Global Political Insight

The peace agreement signed in Minsk, Belarus, last week regarding eastern Ukraine is undoubtedly welcome. Though fragile, the ceasefire provides some longed-for relief for the population of Donbass. A moment of relative tranquility on its territory is certainly something Ukraine needed desperately for two main reasons. The conflict was a huge drain on the Ukrainian […]

The recent referendum on Scottish independence, as well as affecting UK and European politics, has had farther reaching influence globally. With new calls for self-determination of ethnically diverse groups and regions, such as Catalonia and Kurdistan, Somaliland has become a self-declared independent state. Luckily for Somaliland, it is a region of relative political stability with […]

The fate of Mahinda Rajapaksa has been decided by the people of Sri Lanka, and when Maithripala Sirisena takes his oath as the new President of Sri Lanka, the island will leave behind what has been a tumultuous period of transition since the end of the Civil War in 2009. Despite having won his first […]

Since the global debate on how to combat the threat of terrorism began, the common phrase ‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’ has dominated the dialogue, as unfortunately, it is relevant. Moreover, since the fall of 2000, multilateral organizations have continued efforts to develop a comprehensive convention on international terrorism with little or […]

The West can be forgiven for feeling a little smug about Russia’s current economic woes. But celebrating a weak Russian economy would be foolish – especially for Europe – for two primary reasons: economic ties with Russia and political instability. There is no denying that Russia is experiencing a currency crisis. The rouble continues to drop […]

Grace Mugabe may not be a name known to most people outside of Zimbabwe when they think of potential next presidents for the country. However with the ever aging president of Zimbabwe (Robert Mugabe is now 90 years old), there is growing speculations of who will be next in line to rise to the heights […]

The Democrat’s loss of the U.S. Senate should not be underestimated going into the 2016 Presidential election. The Republican Party now in principle have the power to set the agenda for President Obama’s last two years in office, meaning that a stand-off and hostility between the two parties is likely to increase. Indeed, one prevailing […]

Today sexual violence in society is an issue attracting global attention. From the protest inspiring events in India to the June 2014 ‘Global Summit to End Sexual Violence’ hosted in London by the odd pairing of William Hague and Angelina Jolie. Much of the attention has focused on sexual violence in conflict. However outside conflict, […]

Parliamentary elections in Ukraine on 26th October indicated that the country is on a Western path. But the euphoria many felt in Kiev after the end of Euromaidan protests may be replaced by hard realisation that not much has changed in Ukraine. The economy is in a dire place and is unlikely to improve any […]

The European republic of Italy faces a difficult situation at present, confronted not only with an economy in the doldrums, but with many of its young people either without a job or having gone abroad in search of employment. But it is also a time of great opportunity, as Italy has a charismatic leader in […]

It comes as a surprise that on 14th October progress was made in the British parliament. In a historic, yet noticeably underreported moment, British MP’s voted 274 votes to 12 in favour of a motion to recognise a Palestinian state. Whilst this decision is non-binding, it is none the less a huge symbolic step towards the […]

Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin topping the Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people for a second time, a great deal of speculation still circulates amongst analysts, politicians and economists, about whether the economic deterioration of Russia will be the straw that breaks Putin’s back. This is unlikely to be the case. Vladimir Putin […]

On Monday 27 October, Brazil’s shares and currency fell drastically. The reason for this was the re-election of President Dilma Rouseff. The election proved to be the closest Brazil has seen for decades, with Rouseff only beating her opponent Aécio Neves by 3.3 percent of the vote. In her victory speech, Rouseff recognised the need […]

RT’s political debate show CrossTalk invited Alexander Clackson, founder of Global Political Insight; Charles Bausman, chief editor of Russia Insider; and Martin McCauley, author and Senior Lecturer at the University of London to discuss President Putin’s image. Issues discussed included: What draws the image of Putin in the West? How has Putin evolved since he […]

The ‘jihadist turn’ of the Syrian Civil War has brought into focus a familiar set of Western neuroses.  Terror, security, militant Islam, the unparalleled (or so we are told) horrors of ISIS; all are invoked as justifications for a renewed campaign of military intervention in the Middle East.  These claims are of course closely related […]