The year 1918 was for the Romanians a year of major political activities. At that time the Romanians lived in three different countries – the Kingdom of Romania, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire, the classical example of a divided nation. The young Romanian state, that had witnessed the union between Moldavia and Wallachia, when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected the ruler of the two, proved it had intellectuals capable of taking political actions in the interest of their country. Placed on the banks of the Danube River, Romania came to be as a state also due to the fact that the Europeans developed an interest in the Danube and the Black Sea, and it could guarantee free passage at the River’s mouth – as stipulated by the Treaty of Paris, in 1856, following the Crimean War (1853-1856).

Professor Dr. Zlatko Hadžidedić - the founder and director of the Center for Nationalism Studies in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina - shared from his insight on nationalism as an ideology and its implementation in the Balkans, in the interview below.

Following the important victory of Maia Sandu against Igor Dodon in the runoff of the presidential elections on the November 12, 2020 the mandate of the president-elect faces major challenges, both domestic and foreign. Moldovan citizens and the Western partners of the Republic of Moldova expect the new administration to adopt sustainable reforms, combat corruption, develop the economy, recalibrate the relation with the Russian Federation, and, at the same time, intensify the democratisation and Europeanisation process.

From the Editor

After the European Council meeting last week it could be said that the European Union (EU) is going through a difficult period.
The course of Brexit is indefinite and the rise of France through attempts by its president to lead the European scene confirm that the union is shaken, with the coming year decisive for its future.

Adjusting the response to the new challenges and threats within a permanent global dynamic in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and coordinating and supporting member states’ efforts to understand the dimension of the ensuing economic, social and political crisis are top priorities for the United Nations.

Moldova’s recent presidential election has been widely stereotyped by international media as a geopolitical contest between a democratic West and Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But in fact, that presumption has been disproved by all players, internal and external, in their respective messages about the just-concluded electoral race.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian signed, over a video conference, on November 9, an armistice agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Mediated by Russia between the two belligerents, this armistice dramatically changes the situation on the ground, establishing “new realities” for many years to come.

The US presidential election continues to be the most important indicator of the trajectory of international relations for a period that depends on both the political colour of the winner and on his personality, as proven by Donald Trump’s mandate. One of the questions that observers, analysts, experts and leaders in various domains – including political decision-makers from several countries around the globe – have tried to answer, before learning the name of the future president of the USA, was to what extent a reset of the geopolitical hour would take place, and if this is the case, what will it imply?

In an unstable geopolitical context, with increasingly strong and visible tensions on the international arena, the European Union’s reform process places particular emphasis on the Black Sea area.