The Rise of the Athenian Empire: Power, Survival, and the Spartan Contribution

by JOSEPH LOCASCIO Was Sparta responsible for the rise of the Athenian Empire? Not to a great degree. Indeed, Sparta did not even provide a crucial push in the direction of Athenian Empire. It is fair to say, however, that Sparta facilitated the process by which Athens began to play the imperial role. Despite Spartan...

A Path Once Traveled: How Southeast Asia Withstood the Global Recession

TOMMIE THOMPSON — Like a lot of the developing world, Southeast Asia was fairly resilient during the initial thrust of the Global Recession. The region had one of the smallest dips in economic performance, and a few of its countries – Indonesia and the Philippines – even experienced growth. However, its success was not sustained...

A Fulcrum to the Asian Pivot: Creating Lasting Democratic Societies in South-East Asia

MITCHELL DENNIS — Of the eleven nations comprising South-East Asia, only three can be classified as democracies. The region comprises over 600 million people; yet none of them live in a free society, as measured by Freedom House. Democracies were not always rare in this region. The region was often championed as a paragon for...

The Shah Deniz Project: An Opportunity to Rethink European Energy Security after the Crimean Crisis

AYHAN KUÇUK — Today, Europe imports more than half of the energy it consumes and more than one third its natural gas imports currently come from Russia. Russian gas is delivered to Europe through different routes mainly via the largest channel through Ukraine. The 2009 gas supply crisis was so recent, when a dispute between...