There are rumours that EU is suffering from what psychologists call cognitive dissonance.

Definition: Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously.

Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg, put it best in 2007: “We all know what to do, but we don’t know how to get re-elected once we have done it.”

A rival perception (between Germany and France) suggests that they are more like a couple on the verge of divorce: they agree on little, and trust each other even less. Consider the row over economic government. The French want to concoct a euro

You probably remember my post about the movie “The Stoning of Soraya M”. It’s actually the top visited post on Ad Astra Per Aspera. I am glad this topic gains more and more attention.

Seems like the story of Soraya M encouradged Sajjad Ashtiani, the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani to fight against his mother’s stoning. Sakineh could be stoned to death any day now. Sajjad Ashtiani mobilized an international attention to help her mother and prevent such brutal actions in the future.

Iran is facing growing international pressure from International community, human rights groups who are demanding the rel

If I was conducting PHD studies, I would definitely use this opportunity. Already saved the link for the future.

Meanwhile, PHD researchers from South Caucasus could benefit from it. I am talking about the ACADEMIC SWISS CAUCASUS NET (ASCN). It is a 5-year programme aiming at promoting social sciences and humanities in the South Caucasus. The various actors involved in the programme believe that by doing so it encourages constructive debates on society and thus contributes to the transformation process of the region. As the official web says, the different activities foreseen in the programme aim at contributing to the emergence of

Stalin statue removed in Georgian town of Gori, his home town.

Photo © Reuters

For the last half-decade, the Fund for Peace, working with Foreign Policy, has been putting together the Failed States Index, using a battery of indicators to determine how stable — or unstable — a country is. But according to The Economist, as the photos here demonstrate, sometimes the best test is the simplest one: You’ll only know a failed state when you see it. Read full photo coverage at The  Foreign Policy HERE. I only apload three photos (copyright: The Foreign Policy) from the countries that top the list of the most failed ones.

1. Somalia has topped the Failed States Index for the last three years —