Articles

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....

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....

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....

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)....

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

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

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....

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...

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

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

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....

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....

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....

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

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

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....

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

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....

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

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

On February 18, Moroccan King Mohammad IV, is visiting Mali. The trip is part of an ongoing Moroccan strategy to use a 'soft-power' approach in dealings with her neighbors to the South and South-West. This approach is intended to pursue Moroccan political and business-interest throughout the region, but doing so in such a fashion that it is not perceived as threatening or intrusive. On the contrary, it's an approach modeled to extend Moroccan kno...

In an article published by L'Intellettuale Dissidente, EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone discusses how Erdogan's Turkey is becoming more and more anti-democratic. This analysis follows recent censures, repression of freedom of speech and general abuse of power....

EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone goes through the events of the Syrian village of Ma’an, where 40 people, accused of being supporters of the regime, have been publicly murdered....

Changes in immigration patterns have led to serious problems of integration in several European countries. Starting from the example of Italy, EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino addresses the topic of home-grown jihadist radicalisation in Europe....

Building plans for the first big mosque in Milan have been largely discussed. It seems that the project involves Islamic representatives who are close to the Salafist and the Muslim Brotherhood. EFD’s Giovanni Giacalone highlights a further problem concerning financing measures for the mosque....

Erdogan’s government is now far from being a model for democracy and modernity in the Islamic world. These are EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone’s words, which draw attention to the large scale arrest of journalists in Turkey....

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s reputation is tied to success during the Sochi Olympics and he does not want to fail. Yet the more security elements the Russian authorities put in place, the more they highlight that Russia is losing its broader battle with radical Islam—beyond Sochi....

Around 200 young people from Germany have joined the civil war in Syria, but there are thousands more who dream of going down in history as Muslim heroes....