Dimitar Bechev

One less contract for Timchenko

Good thread. My 5c: globalisation has not reduced the importance of physical space in international politics. In fact, connectivity at the global scale means the maritime domain plays a key role.Not much new, except possibly data cables laid on the seabed. Though: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transat...

NATO’s Hague Summit: a Post-Mortem  - Atlas Think Club Donald Trump must be feeling content after the summit NATO just wrapped up in The Hague.  “Very big news”.  That’s how he called the European allies’ commitment to raise the 2% GDP defence spending ta...

atlasthink.org/natos-hague-... by @dimitarbechev.bsky.social

The Black Sea Has Become the Fulcrum of Europe’s Security The Black Sea is pivotal in Russia’s war against Ukraine and the wider standoff between Moscow and the West. To counter the Russian threat in the region, the EU has adopted a new strategy, and Turkey ...

The Black Sea is pivotal in Russia's war against Ukraine and the wider standoff between Moscow & the West.

To counter the Russian threat in the region, the EU has adopted a new strategy & Turkey is building up its capabilities, says @dimitarbechev.bsky.social.

carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

Russia has decided to watch the Israel-Iran fight from the sidelines because (1) it is too weak to make a difference, (2) its priority is subjugating Ukraine, (3) it values ties to Israel and wants to restore balance, and (4) Iran isn't as useful anymore.

The EU’s Waning Attractiveness The Georgian and Serbian leaders’ pivots away from the path to EU accession show the bloc’s waning appeal. To keep EU enlargement on track, Brussels should focus on candidate countries that are making...

The Georgian & Serbian leaders' pivots away from the EU accession path show the bloc's waning appeal.

To keep #enlargement on track, the EU should focus on candidate countries that are making genuine progress toward membership, says @dimitarbechev.bsky.social.

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Overcoming Inertia in Kosovo Kosovo continues to face significant obstacles on its path to EU membership. To move forward, Prishtina must revive its dialogue with Belgrade, while the union should provide a clear road map for easi...

ℹ️Our BiEPAG Member @dimitarbechev.bsky.social is one of the authors of the latest Carnegie Europe article on #Kosovo and the various obstacles on its EU path.

🔹 Overcoming Inertia in Kosovo

Read the whole analysis and potential scenarios and ways forward👇

#Kosovo #EU #EUEnlargement

The EU’s Waning Attractiveness The Georgian and Serbian leaders’ pivots away from the path to EU accession show the bloc’s waning appeal. To keep EU enlargement on track, Brussels should focus on candidate countries that are making...

"membership is only one option.... countries like Georgia and Serbia can change over time and recommit. But in the meantime, the EU should devote its limited resources to those candidates that are fulfilling its conditions." - @dimitarbechev.bsky.social
carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Noteworthy remarks from the ANF interview with Cemil Bayik:

1) PKK's May 12 announcement of disbandment is perceived as the beginning of the 2nd phase of Kurdish resistance. Bayik sees the first phase as a successful effort to build the "Kurdish identity, Kurdish people and Kurdish society".

A podcast Joe Nye recorded recently.

Rest in peace. Joe Nye was a generous and kind person, not just an oustanding scholar. We met several times while I was at Harvard's Centre for European Studies. He would always find time to discuss my ongoing research projects and offer valuable advice. A huge loss.

At today’s #BalkanBreakfast, we unpacked domestic drifts in Serbia & Kosovo: stalled (non-)dialogue, internal crisis shaking Belgrade, inertia in post-election 🇽🇰, and what 🇩🇪’s new government can do to re-energize the 🇪🇺 path. Many thanks to @dimitarbechev.bsky.social for his comments.

Are Europeans now from Mars and Americans from…Krypton? Join us online for the Dahrendorf Lecture by Robert Kagan, this Friday, May 2, 5 pm UK time. @dahrendorfoxford.bsky.social @dimitarbechev.bsky.social
Link: podcasts.ox.ac.uk/Dahrendorf-K...

SITREP 🇺🇦 DAY 1161

Days & numbers:

-100: Trump loses 51st state elex & says UKR "will soon be crushed"
-3: Putin profers 8-11 May truce. Trump says he wants ceasefire not truce
-8-10: Macron says new pressure vs 🇷🇺 in 8-10 days
-100 Shaheds+decoys, 47 down, 37 out
Novorossiisk oil depot burns

European Defence: How can the EU best work with the UK and other non-EU states? And will it? Faced with the war in Ukraine and the attitude of the Trump administration, European defence is now a top priority for the EU. At the same time, security is a central theme of the British government’s...

Interested in European defence and UK-EU relationship? Join us for this seminar in Oxford or online next Tuesday, April 29, 5 pm, with @armida.bsky.social @lscazzieri.bsky.social, , Brendan Devlin & me. (Registration for online via link) @dimitarbechev.bsky.social
talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d2d...

Victimhood is the bread and butter of populist politics. Even when a populist leader or party is in power. Even when the state in question, the US, is the hegemon which got to set the rules - it is the victim all the same.

Absolutely. Autism is a spectrum. Improved diagnostic methods capture increasing number of cases on the milder end. The stigma is lifted too, with more and more folks taking pride in being "neurodivergent". (I'm writing as a parent of a severely autistic child.)

The famed Pivot to Asia is mostly focused on Western Asia.

"Bulgarian language reformed to make it easier to learn for the peasantry" - orthography, not language.

"military service replaced with compulsory labour service." - it was a workaround as the 1919 peace treaty put limits on the armed forces.

Picture: Returning from the Grape Harvest (1893) by Bulgarian painter Anton Mitov.

The age we livev in.

Former KGB double agent Oleg Gordievsky dies at Surrey home - BBC News Counter-terrorism police are assisting the coroner, but his death is not being treated as suspicious.

Oleg Gordievsky has died. What makes him so interesting is that he illustrates the stabilising role intelligence can play: he helped Reagan & Thatcher understand the USSR was genuinely worried about nuclear war, allowing them to take that into account in their policy www.bbc.com/news/article...

Turkey Wants to Be a European Power Now Ankara is preparing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine—and to deepen ties with the EU.

Confronted by Putin and Trump, Europe is being reconfigured. This is a chance for Turkey to become a full member of Europe’s club under a new set of rules. It should not let the opportunity go to waste. @dimitarbechev.bsky.social

foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/19/t...

Turkey Wants to Be a European Power Now Ankara is preparing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine—and to deepen ties with the EU.

Disclaimer - I wrote the piece before İmamoğlu's arrest.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/19/t...

Engels, in the Volga region, lies about 1500 miles (2400 km) away from Kyiv.

What can the EU do in response to Imamoglu's arrest? On the one hand, it has precious little leverage over Turkish domestic politics for well-known reasons. On the other, it cannot simply stay silent.

Thank you so much hocam.

Back to Ankara

When is WaPo publishing his five-year plan?