Is War Looming in the Baltic Sea?

Rauf Baker
December 4, 2018
Paper No. 1027

Russia and Sweden have fought 12 wars over the course of their histories. In recent years, relations have grown tense once again between the expansionist superpower and the peaceable Scandinavian state. At issue is the Baltic Sea as an energy source.

Sweden’s Ugly Ultraliberalism and the Jews

For anyone curious to see just how ugly ultraliberalism can get, Sweden is the ideal case study. The deep presence of anti-Semitism in Sweden reveals that the country’s image as a near perfect liberal democracy is false. So serious is the problem that the country is in dire need of a national anti-Semitism commissioner who can point out the threats coming from neo-Nazis and Muslims, the flaws of the police and the justice system, and other failures of the authorities to deal with anti-Semitism. But Sweden’s purported love of free speech is unlikely to extend so far as to give a mouthpiece to such a person.

Saudi Prince Leaves G20 Confident After Khashoggi Scandal

Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s experience at the G20 summit suggests that he will be able to put the Khashoggi scandal behind him and maintain his position. While Western leaders largely kept their distance, other world leaders, including Vladimir Putin, greeted the prince with great warmth. Muhammad is not completely out of the woods, but he was able to leave the G20 confident that he is not a global pariah.

Political Divisions in Germany Have Implications for the Middle East

The decline of bipartisan political centrism in Germany portends significant changes, not only for the country itself but for other countries as well. While the right-wing Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party is still far from dominating the German electorate, its increasing public support will force whatever will ultimately be the party in power to act more favorably towards the right, in comparison to the more leftist policies of departing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. And with German political discourse centered around regional issues of the Middle East due to Berlin’s intricate involvement in such conflicts, the political trends of the country are likely to have a significant impact on the future of that region.

Israel Must Reevaluate Its Policy of Nuclear Ambiguity

In view of growing Middle Eastern turmoil since the Arab upheavals of 2011, the time has come for Israel to review the efficacy of its traditional policy of deliberate nuclear ambiguity.

The IAEA’s Impotence vis-à-vis Iran

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeal to Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at the UN General Assembly in New York in September was met with a cold shoulder. The latest IAEA report claims that Iran continues to be in compliance with the 2015 JCPOA deal restricting its nuclear activities, despite the revelations by Israeli intelligence this year that showed Tehran’s clandestine military nuclearization. The Trump administration has promised that it will press the IAEA to examine the Israeli revelations.

Miloš Zeman in Jerusalem

Shifts in perceptions among European Jews on where they feel safest is not due entirely to demographic change. It also has to do with Eastern European leaders like the Czech Republic’s Miloš Zeman, who, in the tradition of the country’s founder, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, has become not just a strong voice for his people but a true friend of the Jews.

At the Centenary of the End of WWI, Is the World Safer?

Earlier this month, world leaders gathered in France to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I, which ushered in a century of wars and ethnic cleansing. Though the commemoration served as a unifying moment for leaders, the world is as divided as it has been since the end of the Soviet Union.

Jewish Dual Loyalty: The Classic Anti-Semitic Stereotype

Accusations of dual loyalty are the main anti-Semitic hate motif worldwide, as well as in the US. Extrapolating from poll data, it can be inferred that up to seventy-five million Americans might believe their Jewish co-citizens are more loyal to Israel than to the US. If that were true, the great majority of American Jews would likely have voted for Donald Trump, who is proving so far to be one of the most pro-Israel presidents in history. Yet only 24% of US Jews supported him in the 2016 elections, and in the newly elected Congress, a host of Jewish Democrat committee heads are expected to attack the president.

Another Round, not More Extortion, Is Needed in Gaza

Only a fourth massive round of fighting against Hamas can possibly bring the group to the conclusion the Arab states reached after four wars with the Jewish state in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973 – that the pain to be suffered is so great, and the chance of eliminating the Jewish state so slim, as to render violence pointless.

Perspectives Papers