The Republic of Moldova, a small country situated between the EU and Russia, has long been vulnerable because of its heavy reliance on Russian-controlled energy infrastructure. The war in Ukraine and the 2025 Russian gas cutoff exposed this serious vulnerability. Responding to these challenges, the pro-EU Moldovan government has taken strong measures towards energy diversification and integration into the EU energy system. This article examines how Moldova is reducing its rel

On the 5th of December Donald Trump’s second National Security strategy was released to little fanfare, nevertheless precipitating great global alarm, not least in Europe, as it appears to promote an archaic vision of a world once again carved up for consumption by superpowers.  This National Security Strategy is very streamlined, at only 29 pages, compared to  Trump’s 55-page 2017 equivalent. It even describes these old strategies as ‘ bloated and unfocused.’  This reflects

The presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on October 19th, 2025, has introduced a potentially transformative figure into the island’s long-stalled peace process. Tufan Erhurman, the centre-left lawyer and leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), defeated incumbent president Ersin Tatar with 62.76% of the vote,  signalling a decisive shift in the Turkish Cypriot political landscape. For the first time in five years, the Turkish Cypriot el

When a conflict is in its twilight hours, its final death throes often manifest as an exponentially rapid alteration in at least one of its combatant’s positions, be they military or diplomatic. In the case of the largest and bloodiest war continental Europe has seen since the Second World War, we can now see clear evidence of the latter - and not from the Ukrainian camp. The culminating peace proposals from a weekend of breakneck cross-Atlantic detente-by-press-communique wi

Two peace proposals now frame the future of Ukraine . Washington's draft plan focuses on concessions and neutrality, while Brussels has unveiled a new framework built around the principle that "borders cannot be changed by force" . At first glance, they seem to represent different strategies. In reality, they reflect two competing ways the world has thought about security for nearly a century. The first is universalism, the idea that every state, large or small, enjoys the sa

In most Western schools, children were often asked in Geography class: “Which is the largest ocean in the world?” To us, the Pacific looked like empty space — a vast stretch of blue that separates continents. But that cartographic illusion hides the truth: the Pacific is not empty at all. It is a constellation of nations, languages and histories, now standing at the fault line of global power. However, much like the game of chess that was the Cold-War, is the Pacific slipping

The USA’s modern food security policy can be traced to 1943 when President Roosevelt initiated the United Nations Conference on Food and...

As heightened tensions and security competition come to define international politics, there has been something of an increase in...

My family is based in a residential tower block in The Pearl – a small artificial oasis on the northern end of Doha. I had just sat down...

Trump's second term has seen a seismic shift in how western allies interact, negotiate and do business with the United States.  In...

Mid-August was filled with discussions on the Russia-Ukraine situation.  On the 15 th , Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin  in...

Introduction The current negotiations between the Syrian Interim Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are not merely about...

In June 2025, on the wrong side of the Belarussian-Lithuanian border, a bus carrying fourteen hooded prisoners opened its doors to John...

Within a whirlwind of a few months, Donald Trump has achieved surprising diplomatic successes in countries plagued by conflicts, to the...

Some things have remained a constant in the second Trump term: his capricious and avaricious personality, which prioritises loyalty,...

Inside Myanmar, the pro-democracy resistance has gathered remarkable momentum against the military junta, even as international support...

More than four years after Myanmar’s military seized power in a February 2021 coup, the country remains mired in a brutal civil war. On...

Why is the Labour Government relieved  to see Trump impose a 10% tariff on UK exports to the US? One Downing Street adviser  chirped that...

Illustration by Will Allen/Europinion The law has long served as both a shield and a smoke screen, selectively wielded to justify both...

Illustration by Will Allen/Europinion Barely two months into Donald Trump’s second stint in the White House it is becoming increasingly...