The West against the rest? Democracy versus autocracy promotion in Venezuela

Venezuela provides a strong test case for the weakening of democracy and the strengthening of autocracy promotion. External actors are a key part of the domestic political game: the European Union and the United States (EUUS) promote ‘democracy by coercion’ and recognised Juan Guaidó as president, whereas China, Cuba and Russia (CCR) bolster the regime of Nicolás Maduro. A comparative foreign policy analysis argues that, firstly, EUUS sanctions have resulted in strengthening CCR's autocratic leverage and linkage; and secondly, the division ‘between the West and the Rest’ has posed an additional obstacle for a transition to democracy and national reconstructio

Prion protein-specific antibodies-development, modes of action and therapeutics application

Prion diseases or Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) are lethal neurodegenerative disorders involving the misfolding of the host encoded cellular prion protein, PrPC. This physiological form of the protein is expressed throughout the body, and it reaches the highest levels in the central nervous system where the pathology occurs. The conversion into the pathogenic isoform denoted as prion or PrPSc is the key event in prion disorders. Prominent candidates for the treatment of prion diseases are antibodies and their derivatives. Anti-PrPC antibodies are able to clear PrPSc from cell culture of infected cells. Furthermore, application of anti-PrPC antibodies suppresses prion replication in experimental animal models. Major drawbacks of immunotherapy are immune tolerance, the risks of neurotoxic side effects, limited ability of compounds to cross the blood-brain barrier and their unfavorable pharmacokinetic. The focus of this review is to recapitulate the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms for antibody mediated anti-prion activity. Although relevant for designing immunotherapeutic tools, the characterization of key antibody parameters shaping the molecular mechanism of the PrPC to PrPSc conversion remains elusive. Moreover, this review illustrates the various attempts towards the development of anti-PrP antibody compounds and discusses therapeutic candidates that modulate PrP expression

El “retorno” ruso: cinco claves para entender las relaciones de la Rusia postsoviética con América Latina y el Caribe

En la actualidad, la incidencia de Rusia en América Latina y el Caribe se percibe como una de las evidencias del intento de proyectar el papel internacional de este país como una potencia de alcance global similar a lo que era la Unión Soviética. Sin embargo, sería un error considerar la política exterior rusa hacia la región como una simple réplica del modus operandi soviético. Como se muestra en este documento, en lugar de una nueva Guerra Fría a gran escala, es posible identificar cinco dimensiones clave del compromiso ruso con esta parte del mundo. En primer lugar, se puede caracterizar la presencia rusa en América Latina en términos de reciprocidad simbólica frente a la incidencia estadounidense en los países vecinos de Rusia. Las otras dimensiones se refieren al potencial de la región para expandir la influencia rusa como una superpotencia energética y como una plataforma para sus medios de información. Además, existen oportunidades para obtener ganancias rápidas en el caso de algunas empresas vinculadas al gobierno ruso en el contexto de una amplia incidencia de la diplomacia personal. Desde esta perspectiva, es poco probable que los desafíos actuales que enfrenta el gobierno de Vladimir Putin, incluyendo la reducción de la disponibilidad de los recursos tangibles y la desaparición de algunos de los aliados políticos más importantes de Moscú en la región, cambien el interés de Rusia hacia América Latina y el Caribe a medio y largo plazo dada la permanencia de la mayoría de los factores clave.Today, the Russian incidence in Latin America and the Caribbean is perceived as one of the evidences of the attempts to project Russia’s role in the international arena as a power of global reach similar to what the Soviet Union was. However, it is rather a mistake to consider Russian foreign policy towards the region as a simply replica of the Soviet modus operandi. As this document shows, instead of a new large-scale cold war, it is possible to identify five key dimensions of Russia’s engagement with this part of the world. Firstly, it is possible to characterize the Russian presence in Latin America in terms of symbolic reciprocity to the US incidence in the neighboring countries of Russia. The others are the region’s potential to expand Russian influence as an energy superpower and as a platform for its statecontrolled media. Besides, there are opportunities for quick profits for some companies linked to the Russian government in the context of a well-developed personal diplomacy. From this perspective, the current challenges faced by the government of Vladimir Putin, including the diminished tangibles resources and the disappearance of some of Moscow’s most important political allies in the region, are unlikely to end Russia’s commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean because the key factors behind its engagement remain in place

Asia-Latin America Interactions from a Subnational Perspective

This piece is devoted to the emerging issues resulting from the growing incidence of interactions between Asia and Latin America at a subnational level. This growth is manifested by an increasing number of mutual visits by members of regional and local governments in Asia and Latin America, often accompanied by the signing of formal agreements. This piece is also about the increase in flows of international development cooperation originating in Asia that find their way into Latin American regions and provinces with no need for the central government’s protagonist role. International migration, informal commerce, transnational crime and cultural interactions are just some of the other aspects Asia-Latin America relations that can be analyzed from a subnational perspectiv

La investigación académica y la toma de decisiones en torno a la política exterior de la Unión Soviética y Rusia hacia los países de América Latina.

“Relaciones de conocimiento centro-periferia: hegemonía, contribuciones locales e hibridación”, “Migración internacional de colombianas en la Ciudad de México: transnacionalismo y globalización”; “La Unión Europea como actor global del soft al hard power: ¿una potencia civil?; “El papel de los actores internos en los procesos de integración: el caso de la CAN”; “Secutirización en tiempos de globalización: elementos para el análisis en el área Andina”; y “Colombia y el nuevo panorama de la integración regional”, son algunos de los temas que aborda esta obra fruto del trabajo colaborativo de 21 destacados académicos, expertos en el tema de las Relaciones Internacionales. La obra, dirigida a estudiantes de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política, así como a investigadores y profesionales en distintas materias, se propone aportar a la reflexión y al debate en temas internacionales, para contribuir a rediseñar-repensar asuntos clave de política exterior, seguridad, integración y fenómenos globales, y a la proyección de Colombia en el cambiante escenario mundial

The Policy of Ethnic Enclosure : A Study of the Role of Language in Ethnic Rivalries in the Caucasus

The lines from the poem Valerik that open this publication were write by the Russian poet Michael Lermontov in the year 1840, half of which he spent in the Caucasus before being shot to death in a duel just a year later. Sent to serve in the Russian imperial army fighting Caucasian highlanders, the poet had to participate in several harsh combats. Shocked by the cruelty of the war, he was also stunned by a long history of confrontation and bloodshed exerienced by the people of the Caucasus