FPC Research Associate Tom Blass analyses the use of international sanctions and their humanitarian and political impact, examining if their current application is appropriate.

• FPC Briefing: Time to reappraise sanctions?

A year after Eurovision took place in Baku, Rebecca Vincent examines whether international events should be held in non-democratic countries.

• When the music dies: Azerbaijan one year after Eurovision

FPC Research Associate Catherine Owen examines Russia's Public Monitoring Commissions (PMCs) that perform spot-checks on prisons and other detention centres. The article explores the use of bureaucratic control and commission members with links to the penal system they are supposed to scrutinise to limit the scope for critical assessments of Russia's prisons.

• State Co-optation not Independent Control

The Foreign Policy Centre's new publication, Europe in the World: Can EU foreign policy make an impact?, examines both how Europe is seen on the world stage and the effectiveness of the new External Action Service in delivering on its key objectives: building an effective new diplomatic service, strengthening EU influence in the neighbourhood and developing relations with strategic partners. It explores the institutional and organisational challenges surrounding the creation of the EEAS and considers what tensions remain with other EU institutions and national governments, with particular reference to the UK's difficult relationship with Europe.

Europe in the World is edited by Adam Hug (Foreign Policy Centre). It contains contributions on a range of topics and different perspectives from: Dr. Jozef Batora (Comenius University), Thiago de Aragão (Foreign Policy Centre), William Gumede (Foreign Policy Centre), Jacqueline Hale (Open Society Foundations), Richard Howitt MEP, Stefan Lehne (Carnegie Europe), Dr. Simon Lightfoot and Dr Balazs Szent-Ivanyi (University of Leeds), Prof. Anand Menon (Kings College London), Rt. Hon. Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG, QC, MP, Edward Macmillan-Scott MEP, Prof. John Peterson (University of Edinburgh), Dr. Neil Winn (University of Leeds). Rt. Hon. Douglas Alexander MP (Shadow Foreign Secretary) provides the foreword.

• Europe in the World: Can EU foreign policy make an impact?

This pamphlet builds on an FPC and UK Foreign Office event series, the first of which took place in March 2011, with a follow-up conference taking place in March 2012 - in association with the City of London Corporation and 'This is Africa' - the FT's bi-monthly magazine. The events and publication brought together national and international experts and specialists from across the mobile payment service sector. The project aimed to develop and promote an evidence-based understanding of the risks and challenges associated with supervising mobile payment services and promoting their global expansion. This essay collection focuses on three core themes. The first explores how effective regulatory oversight might be developed. The second examines how expanding the provision of mobile payment schemes might improve the distribution of financial services and finally the third section critically assesses the future of branchless banking beyond issues of financial access. Essentially, it considers the challenges of increasing service use and integrating mobile money services into existing electronic payment systems.

The pamphlet contains contributions by: Mark Simmonds MP, UK Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Susie Lonie, Co-Creator of M-Pesa, Mireya Almazán and Claire Alexandre (formerly), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Hemant Baijal and Sal Karakaplan, MasterCard, Simone di Castri, GSMA, Christine Hougaard, Cenfri, Quan Le, GMX Consulting, Prateek Shrivastava, Accendo Associate (and formerly at Monitise), Cicero Torteli, Freeddom and Josephine Osikena (ed.), Foreign Policy Centre.

• The financial revolution in Africa: Mobile payment services