Annual Letter 2020 – We say thank you!

When the UK left the EU, the British public was promised a series of new trade deals, including with Britain's most important trading partner: the United States of America. Yet, there are numerous barriers preventing a smooth negotiation, among them, the status of Northern Ireland. The US is committed to protecting the Good Friday Agreement and President Biden takes a personal interest in Ireland, but the UK is threatening to violate the agreement due to issues with the Northern Ireland protocol. Could Ireland threaten the UK's hopes for a trade deal with the US, and if so, how?

This in-depth study analyzes the South African Apartheid’s historical and socio-linguistic dimension. The segregation operated by Apartheid followed the path of a dictatorial system, while language control allowed the segregationist regime to exclude people of colour from the country political and economic life. This is well-reported within the framework of the educational policies and the deliberately racist media propaganda operated at the time.

Since Fidesz's electoral victory in 2010, the Hungarian political and social landscape has been subject to numerous undemocratic reforms, transforming the state into a "hybrid regime". Restricted media freedom, the backlash against NGOs and civil society, courts that lack impartiality and meddling with electoral districts (gerrymandering) are, amongst many others, signs of the illiberal state that Orbán tries to create. Meanwhile, the EU remains inactive, as it lacks the necessary means and/or political willpower to enforce basic democratic standards in its own member state.

In the past few years, Middle Eastern governments have deepened their ties with the Kremlin. Vladimir Putin and his regime were equally enthusiastic about intervening in Middle Eastern politics and propping up the region's autocracies to restore Russia's status as a global superpower. Today, both sides collaborate on various political and security issues affecting the Middle East. This relationship now influences how various Middle Eastern governments respond to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The response has been mostly ambivalent, as most of the region's governments see Russia as a valuable ally that they cannot afford to alienate.