23 years ago, NATO began a bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia. The campaign was trigger by the outbreak of violence in Kosovo – with NATO aiming to force Serbian President Milošević to end his violent ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kosovo Liberation Army. On 10th June 1999, after 78 days of bombing, the Kumanovo … Continued

The Russian invasion of Ukraine – the most serious military conflict in Europe since the Second World War – this has thrust into the spotlight the degree to which liberal democratic countries such as the UK are internally resilient and self-sufficient. While the UK has played an integral part in facilitating meaningful international action against … Continued

Since the beginning of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the West has adopted the most comprehensive set of sanctions ever imposed against a country. The most recent development – halting American imports of Russian oil and gas – hits the Kremlin where it hurts the most. So far, however, sanctions do not seem to have deterred … Continued

Turmoil has recently engulfed Bosnia and Herzegovina once again. Fuelled by Serbian nationalist intentions, and supported by the Kremlin, concerns are growing over the future of the Balkans region and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty. We saw violence prevail in the region in the 1990s, and we cannot allow this to happen again. Whilst Europe and the … Continued

Women’s rights are seldom considered a priority in authoritarian regimes; from the domestic abuse laws in Russia which stipulate that the first time a husband beats his wife he merely receives a fine, to the forced sterilisation of Uyghur women in Xinjiang Province, China, women are second-class citizens in several countries of the world. The Henry … Continued

School education is by far the most powerful tool to puncture extremist influences. Curricula are the key to achieving the tolerant and open-minded societies of the future. But they are also where negative influences: skewed historical narratives, hatreds of the other, gender inequalities and political violence take root. The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in … Continued

The defeat of Donald Trump in November 2020 followed by the attack on the US Congress on 6th January 2021 represented a tipping point moment in the history of the American republic. Divided at home and facing a world sceptical of American claims to be the ‘indispensable nation’ in world politics, it is clear that the … Continued

In “Conspiracy U: A Case Study”, Scott A. Shay presents a case study of his alma mater, Northwestern University, in order to challenge the proliferation of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories championed on college campuses more generally by both the far right and far left. In the book, Shay tackles the thorny question of how otherwise brilliant minds … Continued

The Biden administration has faced a challenging first year in office. From the withdrawal from Afghanistan, raised tensions on the Ukraine-Russia border, and the Indo-Pacific tilt through to the diplomacy involved in coordinating the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign policy questions have thrown themselves at the President’s team in rapid succession, and have not … Continued

The Holocaust has come to be remembered as the greatest act of brutality and genocide in history. The UK has made considerable efforts in the commemoration of the lives lost in the Holocaust, and in the education of this tragic event. In 1983 the first Holocaust memorial was established in Hyde Park, and in 1988, … Continued

Over the last eight years, negotiations through the Trilateral Contact Group (OSCE, Ukraine, Russia) and Normandy Format (Germany, France, Ukraine, Russia) to end the war in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine have failed to achieve a peace agreement. The Russian-Ukrainian war has created two million internally displaced persons and refugees, killed over 15,000 combatants … Continued

What lessons can we glean from past atrocities such as the Holocaust, and apply to contemporary crises – whether they be other genocides, or the ongoing global refugee crisis? In the wake of anti-Semitic violence co-ordinated by the Nazi regime in Germany, the British government allowed unaccompanied minors under the age of 17 to enter Great Britain … Continued

    The 1942 Wannsee conference’s intent was to fix a bureaucratic process and parameters for the systematic murder of the totality of the Jewish people. Based upon over 12 years digestion of Nazi hate, it was a banal exercise of absolute evil. Bureaucracy as much as technology were essential for its practical implementation, from the logistics for building camps, transporting deportees, and processing the target … Continued

For the last three months, Russia has massed upwards of 175,000 troops on its border with Ukraine and issued an ultimatum to the West. Three sets of negotiations were held during the week beginning 10 January in Geneva (US-Russia), Brussels (NATO-Russia) and Vienna (OSCE). The timing of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military threat and ultimatum … Continued

Since signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in 2014, Ukraine has introduced a wide range of policies aimed at integration into a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and the achievement of a visa free regime with the Schengen Zone. Reform of the banking sector has been a central part of this process, … Continued