College Updates

By Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis, Program Director MA in Diplomacy 

There is no doubt that the Palestinians with their maximalization policies lost many chances to solve the notorious Palestinian issue. There is little doubt that they use terrorism and especially Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group heavily backed (politically and militarily) by the axis Tehran – Ankara – Doha.  

On the other hand, there is also no room for doubt that Israel has been provoking the Palestinians (not to say the entire Muslim world on the day of Eid Al-Fitr). The recent provocations reminded Ariel Sharon’s “effort” to instigate the 2^nd Intifada via his notorious visit to the Temple Mount. As Sharon did that knowing the reactions, Benjamin Netanyahu, for his own domestic political issues, provoked what we have been witnessing today.  

Do the Palestinians have the right to be angry? Definitely, yes. However, no one gives the right to Hamas to target innocent people with indiscriminate rocket attacks or to use human shields as it has done so many times in the past.  

Do the Israelis have the right to self-defense? Definitely, yes. However, this cannot be used as a pretext for over 500 missile and another 500 bomb attacks with more than 150 Israeli fighters and bombers flying simultaneously over Gaza. At the time of the writing of this Op-Ed very few Hamas rockets actually hurt Israel (7 people died), while the retaliation has already cost more than 100 Palestinian lives and more than 1,300 wounded. As a reminder, disproportionality is a war crime.  

What was the international reaction? Israel did not accept the Egyptian offer to mediate and the Hamas offer for a cease-fire. Saudi Arabia and Jordan asked from Israel to stop its attacks and violations, asking for international pressure on Tel Aviv. The former also asked for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. In a “cold war” atmosphere USA supported again Israel while Russia the Palestinian side (while both trying to keep distances from excesses and asking for self-restraint from both sides). France moved on to remind Israel the principle of proportionality. From the EU countries, Germany was the one who stood closer to Israel, while Ireland the one closer to the Palestinian side. As everybody can understand, Turkey and Iran celebrate. This escalation allows them to portray themselves as “champions of the Palestinian cause” against “the Zionists”, finger pointing all Arab States as traitors who do not support the fellow Palestinians! What an irony!   

Moving on to what has to be done, this is not a blame-game. The amazing efforts to build a new stable Middle East with the Abraham Accords are in danger. Confidence building is a very hard process and takes time. Nonetheless, wrecking trust can be “achieved” in seconds and it can be irreversible. Netanyahu with his reckless response puts the entire Middle East peace process at stake despite the amazing efforts of the United Arab Emirates, the country which really played a crucial role to building a better common future based on tolerance.  

Last but not least, the son of the Israeli Prime Minister rebuffed the Turkish accusations of genocide and truly this is too harsh of criticism for Tel Aviv. But, you should take a note: When Turkey accuses you of genocide, you must think your actions over and over again. Erdogan know what he is talking about. After all, Turks (actually Ottomans) have historically been the foremost experts in genocide!  

The CSGS is organizing the 1^st International Arabian-Gulf Security Conference the 2-3 June 2021 (online). Topics like Defense, Strategy, Diplomacy, International Law, International Security, International Economics, Peace Studies will be discussed, analyzed and examined. Preliminary results will be presented, after successful evaluation of the deposited scientific and industry-led papers. Successful presented papers of the conference, will be published in the conference proceedings. They will also be further evaluated for publication in one of the three special reviews of Scopus indexed Springer journals. For more information, please visit https://iagsc.aue.ae

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Online interview

7 September 2020,

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis was invited by Sky News Arabia to discuss the Greek-Turkish relations. 

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Online Seminar

14 September 2020,

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis was invited to present a lecture and a workshop at the NATO Defense College entitled “Globalization, Regionalization and Fragmentation”.  

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Online Key lecture

17 September 2020 (at 7:20pm Local Time)

At the George Washington University (Washington DC), Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, was invited to the Elliott School for Political Affairs, to give a key lecture and completed it well, on: the “Foreign policy of the Russian Federation to the World”. He concentrated on the global and regional pillars (from the regional I reflected on the US and the Gulf Region). The talk lasted for an 1 hour and 10 minutes.

