A giant like Russia cannot be threatened with retaliation by its Western neighbors, above all because the energy that makes the European countries run comes in a large part from Gazprom, the most important oil company in the world. The author says that by merely understanding Moscow’s historic need to have a safety line, a stable relationship between the Russian bear and its Western neighbors can be achieved.

Russia attempts to come back to life by playing with the strength of its two geo-strategical instruments: oil and natural gas.

Find out why the crisis in South Ossetia has constituted a tough international setback for Russia and the Slavophile and pro-Oriental positions that the new president Medvedev and his prime minister Putin defend. However, should Europe expect some type retaliation by Moscow in terms of energy?

Now that Pervez Musharraf has finally resigned as Pakistan’s president, the author analyzes his legacy, and attempts to pick apart the unstable coalition currently ruling Pakistan. Read on to discover why the Pakistani people gradually turned against a man they initially trusted, and why a poor civilian government is always better than a poor military one.

• Islamabad’s Next Steps
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• Assessing the creation of the new civilian government in Pakistan
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The claims that Russia will see political continuity seem to be backed by the fact that, with everything having gone reasonably well in recent years, it seems there is little to demand modification of Putin’s official policies. However, the vital need to confront unresolved problems could provoke Medvedev to step forward and assume a protagonism not foreseen by analysts.

As Pakistan makes the transition from military rule to civilian rule, the newly elected coalition government finds itself with a full range of necessary reforms, from new economic policies to various changes in the legislative body and the constitution itself. Failure to carry out these measures, says the author, would have repercussions on the global War on Terror.

• Assessing the creation of the new civilian government in Pakistan
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• The Politics of Pakistan: The Implications of the Recent General Elections
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The recently elected coalition government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) must now struggle to cement its power amid dauntingly high public expectations. In addition to lingering political disputes, among them the recent judiciary controversy and the ongoing conflict with Kashmir, this new government now faces a grave economic situation and a changing political atmosphere in the exterior.

• Assessing the creation of the new civilian government in Pakistan
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• The Politics of Pakistan: The Implications of the Recent General Elections
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Pakistan’s fledgling PPP and PML-N led coalition government appears promising, yet it faces many challenges upon inception: primary problems like rising inflation, joblessness, the growing strength of Islamic radicals, poverty, and a wheat and electricity crisis; but also rewriting the constitution, ousting Musharraf and dealing with the deposed judges. Fearing that a direct confrontation between the coalition and Musharraf would serve to destabilize Pakistan, the author timely reminds us of the adage politics is the art of compromise.

• The Politics of Pakistan: The Implications of the Recent General Elections
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• Can Pakistan turn over a new leaf?
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The failed meetings between Warsaw and Moscow are numerous and complex. Poland continues to view Russia as a threat, but Donald Tusk’s brand new cabinet intends to confront its great neighbor with a new strategy: to promote negotiation in view of the conflict. The objective of Warsaw is two-fold: to win allies that reinforce their position with respect to Moscow and to promote a more united stance within the heart of the European Union, one critical of the Russian excesses.

• Poland Wagers for Change
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• The United States, Russia, and the "new" missile crisis
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