On July 15, 2024 at 12:00pm (EST) the Global Policy Institute (GPI) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU) held an event titled "Azerbaijanis forcibly removed from Armenia" via Zoom and in-person at BAU, 8th floor conference room. The history of the Caucasus is characterized by dominant powers that at different times arbitrarily forced vast population movements, with hardships and pain for the people concerned. A relatively recent chapter within this complicated narrative is the plight of ethnic Azerbaijanis who were forcibly removed from their native Armenia in the late 1980s. Once the biggest ethnic minority within Armenia, (at least 250,000), now there are hardly any Azerbaijanis left in Armenia. Most of them ended up in Azerbaijan. After many years of conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan are negotiating new foundations for peace and stability. In this new, auspicious context, what can be done for all the Azerbaijanis forced to leave Armenia a few decades ago? Ulviyya Zulfikar, head of public relations of Western Azerbaijan Community & Western Azerbaijan television department joined us as a guest speaker to shed some light on this important topic.
Read moreOn July 9, 2024 at 12:00pm (EST) the Global Policy Institute (GPI) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU) held an event titled “Sudan Internally Displaced People and Refugees” via Zoom and in-person at BAU, 8th floor conference room.
Read moreJune 18, 2024 – The U.S. Marine Corps has been developing solutions to the China problem. Numbers will favor the PRC in any crisis that features extended naval warfare within a few hundred miles of China’s coast. Hence the importance of the Corps’ Force Design effort to field forces relevant to such conflict and the urgency with which the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding problem must be solved.
Read moreArtificial intelligence is a top priority for the military because it strengthens fighting capabilities and improves operational efficiencies. The Pentagon has 685 individual AI projects underway and requested $1.8 Billion for artificial intelligence in its Research and Development accounts for 2025. The numbers, however, do not tell the whole story. Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord said AI is ingrained in so many aspects of defense that it is tricky to produce an exact expenditure number. And while China is the pacing challenge in AI, the Pentagon must watch out for a different kind of threat to AI innovation emanating from excessive, stifling bureaucracy.
Read moreWASHINGTON – Recently I happened to watch three movies and a short docudrama that left a strong impression. The stories are quite different and yet they have a central theme. In different ways they are an inspiring celebration of American resourcefulness, sometimes against the rules, resilience and dogged determination: the “can do” Maverick spirit.
Read moreJune 6, 2024 – June 6, 1944, is remembered as a moment of great triumph and sacrifice and the beginning of America’s global leadership. Bonds were forged with allies Great Britain and Canada on the beaches of Normandy. Less than a year later, Hitler was defeated, and the peace won in Europe has lasted to this day. Freedom guaranteed by NATO extends to 32 nations and holds across Europe from Helsinki to Istanbul. But Europe is not calm. Vladimir Putin pours Russia’s resources into the illegal invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese Communist Party enables Russia’s war. NATO allies are shoring up defenses of their borders, ports, and capital cities. Putin recently issued new threats against NATO nations. His threats and militarism are part of how he holds onto power.
Read moreJune 5, 2024 – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s appetite for confrontation is rising. An emerging role for the Army in the Pacific will center on inserting forces to control short, sharp confrontations over islands and terrain features in the South China Sea. Gaining the tactical edge is part of the drive for the Army’s procurement of the V-280 Valor and preparing for deterrence based on rapid response in gray zone operations.
Read moreMay 29, 2024 - The United Auto Workers’ success in unionizing a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee suggests that the reported death of private sector unions is not imminent. Fifty years ago, even in cyclical industries US unionized workers were close to Japan-style lifetime employment, with any layoffs in business downturns allocated by inverse seniority, so that after a few years a worker’s position was guaranteed. In white-collar activities, long careers were predominant and layoffs were scarce. Yet in today’s knowledge industries and elsewhere, the social contract between large corporations and their employees has become one-sided, with layoffs commonplace and lifetime employment a distant dream. This places excessive costs on employees. As the recent history of GE, Boeing and other faltering behemoths shows, it also eliminates the workforce’s knowledge and skills and destroys shareholder value.
Read moreWASHINGTON — In an April 25 speech at The Sorbonne focused on security issues French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “Europe can die”. Let me be more dramatic: “Europe will die”, unless Europe, that is the European Union, or EU, wakes up and decides to engage in a massive defense spending effort, while at the same time creating a federal constitution headed by a federal government, with clear authority on security and defense. Macron pointed out the obvious. Europe lacks a credible military deterrent. A virtually defenseless Europe has no voice in global security affairs, while it can easily become prey of aggressive powers. Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine. Parts of Europe may be next. However, Europe, fully aware of its own military weakness, will probably choose submission if confronted with a determined, bellicose adversary. In the future, Russia may be able to obtain concession from Europe without any use of force. At that point, Europe will be indeed a colony, and therefore a non entity. It will be dead –as Macron warns.
Read moreOn May 15, 2024 the Global Policy Institute (GPI) and Bay Atlantic University (BAU) held an event titled "A Fresh Look at US Serbia Relations" at BAU, 8th floor conference room. US relations with Serbia have been and are frosty on account of US support for Bosnia first and then Kosovo. While many years passed since the US led armed conflict against Serbia, with many of the old actors dead or imprisoned, Belgrade feels that Washington unfairly treated Serbia. Is there a way to change these perceptions? Is there a way to finally settle the old territorial and ethnic disputes in a creative way that will satisfy Serbia and the other parties? More broadly, should the US reconsider the importance of Serbia in the Balkans and appreciate the potential upside of improved relations with Belgrade? To learn more about these critical issues, participants joined us in our conversation with Dr. Neven Cveticanin, President of the Belgrade based Forum for Strategic Studies as he offered a distinct perspective on how to look at and tackle the complexity of Western Balkan geopolitics.
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