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Online Seminar

30 September 2020,

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis participated in a webinar organized by the European Parliament Party MEP on “Turkey’s Military Posturing in the East Mediterranean: What should EU do?”   

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Online Key Lecture

21 October 2020

Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, participated to the Geopolitics class of Dimitris Tsarouhas, at the George Washington University, in Washington DC, with a presentation called “The Geopolitics of Europe: Past Present and Future”.

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Online Seminar

27 October 2020,

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis was invited to speak at the IICMDR 2020 Conference entitled “Preparing NATO and the Allies for the Future Challenges” Under the aegis of NATO Center of Excellence for Crisis Management and Disaster Response. His topic was “CoVid19 – Implications for Defense & Security”.

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Online Seminar

11th November 2020 at 4pm

All CSGS and BSS students were invited to examine and discuss the results of the US elections with Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, and the Department Chair of CSGS Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis.

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Online seminar

12 November 2020

Between 3pm and 5pm The United Nations (including Model United Nations) and UN Tolerance Day organized a Webinar including Two Presentations, a Faculty Panel and a Workshop. The Co-Organizers were CEDU (Dr. Leslie – Ms. Caroline), MUN Club Advisor (Ms. Caroline – Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis) and Student Services (Ms. Sumayyah).

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Online Lecture Class

14th November 2020

Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, participated to an online lecture class for all CSGS students of the MA level.

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Conference

14-18 November 2020,

Dr. Eldar Saljic and Prof. Dusko Tomic participated in the NATO Week conference held in Belgrade, Serbia. Many dimportant persons  from security participated in this conference like: Ivica Dačić – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia; General Milan Mojsilović, Chief of General Staff, Serbian Armed Forces; Baiba Braže, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO; Tacan Ildem, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy; James Appathurai, Deputy Assistant Secretary-General, NATO; admiral Giampaolo Di Paola–Former Chairman of NATO Military Committee; Major General Michele Risi, Commander, KFOR; Damon Wilson, Executive Vice President, Program and Strategy, Atlantic Council US; Andrew Michta, Dean, College of International and Security Studies George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Germany; Maciej Popowski,Deputy Director-General – Directorate General Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations DG NEAR.

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Article on Realnews.gr

17 November 2020

Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, analyzed the important relations between Greece and UAE in an article for Realnews entitled “The prism of the Greece-UAE Relations”.

https://www.real.gr/arthra_gnomes/arthro/m_euthymiopoulos_to_prisma_ton_sxeseon_ellados_inomenon_arabikon_emiraton-689171/

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Article on Liberal.gr

19 November 2020

Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Associate Professor of the CSGS, analyzed the strategic relations between Greece and UAE in an article for the media Liberal entitled “The geopolitical importance of the strategic partnership between Greece and the UAE”.

https://www.liberal.gr/apopsi/i-simasia-tis-stratigikis-sunergasias-ellados-iae/336957?fbclid=IwAR1SNRz-G-eorogxqdMl0DXOXTM0tY4MouBFR1KbfeVY8VSKSk9LaNZvM_M

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Workshop

22-25 November 2020

During the BSS Workshop, Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis presented a conference entitled “From Management to leadership”.

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Online Seminar

28 November 2020

Under the Auspices of the American University in the Emirates, the office of the Vice President for Research of the AUE, the College of Security and Global Studies (CSGS) organized an event titled “Technology in Diplomacy” on 28 November 2020 at 6pm. The speakers included Professor Francis Schorgen Professor of International Affairs, University of Marymount USA, Mr. Fidaa Ayoub Security project executive IBM, Mr. Notis Iliopoulo,s Director of Assurance Services, Adacom. The online seminar examined the changing levels of technology and its uses in the field of diplomacy, protocol and security and strategy. This virtual seminar is directly affiliated with the college level programs of the MA in Security and Strategic Studies, Diplomacy, Information Analysis and Security.  

