Will Maia Sandu’s victory matter for one of Europe’s poorest country, which has been torn between Russia and the West for the better part of the past three decades?
International Conflict Management
Pluralism and Conflict Prevention
A pluralistic approach to conflict prevention requires practitioners to identify the divisions and exclusions in a society that can lead to violence long before conflict is imminent. Paying careful attention to these early warnings of conflict, and addressing them before they are exacerbated, can pave the way for institutional and cultural environments that foster inclusion and thus, more sustainable peace.
Subnational governance is key to peace
Resolving subnational conflicts is ultimately about governance because their drivers are frequently linked to grievances and perceived injustice associated with access to power and resources, and to feelings of ethnic, social and / or geographic exclusion and marginalization.
Ukraine–a pivotal moment for international relations?
The Ukraine crisis may thus yet turn out as an event with consequences as momentous as the end of the Cold War or 9/11.
Is the West powerless to stop the Russian aggression against Ukraine?
Rather than simply buying into our own rhetoric of a norms- and values-based international society, we must be prepared to back up such rhetoric with credible policies to protect these norms and values and abide by them ourselves.
All eyes on Russia as Ukraine hurtles towards civil war
The Ukrainian government has announced that it will mount a full-scale military operation to regain control of the east of the country and has set a deadline of 6am on Monday morning for occupied government buildings to be evacuated by armed protesters. An emergency session of the United Nations Security Council late on Sunday night failed to calm a situation that has significantly deteriorated over the past few days.
Are Moldova and Transnistria next on Moscow’s to-do-list?
The West should send a much clearer message to Moscow and back it up with credible policy. The question, however, is whether policy makers from Berlin to Brussels, London and Washington think that Moldova is worth such a tougher line.
Can the US and Russia talk their way out of crisis in Ukraine?
More constructive dialogue between Russia and the West would possibly enable a face-saving way out of the current deadlock. This would serve both sides in the new great game over influence in Eastern Europe, but Russia would be the clear winner, and Ukraine the first victim of this new geopolitics.
Crimea votes to secede from Ukraine as EU considers sanctions against Russia
Crimeans have voted by a huge margin to secede from Ukraine. According to early reports released after 50% of the ballots had been counted, more than 95% of votes were in favour of joining Russia.