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GPI founder Alexander Clackson on Channel One Russia (in Russian)

Channel One Russia (Первый канал) did a reportage on Ukraine for its 9 pm news programme Vremya, the main evening newscast in Russia. Alexander Clackson shared his brief analysis from 4 min 57 seconds. The reportage is in Russian.   http://www.1tv.ru/news/world/269803

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Cambodian government ignores UN recommendations on human rights practices

Following recommendations made at the Universal Periodic Review on 26 June, which saw the UN process shed light on a number of abuses apparently conducted by the current Cambodian administration, the government responded stating that the suggestions have been ‘noted’. The UN recommendations ignored by the government ranged from the reduction of control on free […]

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State Surveillance and the Social Contract

New findings published by Kaspersky Lab, concerning the widespread state deployment of digital surveillance tools used in some countries to spy on political dissidents, journalists and human rights advocates, place a further question mark over the western liberal agenda. The issues surrounding the collection of public data have been at the forefront of political debate […]

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Leader of the Labour party faces many challenges

Almost four years into his leadership of the Labour Party, and with just 10 months to go until next year’s election, Ed Miliband has yet to persuade the electorate that he has the personal qualities needed to lead Britain. As a result, Labour is only narrowly ahead of the Conservatives, instead of enjoying the double-digit […]

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New publication: Analysing media freedom rankings

While press freedom rankings determine national and international media policies, it is not always clear as to how objective these rankings really are. A new DW Akademie publication takes a closer look. Every year organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House publish their respective press freedom rankings. They usually cause an outcry, especially from countries […]

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Number of refugees passes 50 million

For the first time since the end of World War II, the total number of refugees in the world has risen above 50 million, according to figures released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The sharp increase in the total number of refugees was in large part the result of the ongoing Syrian […]

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Global Deterioration of Peace

The latest Global Peace Index has found that this year, the world became slightly less peaceful, continuing a 7-year trend. The decline was driven by global events that include tensions in the Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Syria, civil war in South Sudan and a broadening and increased intensity of terrorist activity in many countries […]

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Understanding Russia

On 18th of March, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to Russian parliamentarians, putting forward his case for why he is supporting Crime’s choice to join the Russian Federation. His speech was passionate and at times emotional, pushing the right buttons that touched the souls of many Russians. Putin and Russia can at times […]

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Welfare spending and the EU: is austerity now a permanent economic adjustment?

The debate over the European Union suffers from one perennial pitfall – views quickly become contentious when the question is posed of whether collaborative efforts to reform individual countries’ relationship with the EU are advisable, or whether a more hard-line stance needs to be taken. Unfortunately, any suggestions for reform themselves can often be ignored […]

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The Heads of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet…and very little happens

Knowing the vitriol that is generally associated with this topic and having lived with an Armenian and Azerbaijani at the same time, having to act much like a diplomat of the Minsk group all the time, I would like to take this opportunity at the beginning of this article to state one thing. If I […]

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A pan-European far right: an internal risk the EU cannot take

After the banking crisis and global recession came to the fore in 2007, analysts and commentators across Europe forecasted that the Euro would collapse, and that this would lead to the gradual collapse of the European Union itself. However, time has told that this is not the case. Despite relative success, the pan-European solidarity is […]

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U.S. Energy Revolution: What Does It Mean for the UK and Europe?

Communications consultancy APCO’s London office recently held a roundtable discussion with former U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson and Professor Alan Riley of City University regarding the implications of the U.S. energy revolution for the UK and Europe. The discussion could not have been timelier, with the energy debate in the UK heating up around the […]

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Euroscepticism: the spectre that compromises the UK’s economy

If there is one thing that stands out as extraordinary in this debate, it is the assertions put forward by the UK’s Chancellor George Osborne. He constantly claims that the recent crisis was caused completely by the irresponsibility of the Brown government, and uses this as his primary line of defence when tackling the popular backlash […]

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EU and US surveillance: invasion of privacy vs. preservation of security

As an introductory disclaimer, it is undeniable that most democratic countries and its citizens who hold liberty in high regard will support the idea of a right to privacy and its conceptual sister, the right to information. By contrast, the emergence of news that the NSA tapped into technology and cyber-data with the supposed assurance […]

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