The last weeks have been all about Gaza and the Middle East. While that region remains key in international affairs, the old Europe proved to have interesting news as well recently. The European Commission said that Scotland would have to apply for membership, according to a report in The Scotsman newspaper. This statement came as the Scottish government said that independent Scotland will remain in the EU. The Commission move is a clear message from the EU, indicating that it has taken sides with the central governments of European countries in making it clear again that any secessionist country would have to apply for EU membership. This is a message [...]

During the last few weeks I struggled to find out ‘the important’ in the world news. As always, travels are making it even harder – but at the same time, the details of life perceived while traveling are making all the difference. Away from the media noise about the troubles of the eurozone, I had the opportunity to travel in Germany, Austria and Greece recently. Starting my trip in southwestern Germany, at the very heart of the eurozone, I had the chance to meet with businesspeople saying that the “EU must be organized in order to work efficiently” and listen to students talking about the great chances that the European [...]

During a search for updates on latest news from Skopje, the words of actor Vlad Jovanovski stood out from the pages of Macedonian “Utrinski Vesnik” newspaper, as the rough translation of his phrase portrays “the Macedonian people as someone who sits on a volcano that could explode at any moment.” This is not new, nor does it describe only Macedonia. The “powder keg of Europe” metaphor defined the Western Balkans as early as the beginning of the 20th century. We may argue that a lot has changed since. However, geography stays the same, shaping up history in circles and maintaining the intrinsic link with ethic identity. We may argue that [...]

This week, the prime minister of the United Kingdom called into question the nature of European integration, forcing member countries to re-evaluate their roles in the regional bloc. Now the possible fall of Slovenia’s government could, despite the country’s small size, have significant implications for the European Union. This week the Slovenian government lost its parliamentary majority after one of the parties quit the governing coalition. Slovenian Prime minister Janez Jansa is under pressure to step down after allegedly misreporting his private wealth, and coalition member Civic List left the government after Jansa did not respond to an ultimatum calling for his resignation. Another coalition member, the Pensioners’ Party, is [...]

“The world is seen differently depending on one’s location.” This phrase has been haunting me for some time and I’m constantly reminded of it in all my trips and discussions. Being tied into our own daily reality, we care less about what’s happening in the world and we tend to be interested only in those issues that affect us. I understand that someone living in Romania doesn’t pay much attention to what’s going on in Mexico. But for me, being able to look beyond my own perspective to see what motivates actions by countries is important, and it’s at the center of my job at Stratfor.I’ve always loved international relations [...]