by Gary Sick In the parlance of political risk assessment, a Black Swan is an event regarded as highly improbable or even impossible before it happens. A Black Swan is not only surprising but has the capacity to disrupt or… Continue Reading
by Eldar Mamedov When Iran’s then-foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited the European Parliament in 2010, his speech in the foreign affairs committee soon degenerated into a shouting match with the MPs. They accused his government of repressing dissent and grievous… Continue Reading
by Shireen T. Hunter The relative thaw in Iran’s economic and political relations with Europe and Japan, and the improvement in its economic prospects, has thus far been received with a degree of anxiety by other major regional players such… Continue Reading
by Sajjad Safaei “I’m not a colonel, I’m a lawyer!” Iran’s current President Hassan Rouhani uttered when his commitment to civil liberties came under fire during the 2013 presidential debate. In an attempt to accentuate the contrast between himself and… Continue Reading
by John Feffer In 1748, as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, France regained Cape Breton from Great Britain. The island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, had passed back and forth between the two countries over the years, and… Continue Reading