Roger Barake

The abandonment of the Future Combat Air System — known by its French acronym SCAF — announced this week by France and Germany after years of tensions, represents far more than the failure of an industrial program. It exposes the deep contradictions now shaping the construction of an autonomous European defense capability, at the very moment when the continent is seeking to free itself from its strategic dependence on the United States. At the heart of this wreck lies a question that has never found a consensual answer: is Europe capable of producing, through a common effort, the instruments of its military sovereignty, or does it remain a juxtaposition of competing national interests?

Ruling Hungary with unchallenged authority since 2010, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has now been defeated at the polls, swept from office by public fatigue over corruption and perceived assaults on the rule of law. Now 62, he asserted himself on the international stage through repeated clashes with Brussels and his overt ties with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orbán also shocked with his indulgence toward far-right ecosystem and the broader autocratic network in Europe and around the world. Viktor Orbán received by Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street in January 2002, a year before the ill-fated invasion of Iraq built on spurious claims. According to Voltaire, “Politics is the art of lying at the right time.” (Gerry Penny/AFP)

The war in Ukraine, triggered by the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, is entering its fifth year. Moscow's offensive initially aimed to overthrow the Ukrainian state in a few days, but it met fierce Ukrainian resistance and massive mobilization by Westerners to help them. The worst conflict on European soil since World War II has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries, while millions of Ukrainian refugees have fled into exile. On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the conflict's outbreak, Levant Time interviewed Constantin Sigov, philosopher, director of the Centre for European Studies at Mohyla University in Kyiv and of the Dukh i Litera (Spirit and Letter) publishing house.

Iran and the world have been focused since December 28 on the revolt movement triggered in Tehran by Bazaar merchants and thousands of young and old against the rapid deterioration of the socio-economic situation. The demonstrations, which quickly spread to numerous cities and localities, reached an unprecedented scale by January 8, openly defying the Islamic regime, before being violently repressed in blood. A national internet shutdown, which allowed, according to human rights organizations, to mask the repression, was compounded by threats to inflict heavy sanctions on protesters, labeled as "rioters acting on behalf of foreign powers".

It is not the first time that Iranians have taken to the streets to challenge their rulers. But this latest popular movement is distinguished by the mobilization of a new actor: the Bazaar merchants, considered one of the pillars of the Islamic regime. It all began on December 28, when Tehran merchants launched a strike to protest against hyperinflation and economic stagnation. The movement has since expanded to include political demands. Since the beginning of the protests, the authorities have adopted a dual approach, combining appeasement, by recognizing "legitimate demands" related to economic difficulties, and firmness against any attempt at destabilization.