship between the region and the EU.
Global Security
The Global Security research programme approaches global security challenges within the framework of broad security. The programme seeks to understand the global trajectories of security that have significance for the European and Finnish security environments. The issues approached include the prospects for global governance systems, changes in the major power structure, significant factors in functional and regional security and insecurity, the role of the transatlantic relationship in world politics, and the different dimensions of the European security policy.
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