Post-Imperial Rigor Mortis & Cultural Hooliganism

The Brutish Connexion In the darkest and dustiest corners of the human mind lurk such unfortunate traits as greed,active racism, cowardice, and even sheer barbarity. So it is with states and empires, most of which have their fair share of skeletons in the cupboard which, when opened, reveal such nasty…

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The ‘Zero Point’ in Serbian History

The newest rhetoric with regard to the “resetting” of relations between Serbia and the US after the 1999 NATO bombing over Kosovo — the “resetting” that allegedly took place with the visit of the American Vice President Biden to Serbia earlier this year — is phrased as the quest for…

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Challenges of the Russian Foreign Policy

There is no doubt whatsoever that Russia today has returned to the international scene as a leading world power, after labouring hard for two decades. Its immense geographical area, its special role in ensuring international peace and security and its global interests made it imperative for Russia to pursue a…

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Jerzy Buzek: Man From a Far Country?

  It was hailed by many as an historic day in Strasbourg. The Polish MEP Jerzy Buzek was overwhelmingly chosen as the European Parliament’s president – the first time a leader from the former Soviet bloc is leading a major EU institution. In his inaugural speech, Buzek said: “Once upon…

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A Small Power and its Big Neighbour

Receiving President Medvedev and the Russian Security Initiative When President of Russia, Dmitri Medvedev, visited Finland in April, he gathered a relatively mild interest compared with the attention that meetings of the presidents of the two neighbours usually got during the Cold War. Stiff appearances and official communiqués were not…

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