The concept of smart defence is quite new although its principles have been discussed for several years. Today smart defence could be considered as one of the main NATO‘s philosophies which will be pursued by the Alliance at least during the recent decade.

According to a U.S. expert on Central Asia (CA) Martha Brill Olcott, withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan might destabilize situation in CA countries. „Compared to the last decade of 20th century, Central Asian states have reinforced their troops but danger is still there“. In this context it would be interesting to know who could take care of CA states if they are not able to do that independently.

Tensions between China and Japan, the second and third largest economies, have been mounting over claims to a set of islands in the East China Sea. Taiwan also claims the questionable Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.

At the beginning of August, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war, in the documentary film “The Lost Day” posted on the Internet, several retired top Russian generals accused the then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev of failing to act decisively in “responding against Georgia’s aggression with respect to citizens of South Ossetia in 2008”.

Russia’s North Caucasus region is still the area of focus. Processes taking place in the region indicate that it is unlikely to achieve sustainable peace and stability, whereas destabilizing events squeeze the tension spring which might straighten in the form of a new armed conflict.

Although the teddy bear incident took place on 4^th June, this theme is still being escalated. The Centre for Geopolitical Studies presents the interview with the domestic policy expert Paulyuk Bykowski on the above issue.

The idea of Information-an open, educated and learning- Society has become one of the goals of the countries around the world and international organizations. The EU and its member state Lithuania are not an exception. All EU Member States have their National Information Society Development Programmes, and at the EU level it is regulated by the Lisbon Strategy and the eEurope Action Plan.

It is considered that positions of the United States in the Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan triangle will decrease significantly when Western allies withdraw the troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. Russia and India have been actively observing the processes taking place in the triangle.

The Internet has not only expanded global communication opportunities but also had major impact on the political processes. This was especially evident during the Arab Spring events in 2011. Thus the actual power of the Internet is still one of the major issues of discussions.

The Near East is at the threshold of war. This time with Iran. The world is suffering from one of its worst economic crisis, but the West with its actions against Tehran complicates the situation. Tehran speeds up the arms race and threatens closing the Strait of Hormuz, and this will inevitably affect the increase of oil prices.

On the New Year eve the Russian media started escalating the issue of Baltic countries’ future and their place in the region. The forecasts concerning future of the three Baltic States are far from promising. Yet most importantly, the efforts are made to withdraw Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from the general European context by suggesting Eastern values to these countries.

When Russia needs to frighten Washington on “adequate response” concerning the plans to deploy the U.S. missile defense system (MDS) in Eastern Europe, Moscow immediately raises the subject of nuclear armament. It seems that the time for intimidation has come today.

We do not yet know precisely what the future wars will look like, but it is obvious that a significant part of current weapons is obsolete. In order to realize what kind of weapons will be necessary for the world’s most powerful armies, we must discuss the nature of future wars.

The decision of the United States at the beginning of the last to revise the plans for the deployment of the anti-missile defense (AMD) system in Europe didn’t mitigate Moscow’s rhetoric. In January 2011 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that if the U.S. deploys own AMD components in Europe, Moscow might pull out of the new START Treaty.

According to the representative of the Russian opposition Leonid Gozman, Russia may not like the Baltic States and be an uncomfortable neighbour for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, however is inoffensive for them, because it has finally accepted the fact of their independence.

It is easier to start business in Estonia than in Latvia and Lithuania, therefore more new firms are established in our country than in other Baltic States – refer to a new study SEB analysts and entrepreneurs.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso received in Brussels representatives of the Lithuanian Government and promised to help the country to pass on to Euro in 2015.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius and the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, signed in Brussels a joint plan on combating the illicit trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials, reported in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

This was stated by the Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevicius, speaking about the powers of negotiators with the Russian company "Gazprom".

Consul of the Consulate General of the Republic of Estonia in St. Petersburg Franek Persidski was declared persona non grata in the Russian Federation. Persidski became an undesirable person in Russia on the basis of parity - a little earlier Russians were not allowed into Estonia.

Polish President directed to finance the development of the Polish missile defence system.