Media - European Foundation for Democracy

Article 01 April 2014

Russian airborne troops descend

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya contributed to OE Watch’s researches on security issues in Russia. During the Ukrainian crisis, Russian airborne troops began a high-intensity military training involving thousands of soldiers....

Article 01 April 2014

Russian military in Crimea: Convoys from the North Caucasus and land mines

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya discusses Russian security issues. Despite Russian declarations that only Crimean militias were involved in military engagements in Ukraine, it has been proved that also Russian convoys entered into Crimea’s territory....

Article 01 April 2014

Ukraine crisis reverberates in Russia: the Caucasus connection

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya contributed to OE Watch’s researches on security issues in Russia. Analyses of the Ukrainian crisis seem to reveal a possible military connection with the Caucasus....

Article 30 March 2014

Migration border sets new record

In an article published by Swedish newspaper Göteborgs Posten, EFD Senior Policy Adviser Magnus Norell writes about refugees in Sweden, illegal immigrants and self-deportation....

Article 28 March 2014

Here comes Al-Sisi, the new Nasser

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo, in an article published on La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, opines that Al-Sisi's presidential candidacy echoes that of Nasser: both are very charismatic men, oppose the Muslim Brotherhood and are against outsider intervention in Egypt (In Al-Sisi's case from the US and the EU)....

Article 26 March 2014

Professor who failed to support Putin line on Crimea fired

Andrei Zubov and Aleksandr Konkov lose their jobs after speaking out against Crimean invasion...

Article 26 March 2014

Tatars may hold own Crimean referendum

EFD's Anna Borshchevskaya reports that Crimean Tatars may hold their own referendum on whether to join Russia or Ukraine....

Article 25 March 2014

Purge of the Muslim Brotherhood, a fatal error

Following an Egyptian court’s ruling of March 2014, which condemned 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo expresses her concerns about the problematic impact this decision could have for Mansour’s government, both at a domestic and international level....

Broadcast 24 March 2014

Radicalisation and the appeal of the conflict in Syria

“ mainly because I was looking for the same things which many young people in Germany are also looking for: some sort of meaning, happiness, recognition. And the Salafists offer all of these things.”...

Broadcast 23 March 2014

Between dialogue and exclusion: the debate about the German Islam Conference

A critical look at the role and influence of the German Islam Conference, a body which seeks to enable productive dialogue between the German state and representatives of the Muslim community....

Article 23 March 2014

The Muslim Brotherhood claim revenge on Saudi Arabia

An announcement made on 7th March from Saudi Arabia claiming that the Muslim Brotherhood was inserted in their list of terrorist organisations took the Islamist group by surprise. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo analyses the historic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamist group...

Mention 20 March 2014

Don’t Trust Rouhani – Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate speaks

In an interview during a visit to Brussels organized by EFD, Shiran Ebadi, 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, says Iran's supposed reformist leader Hassan Rouhani has done little to improve human rights....

Article 20 March 2014

Echoes of the past

Analysts draw comparisons between Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler following the Russian president’s speech announcing the annexation of Crimea on March 18....

Mention 18 March 2014

Show some respect!

Germany's Tagesspiegel newspaper features a report on Ahmad Mansour's work to support female teachers who encounter difficulties with male pupils from patriarchal cultures....

Article 17 March 2014

The deception of the Arab Spring and the increasingly unstable Middle East

EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone on the 'redefining' of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring....

Mention

Mention 14 March 2014

EFD Hosts Nobel Laureate and Iranian Human Rights Activist Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Abadi briefed MEPs, EU officials and the media in Brussels and Strasbourg on the human rights situation in Iran....

Article 13 March 2014

Iran: women have been veiled for 35 years

This is the thirty-fifth year that it is compulsory by law for women to wear the hijab in Iran. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo discusses that the hijab is used in Iran as a vehicle to subordinate women....

Article 10 March 2014

The slow decline of the Muslim Brotherhood

Following the court decision in Egypt to outlaw the Palestinian group Hamas, Giovanni Giacalone discusses the increasing isolation of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East....

Article 10 March 2014

West must do better on Ukraine than it did with Syria

Ukrainian protesters in Kiev last month, for their part, flew the Syrian revolutionary flag alongside the Ukrainian flag. The big question, though, is whether the West will see the connections that the protesters see – and draw some vital lessons....

