The problem of the widespread Russian propaganda in Romania is not new. In fact, the country has even established two institutions specifically designed to study it: the Bucharest-based Global Focus Center, and the Informational Warfare and Strategic Communication Laboratory (LARICS) at the Romanian Academy. The logic of Russian propaganda in Romania and its highly nation-specific tailored approach is relatively well-studied. The population seems resilient to messages that differ widely in […]

The Russian war against Ukraine has become another wake-up call for the West. The taboos on criticizing Russia are being gradually lifted bearing in mind demonstration of total disrespect to any rules by Moscow. Stigmatization of the critics of Russia as Russophobes is not trendy anymore although Russia does its best to return to “good old times” when pro-Russian narratives were dominating. Such situation opens a window of opportunity for […]

The Russian aggressive and their provocative policy in the region have confirmed that Russia with its politico-economic system generates a challenge to the West. This article demonstrates an approach to security and foreign policymaking of the three Baltic States considering the Ukraine crisis which was perceived as one of their biggest foreign policy challenges and this is the reason why I intend to explain the reaction of the Baltic States. […]

Abstract The aim of this paper is to support the structuring policy perspectives of the national security, economic and energy security related relations between Romania and the Russian Federation in the context of Crimea war and intensification of the tensions in the Russia-EU-NATO connections. The Black Sea nexus is the main focus of this paper because this area is possessing a huge geopolitical and geostrategic potentialities to the end that […]

Executive Summary Nord Stream 2, perhaps the most controversial gas infrastructure project not only has divided the European Union but is also shaping the transatlantic relation while directly impacting the Eastern Neighborhood of the EU. While Germany is boosting the idea that the project is an economic one, South Stream 2 is maybe the most politicized project.  Eastern Europe led by Poland and followed by neighboring Ukraine are directly exposed […]

Executive Summary The parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova and the presidential elections in Ukraine, which took place in 2019, are the subject of this policy paper. The aim of the study is to analyze the Russian Federation’s foreign policy instruments and options in addressing the two electoral campaigns, how the narratives of Moscow’s official leaders have developed, as well as the interests of other stakeholders for whom the […]

There seems to be an international consensus among analysts: Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy is rational. I question this presumption. In international relations, the concept “rationality” has become ubiquitous. Since 2000, around 50% of scholarly international relations references to foreign policy allude to “rationality” (Abulof 2015 pp. 359-360). But “rationality” is rarely defined in international relations literature. The concept “rationality” has different meanings across fields. In international relations, use of the […]

This paper aims to contextualize the Russian interference in the American elections as a special type of political warfare that autocracy can use against a democracy. It builds on the insights of the so-called Gerasimov doctrine that somehow previewed the forthcoming normalization of societal cohesion attacks as well as “the weaponization of everything”. A major component of the wars of the 21st century will be about influencing the cognitive domain […]

This policy paper examines the way the Russian economy sustains one of its objectives – to serve as a material base for pursuing Russia’s national strategic goals. While briefly presenting the context of the specific time-frames when the macroeconomic model of the Russian Federation was supposed to be renewed and the main goals established by the Economic Strategy, attention is given to the impact of the developments in 2014 – […]

On September 25th, 2018 the Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association (ESGA) has organized the debate ” Cyber Security – an Instrument of Influence and Meddling in the Decision Making Process of our “Partner” Countries”. The first guest speaker of the event was Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist, co-founder and editor of Agentura.ru, a watchdog of the Russian secret services’ activities. He has been covering security services and […]