Takeaways from President Biden's Trip to the Middle East
Dr. Ephraim Sneh
Brigadier General (Retired), Israel Defense Forces
Chairman, S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue
25 July 2022

In July, the President of the United States Joe Biden embarked on his first and long-awaited trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia. It took place at a time of serious international turmoil caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as low and waning approval for Biden domestically. However, neither the hosts nor the guests were fully satisfied with the outcomes of his visits.

#Biden #SaudiArabia #Israel

Ephraim Sneh is an Israeli politician, physician, and retired brigadier general in the Israel Defense Forces. He was a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. From 1994 to 1996 he served as a Minister of Health. In 1999 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense, and in 2001 he was appointed Minister of Transportation. He is currently chairman of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue.

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The Chinese Maritime Geo-Strategy
Dr. Benni Ben-Ari
Maritime Policy & Strategy Center
University of Haifa
2 June 2022

The Chinese maritime geo-strategy is relatively new and has been formulated over approximately the last fifty years. In the past, China was never a maritime country and was focused mainly on defending itself against threats emanating from the west and north of its borders. But recently, the Chinese have become very active in the maritime area as well.

Historically, China was never a colonial country and the wars that it fought in the past were defensive in nature. Contemporary Chinese geo-strategy is not expansionist either but subordinated to three main interrelated objectives, namely keeping internal stability, securing popular support, and providing China’s 1.45 billion citizens with food and livelihood.

#china #maritimegeostragy #chinaeconomy

Dr. Ben Ari served for 14 years in the Israeli Navy, holding command, training and staff positions. After leaving the Navy, he joined the defense industry and for 38 years held marketing and management positions at Elbit Systems, including head of the international marketing department and managing director of Elbit’s activities in Asia. He lived in Singapore for many years, accumulating vast knowledge and practical experience in the culture and business of SEA, and established long-lasting relations with various organizations and persons in Singapore and other countries.

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The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Global Energy
Glenn Labhart
Labhart Risk Advisors Inc.
25 May 2022

In Europe, the energy is very reliant on supplies from the West, both for the exports of oil out of the Gulf coast, as well as exports of LNG. The biggest issue for Europe right now is whether there is enough inventory with which it can manage itself through to next winter. But the inventories are quite low in continental Europe. The other problem is that as the Russian supplies have been cut off, there is a timing difference in the industry right now, which is how many cargoes of LNG can physically get into Europe and how the gas is then distributed throughout the continent. In this regard, the European setup is quite different from the United States, which makes the entire operation more challenging.

#Energy #Europe #UkraineWar

Glenn Labhart is a Partner at Labhart Risk Advisors Inc., a Texas based organization incorporated in 2004 that provides subject matter expertise to assist clients in producing value-added, profitable strategies while maintaining oversight and control of their operations. Labhart Risk Advisors has advised and led capital projects on $4.5 BN of real-option, market-based strategies to a clientele of Energy, Financial Services,Private Equity and Real Estate companies.
In 2002, Glenn Labhart was awarded the Global Association of Risk Professionals Risk Manager of the Year and served as the Chairman of the Energy Oversight Committee for the Energy Risk Program from 2005 to 2021. His professional memberships include the United State Energy Economics Association, and the International Energy Economics Association.

Christodoulos G. Pelaghias is the senior partner of Cyprus-based international law practice, with bar admissions in New York and Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is president of the Cyprus Council of the European Movement International (EMI), and former member of the Board of Directors of EMI. He is chairman of the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC), and has advised the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias holds an M.A. in International Affairs, a Ph.D in Political Science, and a J.D. in Law, from Columbia University.

