Caucasus

Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin speaks to the press at U.N. Headquarters on Aug. 26, 2008. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

POLITICS: Caucasus Crisis Raises Tensions at U.N.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Tuesday that Russia's recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia "may have wider implications for security and stability in the Caucasus."

EUROPE: Russia Triggers A New Cold War Threat

A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of a new Cold War in the wake of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signing a decree Tuesday formally recognising the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

SERBIA: Uneasy Over the Kosovo Parallel With Georgia

Serbia was remarkably quiet in the days following the conflict in South Ossetia that began Aug. 8. Speculation by international politicians and in media of a parallel with Kosovo simply could not fit into a simple picture.

EUROPE: Georgia War Steps Up Support for U.S. Missile Bases

Following tough negotiations, the U.S. and Poland have signed a deal on extension of the U.S. missile defence system to Eastern Europe, weeks after the outbreak of the Georgian-Russian conflict.

POLITICS: Georgia War Rooted in U.S. Self-Deceit on NATO

The U.S. policy of absorbing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, which was enthusiastically embraced by Barack Obama and his running mate Joseph Biden, has undoubtedly been given a major boost by the Russian military operation in Georgia.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Georgia Sets Off an Old Debate

The coinciding of military confrontation between Russia and Georgia and the 40th anniversary of the brutal crushing of the 'Prague Spring' in 1968 in what was Czechoslovakia has triggered a debate on whether a comparison between the two events is justified.

POLITICS-US: A Really Bad Couple of Weeks for Pax Americana

Whatever hopes the George W. Bush administration may have had for using its post-9/11 "war on terror'' to impose a new Pax Americana on Eurasia, and particularly in the unruly areas between the Caucasus and the Khyber Pass, appear to have gone up in flames - in some cases, literally - over the past two weeks.

POLITICS: Kosovo Casts Shadow on South Ossetian Standoff

With the conflict between Georgia and Russia lowered to a simmer after the signing of a ceasefire agreement, questions still remain about the U.S. role and positions on the start of the conflict as well as where it stands moving forward towards a resolution.

Demonstrators gathered in the rain across the street from U.N. headquarters. Credit: Omid Memarian/IPS

US-GEORGIA: Expats Unite Against Russia

When the Russian military launched a military invasion of its small neighbour Georgia - operating at will in Georgia’s secessionist provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as Georgia proper - New York’s Georgian-American community responded almost immediately by gathering outside United Nations Headquarters here to protest the invasion of their homeland.

POLITICS: U.S. Debates Putin’s Ambitions

Just days after the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia, the debate in Washington over how to view the crisis historically has become nearly as contentious as the debate over how to respond politically.

GEORGIA: ‘Provoked Into Aggression’

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli has become an uncertain sort of leader. At first, he won praise after successfully leading the popular 'Rose Revolution' in 2003 that catapulted him into power. Now he has received global condemnation for the military attack that he ordered in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zelmay Khalilzad (left), and Vitaly Churkin his Russian counterpart. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

GEORGIA: Saakashvili Asked To Step Down

A few hours after the 15 member U.N. Security Council discussed a draft resolution aimed to ask Russia to stop using massive force in Georgia Monday evening behind closed doors, Russia said it would stop military action. This came Tuesday, after five days of bombing and destruction of cities and military bases in Georgia and the deaths of more than 2,000 people.

GEORGIA: How the Hawks Won

Georgia's step towards military confrontation comes after an increase in authoritarian and militaristic tendencies in a country that dealt catastrophically with Russia's pressure.

GEORGIA: Israeli Arms Sales Raise New Concerns

With the eruption of fighting between Russia and Georgia, Israel has found itself in an awkward position as a result of its arms sales to Georgia, caught between its friendly relations with Georgia and its fear that the continued sale of weaponry will spark Russian retribution in the form of increased arms sales to Iran and Syria.

GEORGIA: Where the Cold War Never Ended

As war breaks out in Georgia, the geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and Russia becomes more violent and closer to Russia's border than ever.

GENDER-TANZANIA: Women Leaders Face Triple Roles

Tanzania's women leaders say their daily lives are faced with a triple challenge - that of production, reproduction and community management.

GENDER-TURKEY: Slain Muslim Feminist Writer Honoured

Practising feminism and criticising the established religion in an Islamist society can literally result in death as slain feminist writer, Konca Kuris, tragically discovered.

GENDER-SOUTH AFRICA: No Women’s Budget This Year

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has failed to present a women's budget or one that is significantly pro-poor, analysts say.

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