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Online Seminar

28 November 2020

Under the Auspices of the American University in the Emirates, the College of Security and Global Studies (CSGS) organized an event the 28 November 2020, in cooperation with International Police Organization, distinguished lecturers addressed topics from National Security, Disinformation Case Study and Protection of Critical Infrastructure. Lecturers were Mr Ilija Zivotic, Serbian MP, expert for security and President of IPO, Dr Sinisa Pepic, security risk analyst and Darko Obradovic, from the Institute for National and International Security with CSGS faculty members and program directors leading, Professor Dusko Tomic and Dr. Eldar Saljic.

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Online Seminar

5 December 2020

The Dean of CSGS Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos and the Department Chair of CSGS Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis participated in a panel about the Strategic Partnership between UAE and Greece, organized by the Hellenic Institute of Cultural Diplomacy the 5 December 2020 at 6pm. The panel consisted in 5 “distinguished” Greeks working in UAE. Both Faculty Members argued that the Partnership might have been helped by exogenous factors but is very stable, dynamic and evolving and is bound to remain strong for the near future.

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Online Conference

7 December 2020

The Dean of CSGS Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos (along with the UAE VPR Professor Marwan Al-Akaidi) and the Department Chair of CSGS Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis participated in a Conference organized by GDRFA during the 40^th GITEX 2020 in Dubai. Dr. Kleanthis presentation was entitled ““Protecting refugees or stemming irregular migration? Lessons learned from the EU”. Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos laid out the current state of affairs and options on the security against illegal migration. Provided  options for land, aid and sea resilience methods, synchronous to the needs and objectives. The University’s Vice President of Research, Professor Marwan Al-Akaidi, raised the importance of smart and future cities and the resilience to the objective to keep our cities modern, agile and secure.

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Online Seminar

11 December 2020

The 11 December 2020, Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis, the Department Chair of CSGS, participated, between 3pm and 5:30pm, in a Webinar organized by the Institute for Security and Defense Analysis about the “Eastern Mediterranean Crisis” along with three University professors, a leader of a political party and former Admirals. His presentation was entitled “East Med Crisis: the ‘Arab’ Dimension” and dealt with the reactions of the Arab World concerning the Turkish activist and revisionist policy in the East Mediterranean Sea.

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Online Conference

12 December 2020,

Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis, , the Departement Chair of the CSGS,  participated in the 11^th Global Conference on Business and Social Sciences (scopus-indexed). His presentation was entitled“Fragmentation as a Challenge: Tribal and Sectarian Identities in the Gulf”. For his efforts, he was awarded the “best presenter award”.

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Interviews

16 December 2020, and 9 January 2021

Two Op-Eds/ small interviews of Dr. Kleanthis Kyriakidis, the Department Chair of the CSGS, were published in the Greek newspaper Peloponnisos along with other University Professors. In the first one Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos, Dean of the CSGS, participated as well. The question that was answered in the first one was related to the Greek-Turkish relations, while the second to the Capitol storming by Donald Trump supporters. 

By Dr. Mohamed Badine El Yattioui, Visiting Professor, CSGS

Summary

The article aims to explain the historical causes that would allow a better understanding of the crisis that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is undergoing crisis with both direct and important geopolitical consequences due to the role played by regional and global powers.

Starting in the 18th century, the problem of expropriation of land from Armenians for the benefit of Muslim immigrants, the so-called “Muhajirs”, arose in the region. Both Armenian Christians and Turkish-speaking Azeri Muslims traditionally populated Nagorno-Karabakh. It should be noted that their respective demographic weight continues to be a controversial point.

Beginning in 1805, the Tsarist Empire united the region with the province of Baku. The independence of the territory was proclaimed on August 5, 1918, at the IV Congress of the Armenians of the Karabakh (Armenia will use it as a historical precedent after the disintegration of the USSR). In 1921, the Caucasian office of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party (Kavburo), led by Stalin, decided to unite Nagorno-Karabakh to the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic and not to Armenia. During the Soviet period, the enclave enjoyed the status of an Autonomous Oblast (region) of Nagorno-Karabakh (OAHK) within the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic, although it remained an empty shell. In 1969, the leaders of the Armenian Soviet Republic went to Moscow to request, without success, their integration into their territory. The consequence was that many Armenians were expelled from the Karabakh Communist Party in 1975 accused of “nationalist agitation.”

