The monograph analyzes the intersection of institutions and geography on the examples from various parts of the world, and the impact that different combinations of institutional and geographical systems have on nations’ development.
PSCRP
During a December 2024 meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, leaders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) acknowledged that the U.S. had not fully appreciated Azerbaijan's longstanding support for Israel and contributions to regional stability.
In December 2024, Mart Kalm, the rector of the Estonian Academy of Arts (Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, EKA), announced that this university won’t continue the cooperation with Dr. Jonathan Ventura from Shenkar College in Ramat Gan (Israel), whose course has been in the EKA curriculum since 2019 and should have taken place again in February 2025. Prof. Kalm added that EKA is “no longer open” to cooperation with Israeli universities. There was no clear reasoning behind this.
The collective West and Israel could have vested interests in supporting such initiatives. This could lead to the creation of a powerful regional coalition of post-Soviet states, Turkey, the West, and Israel against Iran and Russia, with China likely adopting a neutral stance.
The majority of PSCRP materials in the final month of 2024 concentrated on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
From the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion into Ukraine in February 2022, there were confusions, misunderstandings, and fears spread within the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) community in the United States.
Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president begins in a month. High on his priority list, as per his statements, is initiating a ceasefire in Ukraine followed by peace talks to end the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Trump has stated his intention to address this issue within the first days of his presidency.
The revolutionary situation in Georgia could reach its climax on December 29, influenced by two factors: external and domestic. The situation could escalate dramatically as mass demonstrations in support of Salome Zourabichvili continue. Protesters demand that Zourabichvili remain in office. The current government may resort to force to oust Salome Zourabichvili, potentially including her arrest.
There is still a little over a month to go before Donald Trump, elected to a second term on November 5, 2024, returns to the White House, but the outlines of the first “100 days” of his policy, albeit at the declarative level, are already quite clear.
Western weapons and electronic components continue to surface in Russian military hardware deployed in Ukraine, despite ongoing international efforts to restrict Moscow’s access to advanced technology. Recent reports from both European and Ukrainian investigative sources indicate that key Western-manufactured parts, including microchips and optical systems, have been identified in Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other military equipment used in the war.