Article 08 March 2014

Egypt bans Hamas and Saudi Arabia’s Muslim Brotherhood

Giovanni Giacalone on the court order in Egypt to ban all activities of the radical Palestinian group Hamas....

Article 06 March 2014

The inevitable decline of Erdogan

Giovanni Giacalone on the decreasing popular support in Turkey for Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP....

Article 04 March 2014

Jihadists massacre Egyptian Copts

In Libya, Egyptian Copts are being persecuted and tortured. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo observes that whilst in Libya simply looking for work, Egyptian Copts are accused by jihadists, salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood of being the cause of the ousting of Muhammad Morsi in 2013....

Article 03 March 2014

The crisis in Yarmouk and the silence of pro-Palestinian activists

Giovanni Giacalone on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, Damascus....

Article 01 March 2014

How Stable Are the South Caucasus? New Hostilities over Nagorno Karabakh?

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya looks at conflicting viewpoints regarding Russia's involvement in a potential war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region....

Article 01 March 2014

Putin keeps jihadists at bay and ‘saves’ the Olympics

Following the ultimately peaceful Sochi Olympics, Giovanni Giacalone discusses the widespread security concerns which had surrounded the games....

Article 01 March 2014

Putin’s Proposal for the EU to Join the Eurasian Economic Union

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya reports that Vladimir Putin, at a summit held in Brussels, after discussions on the political crisis in Ukraine, suggested that the EU should join the Eurasian Economic Union. This proposal, according to Russian experts, would mean that Ukraine would not need to sign free trade agreements with the EU, thus remaining under Russian influence....

Article 01 March 2014

Russian-Egyptian Military Cooperation Highlights Russia’s Influence in the Middle East

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya highlights how increased military cooperation between Russia and Egypt demonstrates Putin's growing interest in the MENA region as U.S. interest declines....

Article 28 February 2014

Against harmful religious teachings in schools

Ahmad Mansour stresses the importance of German schools providing lessons on Islam, but also calls for the content of these classes to be assessed to prevent extremist and potentially damaging narratives being conveyed to young people....

Article 26 February 2014

Ukraine needs support of Western democracies

Ukraine is confronted with an alarming situation, where democracy is threatened. EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya calls on the Western powers to intervene in Ukraine and support the country against the risk of civil war....

Article 24 February 2014

Egypt: a Coptic Christian woman leads the Dostour party

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo underlines the exceptional nature of the Egyptian elections, which resulted in the overwhelming victory of a Coptic woman as leader of the liberal party al-Dostour....

Article 24 February 2014

Religion and politics: a difficult marriage

The equation between Islam and politics seems to be accepted as a matter of fact. However, not everyone in the Arab world share this common belief. In the below article, EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone tries to clarify the difficult relation between religion and politics....

Broadcast 22 February 2014

Morocco’s role in shaping Islam in Africa

Senior Fellow Bakary Sambe commented on Morocco's recent activities to become a leading religious influence in Africa. The Kingdom has just signed an agreement to train 500 imams in Mali, and King Mohamed VI's upcoming official visit to Equatorial Guinee is likely to result in a similar arrangement. Bakary's recent monograph, 'Islam and Diplomacy. Morocco's Foreign Policy in Africa," examines these issues in more depth. The interview in...

Article 21 February 2014

Chaos in Ukraine. The chronicle of fear

EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone describes the Ukrainian situation, where several people have been injured in unrest in Kiev. Giovanni foresees secession as possible scenario for Ukraine in the next months....

Mention 21 February 2014

In Senegal, Wahhabism wins ground

Despite Senegal has been associated with the image of peaceful country for a long time, it has not been spared by the rise of Wahhabism....

Article 19 February 2014

Middle-East eyes on Moscow, not Washington

On February 2014, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had his first visit abroad. His decision to visit Moscow, rather than Washington, demonstrates weakened US-Egyptian relations....

Article 19 February 2014

The U.S. Must Lead on Ukraine

Increasing violence is spreading in Ukraine. According to EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya it is time for the United States to "show decisive leadership" and intervene in the conflict to protect freedom in Ukraine....