Yair Hirschfeld is an Israeli historian and a former lecturer at the University of Haifa. Since 1979, he has been involved in promoting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During the 1980ies he organized the confidential dialogue between Shimon Peres with the Palestinian leadership on the West Bank and Gaza. He prepared a study that became the conceptual model for the Oslo negotiations. He led the non-official Israeli team in Norway and became then a member of the official Israeli negotiating team leading to the conclusion of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles of September 1993. During the 1990ies, Mr. Hirschfeld developed concepts and structures for People-to-People activities, as well as working concepts for an Israel-Palestine code of conduct aimed to move from the logic of war, to the logic of peace; a blueprint for Security Permanent Status, and Economic Permanent Status understandings. After the Second Intifada, Mr. Hirschfeld was instrumental in preparing the way for Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation. He was involved in an Israel-Palestine backchannel preparing parameters for negotiations between PM Olmert and President Abbas, an effort that failed. Mr. Hirschfeld is presently involved in pursuing a track two dialogue with Palestinian counterparts on one hand, and with Israeli governmental authorities on the other hand, how best to pursue shared interests in the preparation of a hoped-for renewal of an envisaged political peace-building process. He is heading an Israeli team in a joint Israeli-Palestinian project aimed at promoting Palestinian economic growth.

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The Impact of Corruption on Democracy
Myron Nicolatos and Christodoulos G. Pelaghias
17 May 2022

What is the definition of corruption? What are its sources and how can it be tackled? Judge Nicolatos and Dr. Pelaghias discuss the effects of corruption on a democratic regime in a country prone to clientelism such as Cyprus.

#Cyprus #Corruption #Democracy

Myron Nicolatos is the retired president of the Republic of Cyprus Supreme Court. He studied law at the London School of Economics (University of London) and he was awarded the degrees of LL.B. (Honors) and LL.M.. He is also a Barrister of the Middle Temple. He practiced Law between 1979 and 1986. He was appointed District Judge in 1986 and was promoted to President District Court in 1996. He became a Justice of the Supreme Court of Cyprus in 2004, and from July 2014 until June 2020 he served as the Supreme Court's president.

Christodoulos G. Pelaghias is the senior partner of Cyprus-based international law practice, with bar admissions in New York and Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is president of the Cyprus Council of the European Movement International (EMI), and former member of the Board of Directors of EMI. He is chairman of the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC), and has advised the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias holds an M.A. in International Affairs, a Ph.D in Political Science, and a J.D. in Law, from Columbia University.

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Conflict Resolution and the War in Ukraine
Sundeep Waslekar, Yair Chirschfeld and Christodoulos G. Pelaghias
13 May 2022

The war in eastern Ukraine has been ongoing since 2014, but the full-scale invasion by Russia that took place in February 2022 caught many by surprise. However, after the failed attempt to take Kyiv and topple the Zelensky government, the fights are now concentrated again in the Donbas region as well as in the south of the country. Three months on, the war has no end in sight. The end may come closer when Russia and Ukraine reach what in conflict resolution is called a mutually hurting stalemate – a situation, in which neither party can win while prolonging the conflict would be harmful to both. This shouldn’t be expected anytime soon as none of the warring sides is currently interested in ending the conflict. However, further escalation may eventually push Russia to use its nuclear weapons – an unlikely scenario that nevertheless cannot be entirely ruled out. Therefore, stopping the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and preventing a nuclear disaster in Europe is the most urgent need.

#UkraineWar #Ukraine #Russia

Sundeep Waslekar is President of Strategic Foresight Group, a think-tank based in India that advises governments and institutions around the world on managing future challenges. Under his leadership, SFG has worked with or on 50 countries from four continents creating new policy concepts in conflict resolution, water diplomacy and foresight for countries and societies. Mr. Waslekar has been involved in parallel diplomatic exercises to find common ground in times of crisis, negotiating with Heads of Government, cabinet ministers, diplomats, hydraulic engineers and terrorists. He has facilitated dialogue between Indian and Pakistani decision-makers, heads of Nepalese political parties and water authorities in Africa and the Middle East. In the 1990s, he authored three books on governance The New World Order, South Asian Drama, and Dharma-Rajya: Path-breaking Reforms for India's Governance. Since 2002, he has authored several research reports on global future under the auspices of the Strategic Foresight Group. He was been a faculty at World Economic Forum annual meetings at Davos and a senior executive at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm. He has been quoted, reviewed and interviewed in more than 2000 newspapers, websites and television channels in some 70-80 countries including BBC World Television, CNN, The Economist, New York Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, Newsweek, among others.

