Edward Snowden and democratization through the web
Why did Edward Snowden decide to disclose information related to U.S. secret services?
- Edward Snowden belongs to that generation of militants who do believe in the web as a tool for democratization, and do think that, to some extent, intelligence services of big states intend to monitor and to control the web at the expense of civil societies. This generation of militants believes in democratization through the web, and they want to fight against the "raison d'Etat". In that sense, there will be certainly other people like Snowden who will be ready to defend that cause of transparency. We'll see what is going to happen, but I definitely think he will become more and more a sort of a symbol of this cause, as Julian Assange is.
Isolating, Not Taming: What's Behind the Impetus to "Digital Sovereignty" in Russia?
April 2014 was a particularly bitter month for Russian internet users and the local internet industry. President Vladimir Putin unsurprisingly made headlines when, at the Media Forum in St. Petersburg, he publicly labeled the internet as a “CIA project” and launched an attack against Russian internet businesses. Putin particularly expressed reservations about the successful Russian search engine Yandex, as it is registered in the Netherlands for, as Putin stated, “not only… taxation purposes but for other reasons, as well.” A week earlier, during his annual call-in TV show, Putin also referenced the internet when, responding to a question from Edward Snowden, he rejected any mass surveillance of the network by Russian law enforcement agencies.
France would support new sanctions on Russia
"It's clear that we will have to declare ourselves in favour of new sanctions in case of a military escalation," said state secretary for parliamentary relations Jean-Marie Le Guen to French media on Sunday. The junior minister’s comments came as unrest continued to spread in eastern Ukraine, leaving at least one Ukrainian officer and a pro-Russian activist dead in the eastern city of Slaviansk, about 150 km from the Russian border, on Sunday.
France Suggests No Mistral Delivery – Yet
France's Finance Minister cast doubt Thursday on what Russia had said was the imminent delivery of the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers, feeding uncertainty that French political analysts view as authorities' reluctance to be seen as caving in to Russian pressure.
Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Thursday that the conditions set by French President Francois Hollande last month for delivering the first Mistral — i.e., upholding the tenuous cease-fire and reaching a political settlement in Ukraine — "had not been met at this time."
Internet, accélérateur des transformations de la Russie
La crise économique mondiale survenue en 2008, qui s’est durement répercutée en Russie, a cristallisé le mécontentement de la population, en particulier des classes moyennes et supérieures. Ce ressentiment, les réseaux sociaux et les blogs permettent de l’exposer sur la « place publique » en obtenant une résonance significative. Cette évolution n’est pas propre à la Russie ; elle est générationnelle.
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Frontiers New and Old: Russia’s Policy in Central Asia
For much of the post-Soviet period, Central Asia has been a backwater of Russian foreign policy. But things are changing. Circumstances in and beyond the region are driving a more committed approach in Moscow.
France Gives Russia 'Last Chance' to Negotiate With West
The weekend meeting between the French and Russian presidents has given France a chance to become "the new Germany" for Russia, which lost its last Western ally after a falling-out with official Berlin, analysts say.
French mediation "is aimed at preventing Russia-EU relations from going to the dogs," said Tatiana Kastueva-Jean of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) in Paris.
Moldova's National Minorities: Why are they Euroskeptical?
Following the 2014 separatist conflict in Ukraine, observers have worried about the potential for a similar conflict in Moldova that would interrupt the country’s EU association. Indeed, Moldova’s national minorities largely oppose the country’s process of approximation and integration with the European Union.
The European Union to Ukraine’s Rescue
Recent events have provided the opportunity for the rekindling of relations between Ukraine and the European Union.
Why Russia and the EU Should Cooperate in Ukraine
Ukraine is divided along historical, ideological, economic, religious and linguistic lines, which it has failed to unite in its brief history.
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