The 10 Best Articles on International Security Concerns this week
Each week we provide a collection of 10 must reads from around the web on issues pertaining to international security. Simply click the article title to open a new tab.
This week’s top 10 (in alphabetical order) are:
The New York Times
Following the recent developments in Ukraine, the West has two options: either provide with military assistance to Ukraine, or force them to surrender and agree to Putin’s terms.
The New York Times
Russia might have gained territory in Ukraine but its excessive aggression has reduced support for its actions as well as resulted in the emergence of a strong Ukrainian national identity. Ukraine’s best defence is to convince Russia that their insistence to prevent Ukraine’s economic integration with Europe will not create further security for Moscow.
Le Monde Diplomatique
Emerging in an increasingly chaotic Middle East, IS is profiting from the region’s growing secretarianism, political vacuum and the ambivalence of the West.
New UN Peacekeeping Mission Faces Uphill Battle in Central African Republic
The Global Observatory
On paper, the mandate of the newest UN peacekeeping mission gives it the means to do what its numerous predecessors failed at in CAR but the worsening security situation on the ground, lack of institutional reform and slow political progress make achieving a successful outcome more uncertain.
Obama Just Made the Ultimate Commitment to Eastern Europe
The Atlantic
In his speech in Tallinn, Estonia, president Obama used the sharpest language of any U.S. president since Ronald Reagan toward Russia and assured all NATO’s new allies of the commitment of the United States to defend them in case they were attacked.
Putin Has Done NATO a Big Favor
The New Yorker
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, NATO has been experiencing an identity crisis and increasing divisions appeared among its membership. With his actions in Ukraine, Putin has provided NATO with a new purpose in form of a common threat and a renewed purpose for its existence.
Foreign Policy
The Islamic State, once considered simply an al Qaeda affiliate, has emerged as a serious contender to become the dominant jihadi group, challenging al Qaeda in terms of global terrorist credibility and the support of world’s jihadi organizations.
What Tusk and Mogherini Mean for Europe
Carnegie Europe
EU leaders finally made a decision on the new president of the European Council and the predecessor of Ashton as EU’s foreign policy chief with Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk and Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, respectively, appointed for the posts.
US Conducts Counterterrorism Operation in Somalia
Foreign Policy
US assistance in the fight against the al Shabaab terrorist group has quietly increased since the attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi last year.
Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault
Foreign Affairs
The United States and its European allies are largely to blame for the current crisis in Ukraine as the West falsely believed that realpolitik had become irrelevant and the respect for liberal principles, such as the rule of law, economic interdependence, and democracy would prevent any aggression in Europe. They failed to predict the consequences as well as ignoring Putin’s warning about the Eastern expansion of both the EU and NATO.
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