Yair Hirschfeld is an Israeli historian and a former lecturer at the University of Haifa. Since 1979, he has been involved in promoting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During the 1980ies he organized the confidential dialogue between Shimon Peres with the Palestinian leadership on the West Bank and Gaza. He prepared a study that became the conceptual model for the Oslo negotiations. He led the non-official Israeli team in Norway and became then a member of the official Israeli negotiating team leading to the conclusion of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles of September 1993. During the 1990ies, Mr. Hirschfeld developed concepts and structures for People-to-People activities, as well as working concepts for an Israel-Palestine code of conduct aimed to move from the logic of war, to the logic of peace; a blueprint for Security Permanent Status, and Economic Permanent Status understandings. After the Second Intifada, Mr. Hirschfeld was instrumental in preparing the way for Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation. He was involved in an Israel-Palestine backchannel preparing parameters for negotiations between PM Olmert and President Abbas, an effort that failed. Mr. Hirschfeld is presently involved in pursuing a track two dialogue with Palestinian counterparts on one hand, and with Israeli governmental authorities on the other hand, how best to pursue shared interests in the preparation of a hoped-for renewal of an envisaged political peace-building process. He is heading an Israeli team in a joint Israeli-Palestinian project aimed at promoting Palestinian economic growth.

Christodoulos G. Pelaghias is the senior partner of Cyprus-based international law practice, with bar admissions in New York and Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias serves on the Executive Committee of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is president of the Cyprus Council of the European Movement International (EMI), and former member of the Board of Directors of EMI. He is chairman of the European Rim Policy and Investment Council (ERPIC), and has advised the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Dr. Pelaghias holds an M.A. in International Affairs, a Ph.D in Political Science, and a J.D. in Law, from Columbia University.

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Current Political Developments in Israel
Dr. Elie Friedman
Ashkelon Academic College
11 May 2022

The current political situation in Israel is somehow contradictory. Israel remains strong economically and geopolitically, yet it finds itself in a precarious and difficult situation in terms of internal security and internal politics. Economically, the recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic has been robust. Israel’s regional standing has significantly improved, mainly through the Abraham Accords which have proven to be solid and beneficial for all parties involved. Internally, however, the security situation is fragile and there has been a spike in terrorist attacks in Israel, some of them perpetrated by its own citizens. On top of that, the current government built on a broad coalition of very diverse parties could be on its last legs. Its collapse would spark yet another wave of political instability in the country.

#Israel #IsraeliPolitics #AbrahamAccords

Elie Friedman (PhD) serves as Head of the International Relations Office as well as Head of the Communications Division at the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Ashkelon Academic College. His academic rank is Senior Lecturer. He also serves as an adjunct lecturer at School of Communication, Bar-Ilan University, and a visiting lecturer at University of Maryland. His interests include political discourse in national and international contexts with an emphasis on conflict resolution, media, and public diplomacy.

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Turkey's Position on the War in Ukraine
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak
Moshe Dayan Center and Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security
9 May 2022

Turkey sees Russia as its historical nemesis that currently is the only entity in the region capable of posing an existential threat to Ankara. But with regard to Ukraine, Turkey is walking a tight rope. It tries to please the Western camp on one hand, while maintaining its vital relations with Moscow on the other.

#Turkey #Russia #UkraineWar

Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, Ph.D (Tel Aviv University) is a researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, and an expert on contemporary Turkish politics and society. Hay is the editor of Turkeyscope, and a member of the Middle East Network Analysis Desk. He is a frequent guest on Israeli and international media, where he regularly appears to discuss contemporary Turkish issues.

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