New Interns at the NCC NCC Roundtable Reports West African Piracy NATO’s Future in the Abkhazia Dispute NATO Study Tour Lessons Learned from Libya Hunger Strikes and Indian Democracy Newsletter – October 2011
Author: NATO Association of Canada
Starving for Change: Is the Hunger Strike a Legitimate Democratic Tool?
By: Nabila F. Qureshi For thirteen days, a frail old man wrapped in homespun cotton captured widespread media and public attention across India. Channelling the anger and frustration of Indians over a series of poorly handled government corruption scandals, 74-year-old political activist Anna (“Elder Brother”) Hazare staged a hunger strike for nearly two weeks. He Read More…
NATO’s Future Role in the Abkhazia Dispute
By: Simon A. Miles Following the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia declared the Georgian breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and even Georgia itself, to be within Russia’s sphere of influence. Though Russia has deescalated to a war of words, the dispute over Abkhazia remains an important concern Read More…
A Russian Job Trade
By: Gemma Louise Thom During an address to the United Russia Party congress, Vladimir Putin accepted an offer to run for Presidency in the March 2012 elections. The proposal, made by the current President, Dmitry Medvedev, came as no surprise. This decisive move will potentially allow Putin, the current Prime Minister and former President, to Read More…
2011 NATO Study Tour – September 24 – October 1
A study group headed by the Honourable Bill Graham recently returned from the NATO Council of Canada’s annual NATO Tour, an enthralling weeklong excursion to both Brussels and Paris. The delegation combined insight from a variety of fields, bringing together NCC interns and members of the business, military, and diplomatic com-munities. The tour offered participants Read More…
Unrest Erupts in Yemen Amid Concerns of a Humanitarian Crisis
By: Nabila F. Qureshi In the worst violence Yemen has seen in several months, four days of bloodshed resulted in over 75 people killed and hundreds more injured in the capital of Sanaa. Troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire on protesters, sniping civilians from rooftops while other security forces dispersed tear gas Read More…
The Greek Count Down
By: Opher Moses As news about the Arab spring has kept markets fairly distracted in the last couple of months, it is inevitable that we finally find ourselves asking an old question. What will happen to the Euro? Time has finally run out for Greece and according to its Deputy Finance Minister, Filippos Sachinidis, so Read More…
A War for Oil?
Dr. Dmitri Rogozin, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO, takes aim at the Alliance’s humanitarian intervention in Libya.
Egypt, after the Arab Spring:
“The principle that no person is above the law, especially those at the top, is among the most precious of all the rights that the brave protestors in Tahrir Square sought” Spring evokes images of rebirth, renewal, and change. The January 2011 popular uprising, leading to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of Read More…
Pakistan’s Security Dilemma
By: Kavita Bapat In recent years, Pakistan has faced an internal and external security dilemma concerning an asymmetric balance of power between the nation’s military complex and its government. The Pakistani army is by and large considered the most influential governing national institution and has been steadily increasing its power since the nation’s first military Read More…