Patrick NOPENS - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Patrick NOPENS

Encompass, 2022

Today, we are experiencing the opening salvos of a forcible attempt to reintegrate the Slavic par... more Today, we are experiencing the opening salvos of a forcible attempt to reintegrate the Slavic parts of the former Russian Empire into a Greater Russia. Belarus, Ukraine are the primary targets, but Northern Kazakhstan, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Moldova could follow soon. The next step would be to demand a buffer zone to protect this Greater Russia against NATO encroachment. Hence, the Draft Treaties on Security Guarantees Russia proposed to the US and NATO in December 2021 demand that NATO deploy no forces or weapons in countries that joined the Alliance after May 1997.

Encompass, 2022

Despite the West´s verbal support, massive economic sanctions and military aid, the Ukrainians ar... more Despite the West´s verbal support, massive economic sanctions and military aid, the Ukrainians are on their own when it comes to doing the actual fighting.

... baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of .... more ... baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of ... UNCLOS On the 20th of December 2001, Russia delivered its submission on the limits of its ... November 2006, Norway made a submission to the CLCS to extend its claim beyond its EEZ ...

Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty... more Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty, pushing it into the periphery of global politics and cutting it out of European decision-making. The crisis in Ukraine is about the survival of Putin's regime and the dismantling of the post-Cold War settlement. We should not accept the fallacious narrative of victimhood propagated by the Kremlin's Versailles syndrome. Even so, it is time to explore practical ways of coexisting with Russia. The Helsinki Process and the disarmament and arms control agreements of the Cold War could serve as a model for a mutually acceptable security architecture.

ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 will directly impact the wider region. Not only is the... more ISAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 will directly impact the wider region. Not only is there a risk of instability spilling over to Central Asia, but the drawdown will also accelerate the ongoing shift in the balance of power in Central Asia towards China. Should a spillover occur, the burden will mainly fall on Russia and China. Russia will, however, only continue playing the dominant role in the security of the former Soviet Central Asia (FSCA) until China takes on responsibility for the security of its direct sphere of influence or “dingwei”. Russia’s Near Abroad, however, overlaps both with the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood in Europe and China’s dingwei in Central Asia and the Far East. It is, therefore, necessary to approach Russian reactions to these encroachments on its historical spheres of influence in a single context, taking into account the interrelationship between these three.

: Founded in 1954, the Western European Union (WEU) soon lapsed into obscurity in the shadow of N... more : Founded in 1954, the Western European Union (WEU) soon lapsed into obscurity in the shadow of NATO. In 1984 it was reactivated. The WEU is the only Western European organization mandated to treat security problems outside NATO. This study uses the US Command and General Staff College's Strategic Analysis Model. However, it supplements it in three ways; a historical overview of NATO and Europe between 1945 and 1988; an analysis of the tensions within Nato; and a study of possible strategies of reform of the transatlantic relationship. Among the conclusions drawn from this investigation are: the tensions within NATO result from both American impatience about burden sharing and European frustration about 'power sharing'; since 1984 the members of the WEU demonstrated a clear will to develop a real forum of security matters; potentially the members of the WEU can create a powerful basis for a European Pillar within NATO; and integration of Western Europe will not be comple...

Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty... more Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty, pushing it into the periphery of global politics and cutting it out of European decision-making. The crisis in Ukraine is about the survival of Putin’s regime and the dismantling of the post-Cold War settlement. We should not accept the fallacious narrative of victimhood propagated by the Kremlin’s Versailles syndrome. Even so, it is time to explore practical ways of coexisting with Russia. The Helsinki Process and the disarmament and arms control agreements of the Cold War could serve as a model for a mutually acceptable security architecture.

As part of its drive to undo the post-Cold War settlement, Russia has launched a global media cam... more As part of its drive to undo the post-Cold War settlement, Russia has launched a global media campaign to vindicate its actions in Ukraine. It is based on the Kremlin’s narrative of victimhood, in which the West takes advantage of Russia’s weakness following the implosion of the Soviet Union. These arguments, however, are deeply flawed. Moreover, Russian international media do not abide by Western journalistic ethics and standards. The West, therefore, has to systematically refute this storyline and hold Russian media accountable when they transgress the prevailing norms of due accuracy and due impartiality, or give undue prominence to certain standpoints.

We are on the very brink of a new Cold War. Hybrid War has kept Western analysts in awe although ... more We are on the very brink of a new Cold War. Hybrid War has kept Western analysts in awe although it is highly unlikely that it would be successful against a Nato member. The disproportion of conventional war-fighting capabilities along the eastern borders of the Alliance is the real challenge. NATO has to rebuild a credible conventional deterrence-by-denial. Concurrently, the Alliance and Russia have to commit to political dialogue and revive the arms control regime, in the first place to avoid accidental escalation.

Afghan opiates kill 100,000 people a year globally. Every year NATO countries lose over 10,000 pe... more Afghan opiates kill 100,000 people a year globally. Every year NATO countries lose over 10,000 people to heroin overdoses. In Russia an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people die of drug overdoses yearly. Counter-narcotics in Afghanistan is an area where NATO’s and Russia’s interests clearly coincide. If NATO and Russia cannot find a way of effectively cooperating in this matter, not only will the Afghan narcotic problem spiral completely out of control, but NATO-Russia cooperation could come under pressure.

Encompass, 2022

Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty... more Russia alleges that at the end of the Cold War it underwent a soft version of a Versailles Treaty, pushing it into the periphery of global politics and cutting it out of European decision-making. The crisis in Ukraine is about the survival of Putin’s regime and the dismantling of the post-Cold War settlement. We should not accept the fallacious narrative of victimhood propagated by the Kremlin’s Versailles syndrome. Even so, it is time to explore practical ways of coexisting with Russia. The Helsinki Process and the disarmament and arms control agreements of the Cold War could serve as a model for a mutually acceptable security architecture.

Patrick Nopens , 2021

This is the English and a slightly annotated translation of my grandfather Ernest Nopens's war di... more This is the English and a slightly annotated translation of my grandfather Ernest Nopens's war diaries spanning the period of the 4th of August 1914 to December 1918. Although he was Flemish, the diaries are written in French.
Ernest, Léon, Virginie NOPENS was born in Gentbrugge in Flanders, Belgium, on the 23rd of February 1886, son of Napoléon, Philippe Nopens and Marie Van Maldeghem. He trained as a type-setter but joined the army in 1908 as an NCO in the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs à Pied (light infantry). He ended the war as an adjudant (warrant officer) and finally left the army in 1926.
His diaries provide the reader with the viewpoint of a soldier's soldier. Twice he declined promotion to temporary lieutenant. There are no considerations on strategy or tactics, nor is there any attempt to put events in a broader context. There are hardly any references to the great battles to the south of the Belgian sector or important events on other fronts. They do, however, give an overall picture of life in the trenches and during rest and recuperation periods. It describes the boredom of life in the trenches and reflects a soldier's primary worries, which are, of course, survival, decent food and lodgings.
Immediately after the war, he took part in the occupation of the Rhineland until March 1919. In 1923, He was once again posted to Germany, in Xanten. He left the army in 1926 and built a successful career with the Belgian oil company Purfina in Ghent. He came out of the Great War a great anglophile. During the Second World War, he never doubted that the Allies would be victorious.