Between 1988 and 1991, almost all of the 352,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan and the 160,000 Azerbaijanis living in Armenia were simultaneously forced to emigrate. This was an opportunity for Armenians to question Baku’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. For the Azeris, it was an act of deliberate aggression designed to recreate the historic “Greater Armenia”.

Armenian elites in the region are advancing toward independence after the Cold War. Today the Armenian parties in Nagorno-Karabakh want independence, except for a small party, Mer Tun Hayastan (“Armenia, our home”) that still wants unification with Armenia. Baku still considers this area, even populated by a majority of Armenians, to be an integral part of its territory.

The consequence of this complex history is that Armenia and Azerbaijan have been in conflict for more than thirty years. Between 1988 and 1990, demonstrations demanding the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh sparked clashes. In 1991, the conflict broke out and a ceasefire was not agreed upon until 1994. The Minsk Group (whose three co-chairs are the United States, Russia, and France) aimed to bring them closer through diplomatic channels and summits between the presidents from both countries. In 2009, this group defended the “Madrid principles” (Non-Use of Force, Territorial Integrity, and Equal Rights and Self-determination of Peoples) as a basis for negotiation.

That does not allow avoiding the conflict of 2020. A new important actor stepped into the conflict. Very important cultural, economic, and military ties explain Turkey’s strong support for Azerbaijan. Moreover, because of the more than tense relations between Ankara and Yerevan. However, a Turkish military intervention is not on the agenda. If Erdogan is accused by France of having sent Syrian militias to Nagorno-Karabakh, he denies it and so does President Aliyev. NATO asks Turkey to use its influence to calm things down.

Finally, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed on November 9, 2020, under the auspices of Russia, an agreement to end hostilities. It reminds us of the importance of Moscow. To ensure compliance with this agreement, Russia began deploying some 2,000 troops as soon as the ceasefire went into effect. Neither Washington nor Paris was decisive this time. The Minsk Group is not even mentioned in the deal, leaving Russia alone at the centre of the game. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Russian troops are present in the three countries of the South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It seems that we are entering a new geopolitical phase in that part of the world.

By Kleanthis Kyriakidis

The entire world witnessed the most interesting elections in the history of the US. The President-elect Joe Biden won the popular vote by 6 million votes (a significant difference of 4% ahead of President Trump) and 306 Electorates (a margin of +74). Despite that fact, it was not a sweeping victory. In some States like Wisconsin (10 Electorates), Arizona (11 Electorates) and Georgia (16 Electorates) Joe Biden won by small margins (less than 20,000 votes and less than 0.5%).  

The were some basic elements, characteristics and outcomes that should be noticed (both positive and negative ones):

On a positive side:

There was huge participation with more than 150 million voters, which shows that the notorious “corrosion of citizenship” with people not wanting to participate in politics was a trend absolutely and clearly reversed. People do care!

The combination of Federal/ State Government worked perfectly. There were actually two States that had a republican Governor and despite that the Presidential Candidate was an incumbent Republican President, swifter for a difference of less than 20,000 votes each (Georgia and Arizona). The system does work!

On a negative side:

We had the worst polarization ever. The first presidential debate was a big humiliation and a proof of decadence.

Riots, demonstrations and fanaticism from both sides reigned.

President Trump proved to be a very bad loser. Despite the fact that even if he reverses through judicial means the result in the aforementioned three States, he still loses the presidency, he refused to concede. This will definitely tarnish his legacy and divide even more the American people.

