Vedran Kuljanin discusses Macedonia’s “Skopje 2014” project and the economic, social and political effects the city’s rebrand will bring.
Expanding Community
The Expanding Community program at the NAOC has three aims. First, the program seeks to explore the growth of the NATO alliance, prospective members and relationship with partners. Secondly, it looks at human rights issues and its effects on NATO member and partner countries. Thirdly, it features Canada’s global connections, including our links to other nations on a bilateral basis, and the role Canada plays within international and multilateral institutions. Check back regularly for original articles, as well as links to related news, blog posts and videos from around the world.
Finland’s tango with neutrality and NATO membership
This week’s article on NATO expansion focuses on Finland; its security situation within Europe, and its evolving relationship with NATO. Following the end of World War Two, Finland became a militarily neutral state. Though officially a Western market economy, Finland enjoyed a special relationship with the Soviet Union and the West in the Cold War Read More…
FYROM and its persisting obstacles towards NATO membership
As war was tearing apart Yugoslavia in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) seceded from the Yugoslav state peacefully. The newly independent small nation suffered from the typical structural problems of former communist states in transition; unemployment, corruption, rampant black and grey markets and brain drain. In addition to Read More…
Bosnia: Schizophrenic politics and NATO membership
Drazo Kraishnik looks at politics surrounding Bosnia’s NATO membership.
Sweden and the never ending debate for NATO membership
Sweden has traditionally declared itself a neutral state since the early 19th century, when it lost one third of its territory during the Napoleonic wars including the loss of Finland to Russia. Though its territorial integrity is not in question today, Sweden’s military neutrality has been up for debate since Russia began asserting itself globally. Read More…
The Execution of Nimr Al-Nimr: Double Barrel Politics in the Middle East
Portrait of Nimr Baqr al-Nimr an independent Shia cleric in al-Awamiyah, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia by Abbas Goudarzi, Wikipedia Commons. On January 2, 2016, the Saudi government executed Nimr Al-Nimr, a prominent Shi’a Saudi cleric, who spent much of his adult life speaking for his marginalized community. Al-Nimr’s sermons and speeches came to symbolize the Read More…
New Perspectives: Model United Nations and Disaster Risk Reduction
A couple of weekends ago, I chaired a committee at McGill University’s high school Model United Nations conference. 180 excited high school students simulated the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, working together to address topics like gender, poverty, and technology, all within the context of sustainable risk mitigation of natural disasters. By Read More…
Montenegro, NATO and Russia: A Tug of War
Analyzing the implication of Montenegro’s bid to join NATO.
Kosovo Youth Atlantic Treaty Association’s 2015 Conference
On November 28, 2015, the Kosovo Youth Atlantic Treaty Association (KYATA) launched a 3-day conference covering the evolution of NATO in the 21st century, the Syrian crisis, and NATO’s southern flank.
COP21: Issues of the Tiny Blue Dot
Analyzing the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference