Briefs

With the Malian population set to go to the polls to elect a new president at the end of the month, this timely brief lays out the challenges and difficulties that the future head of state, regardless of who is elected, will be faced with in order to ensure long-standing stability and move Mali out of its conflict stage.

This brief offers an evaluation of the ongoing political transition in Georgia explaining that, although the risk of major social unrest remains low, and that there is no geopolitical drift away from the West, there are a number of issues of concern for the international community: the transparency of the judicial process, the lack of political vision currently demonstrated by the government, and the rising influence of traditionalist forces in Georgian society.

Although the politics of renewable energy has remained largely confined to national boundaries and has had few international ramifications to date, this may be about to change. If this is the case, what is and could be the role of renewables in European energy diplomacy?

Since the launch of its two ‘flagship programmes’ in the late 1990s, the EU has been increasingly involved in space activities. But despite the new competences as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, the temptation to compare EU space activities and policies with those of other spacefaring nations should be avoided, and its success in overcoming various hurdles seen as a considerable achievement.