The disproportionate nature of Washington’s reaction to Beijing over such balloons also looks rather odd in the face of vast surveillance technologies it deploys against adversaries and friends. But politics is not merely the art of the possible but an opportunity for the absurd to find form and voice. On this score, the mouse has clearly terrified the elephant.
Global Surveillance
Rogues And Spyware: Pegasus Strikes In Spain
Weapons, lacking sentience and moral orientation, are there to be used by all. Once out, these creations can never be rebottled. Effective spyware, that most malicious of surveillance tools, is one such creation, available to entities and governments of all stripes. The targets are standard: dissidents, journalists, legislators, activists, even […]
A Phenomenon Of (Im)migration (II)
Part I Economy and migration One of the focal causes of the migration movement across the globe historically and contemporary is an imbalance between population and economic resources which very often is leading to population movements or migration from one place to another. From the very general economic perspective, migration […]
The Phenomenon Of (Im)migration (I)
The recent immigration crisis on the Belarus-Polish (EU) border can be repeated and even more to include and Lithuanian (EU) border with Belarus with unpredictable political results. Nevertheless, the 2021 November refugee crisis on the eastern border of the EU once again open the question of immigration, refugees, and asylum […]
Soft Power In Politics And Diplomacy (V)
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV The English language as soft power Language is the general term for human vocal (and as well as written and signed) communication. Since languages differ appreciably from each other, they, therefore, form highly effective markers of different cultures and different ethnic groups […]
Soft Power In Politics And Diplomacy (IV)
Part I, Part II, Part III Various actors of soft power We have to keep in mind, nevertheless, that in the very practical activity, a state authority can’t possess comprehensive soft power in all possible areas as soft power is not proportionately disseminated in all areas. As a matter of […]
Soft Power In Politics And Diplomacy (III)
Part I, Part II Soft power and multilateral international institutions If we are taking into consideration the relations between IR and diplomacy, founded on the contractual relations between the states, it can be argued that soft power in this case mostly depends on the ability of the state authorities to […]
Soft Power In Politics And Diplomacy (II)
Part I The factors of soft power’s influence It has been already two last decades recognized worldwide that soft power is an extremely significant instrument in both politics and diplomacy in the hands of many states but especially those whom we can call as great powers as they are the […]
Soft Power In Politics And Diplomacy (I)
French Emperor Napoleon I, was convinced that only two powers existed in the world: the sword and the mind. Sword can prevail over the mind in a short time but in the long run, he believed that the mind would beat the sword. As the mind is mightier than the […]
Pegasus Rides Again: The NSO Group, Spyware And Human Rights
They keep insisting they don’t do it. But companies such as the Israeli NSO Group are global vendors for regimes, whatever stripe or colour, for surveillance tools to spy on those they deem of interest. The 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden that exposed the warrantless world of mass surveillance by […]
That Old Story: Spying On Friends
One has to be repeatedly reminded that the theatre of international relations knows no friends and only national interests, whatever those might be. Intelligence services, being an expression of those interests, do not necessarily discriminate in targeting their quarry. The revelations of Edward Snowden in 2013 about warrantless and unwarranted […]
Fruits Of Illegality: The NSA, Bulk Collection And Warrantless Surveillance
He has become part of the furniture when it comes to discussions about privacy rights and personal liberties, arguably an odd sort of thing for a man who also dealt in the shadows of intelligence secrets. But Edward Snowden has been doing his bit to reveal and chip away at […]
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