2014 has been a momentous year for a lot of us around the globe.  Malaysian aviation suffered terribly with the loss of 687 people and three aircraft, one of which forced an unwelcome connection to an undeclared war half a world away in Ukraine.  That country has also suffered at the hands of its powerful and distrustful neighbor, losing Crimea and its sense of normalcy.  Ebola threatens to destabilize west Africa and may force Africans to come to terms with the state of their health care systems and how traditional cultures impact them.  Libya is effectively a failed state, erasing any remaining hopes that the  demise of Ghaddafi (and the “humanitarian intervention” that brought it about) would lead to something better.  But perhaps the most vexing tangle is taking place in the heart of the Middle East where a festering war in Syria has exposed the weakness of the Iraqi state and American resolve to deal effectively with problems there.  With US interests torn between supporting Assad to defeat ISIL or supporting ISIL to defeat Assad, American policy seems frozen at “something must be done”.

These are just some of the things we will attempt to untangle in 2015 and it is my hope that this blog, The Affiliate Network, is where we will talk about them.  We therefore dedicate this forum to matters of international political economy, corporate risk, regional social issues, and related topics important to global security and business.  We look forward to hearing from you in the new year.

-Lino Miani

CEO, Navisio Global LLC