Surprising coal markets: while the world coal demand is diminishing, the steam coal price doubled in 2016. After five years of uninterrupted price decline and a sluggish world demand, this strong price hike might appear as paradoxical. This paper explains the principal reasons for this situation.

This paper analyses the phenomenon of “Kadyrovism” as a relatively coherent ideology which possesses its own internal logic and propaganda tools and which reflects the reality of Ramzan Kadyrov’s rule, based on submission to Vladimir Putin while also being marked by provocative acts directed at the paternal figure of the Russian President.

More than three years have already passed since China’s new silk roads were launched by President Xi Jinping. When he first mentioned the idea in an autumn 2013 speech in Kazakhstan, questions quickly emerged on the meaning of this general concept, which soon became widely promoted through a large-scale and well-coordinated public diplomacy strategy both in and outside China.

Germany introduced a minimum wage on January 1^st, 2015 – a first in a country that had hitherto left it to the social partners to agree on salaries. This introduction came after vivid debates between those who fought against ever deeper inequalities and those who defended the nation’s competitiveness. 

The United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union at a crucial moment for the Energy Union, and in a period when the necessity of leading a coherent energy transition is strongly shared by EU countries. In the light of this conjunction of events, this study analyses the determining factors of the UK energy policy. 

Russia has recently accused the United States and NATO Allies of violating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) by arguing that NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements are not permitted under the Treaty.

Despite being geographically distant, France and Japan share a number of converging interests.

Twenty-five years after the fall of the Soviet Union and the declaration of independence by the republics of Central Asia, the issue of guaranteeing stability and security still looms large on Central Asia’s agenda.