The controversy around the President not accepting defeat gets even bigger in the light of all Foreign leaders congratulating the president-Elect, some of the leading figures in the Republican party including Mitt Romeny and George W Bush doing the same, and finally firing people after the elections with last victim being the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director, Chris Krebs, who dared to say that there was no fraud during the elections.

Concluding, statements from both sides of the aisle, showed that the good old days where progressive republicans and conservative democrats could cooperate for the good of their constituencies and the American people is over. We are bound to witness battlefields in the Senate, the House and of course this situation hampers any serious effort to govern a country. In order to be fair, the obsessive and unsubstantiated Democrat effort to impeach President Trump had been really one of the reasons for the republican post-elections reaction. 

As a last note, in 2000, Al Gore lost the Presidency to George W Bus due to one State (Florida) with a difference of 527 votes (less than 0.1%) and this State had as a Governor the brother of the Republican candidate. Still, we did not see the chaotic situation that we witness today. In his famous concession speech, Al Gore said “I say to the President-Elect Bush that what remains a partisan rancor must now be put aside and may God bless his stewardship of this country”.  Will we ever see the American wounds heel?

By Dr. Renny Castaneda 

The College of Security and Global Studies of the American University in the Emirates has recently conducted a detailed discussion to analyze the international implications of the elections in the United States. The event included a set of panels where the Faculty Members of the College assessed the political, economic, electoral and geo strategic implications of the elections, and how the results can reshape the influence of the United States in a changing world.  

Among the discussions, it was relevant to notice the crucial role of the United States in the Western Hemisphere, and how the elections can define the upcoming future of the US Foreign Policy, as well as the reconfiguration of political alliances of the country with Europe, Asia or Latin America. On the other hand, the discussion also turned around how the different political factions in the US can somehow determine the future of the nation in an increasingly contested western hemisphere.  

Over the recent decades, new international players have gradually gained relevance in economic and scientific scenarios, raising attention over the expanding multipolarity of the contemporary world and the political shifts that can redefine the tectonic structure of global politics. In this sense, it is important to question if the political turmoil’s in the Western hemisphere, from Europe to the US, can somehow represent a period of crisis of liberal democracies challenged by countries and regimes with different political systems and cultural traditions.  Moreover, the events raise attention of the new cultural and political shifts that are affecting the West, and how they can generate social agendas that are threatening the balance of power, pushing social fragmentation in countries formerly known for their unity and tolerance. 

The College of Security and Global Studies will continue expanding the horizon of the analysis to answer these and many other questions that can affect the future of the World and the MENA region. This is also important due to the increasing influence of the UAE in the Gulf, and the recent diplomatic efforts, such as the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement, to restore DiplomaticRelations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel. 

The College of Security and Global Studies of the American University in the Emirates (CGSG) keeps working despite the negative effects of the global COVID19th Pandemic. Among the different efforts of the Faculty, the program was able to organise rapidly with the necessary procedures to adapt to the virtual classes, as well as to rearrange the assignments and schedules of the students to finish the semester with no inconveniences.

Amidst the circumstances, the College of Security and Global Studies aims to continue coordinating the activities to fulfil the requirements of the University in this complex period. It is important also to note that within the different challenges endured by the country, some students of the College continued with their working and academic activities, overcoming the challenges of the Pandemic, and combining successfully their time within the University and the public service.

The effects of the current COVID19 Pandemic over the systemic capacity of countries and institutions to deter the crisis, cannot be adequately forecasted. This is because no other previous biological threat has affected so much the current environmental, political, and economic interconnectedness of a globalised world. In this regard, the different efforts implemented within educational institutions to try to overcome a global state of emergency derived from the systemic effects of COVID19, can be considered part of a crisis management protocol, delivered different by each country eager to assess the implementation of measures that protect the economy and the health of the population.

This is how, along the American University, as well as the College, crisis management mitigation protocols have been developed to protect all the stakeholders of the organisation. Therefore, at the program and the University, the single most important priority has been to protect the students from the effects of the crisis, as well as the Faculty members in a process of virtualisation that has proved to be difficult but necessary and possible.