Editorial

PERSPECTIVAS, JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, VOL. 26 9 Editorial Editor-in-Chief Miguel Rocha de Sousa Editors Irene Viparelli José Palmeira Miguel Ângelo Rodrigues ✦ This new issue of Perspectives tackles the issue of geopolitical strategy, when in a midst of war in Europe, that is the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, these issues have regained particular and utmost importance by the nature of geography and political will and intervention. The first article by Paulo Fontes deals with the geostrategic position of the Azores archipelago, on the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It analyses its evolving nature, specifically of Azores in Portugal, and its relation between Europe and the US, and also the relation between Azores and mainland Portugal. The article namely focuses on the autonomy status and legal bindings related to the Portuguese Nation-State, and their roots of an insularity culture. The second article continues the geostrategic line thread and deals with the ebb and flow of the Black Sea, namely its impact on regional and the international system functioning and balance of powers. Again, geostrategic positioning is dealt upon with major players on the region and the Yalta inherited chess players and their role on the world. The third article analyses some important aspects of nanotechnology role on geostrategic position and the role of ethics, society and policies and their impacts on human and civil society. The focuses here are on nanotechnology research, policy and their impacts, which unveil security stresses and important caveats and from which also relevant opportunities arise. The fourth article deals with Boko Haram and Fulani movements in Nigeria. That is the author, a specialist on African urban violence, presents the current determinants of terrorism threats on that country, by means of a Realist assessment. The presence of an analysis of urban terrorism in Africa, specifically in Nigeria, is important as it stresses and adds up to the literature on terrorism, which has had reached its acumen after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 to WTC and the Pentagon. Thus, from the first article there is a clear line of thread from the geopolitical stance, the focus from Europe/Portugal and the Azores with the US, and, also continuing, on the second article with the geographic underpinning of Turkey and the Black Sea; whilst on the third article nanotechnology is present with a major role on both the hard-power and soft-power from which it is exercised, and "finally last"but not least, recurring to an assessment of urban violence in Africa. So, for all being said, this Perspectivas issue, is a journey across the geopolitical world, from the Atlantic, Europe, US, Black Sea and Africa, where we all get more rich and acquainted with relevant research in political science, international relations, international law and even economics. The editorial team. PERSPECTIVAS, JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, VOL. 26 10 Miguel Rocha de Sousa is the Editor-inChief of Perspectivas, Journal of Political Science. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Évora, Portugal and a BSc and MSc in Economics from Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal. Presently he is an assistant professor and was department head of Economics at Évora (tenured), after having also taught at Nova, and having been a visiting professor at University of Dili, East Timor, and Methodist University, Luanda, Angola. He is an integrated researcher at the Research Center in Political Science (CICP) and a collaborator of the Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics of the University of Évora. His areas of specialization are political economy, economic growth and development, land reform, international organizations, with both a theoretical and applied focus on Europe and Latin America, and has also done some work on econophysics and mathematical methods in economics. He is an associate of SEDES, AEA-American Economic Association, IPSA-International Political Science Association and its RC35 of Tech and Development, and also of SASE, Society for Advancement of Socio-Economics. Irene Viparelli is an Editor of Perspectivas, Journal of Political Science. She has a Ph.D. in Ethics and Political and Legal Philosophy from the University of Salerno and is a Specialist in Political Theory, Political Science and Political Philosophy. Between 2010 and 2017 she has developed a post-doctoral project in Political Science, founded by FCT. Presently she is an assistant professor at University of Évora, an integrated member of the Research Center in Political Science (CICP) and a collaborator of University of Beira Interior. José Palmeira is an Editor of Perspectivas, Journal of Political Science. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minho, with Ph.D in Political Science and International Relations and is an integrated member of the Research Center in Political Science. The main focus of his research is in the field of Comparative Politics, with application in the areas of Political Science (political systems) and International Relations (political actors), having as main analytical tool Geopolitics and Strategy and as study areas the Atlantic and the Lusophone space. He is member of the direction of the European Studies Section of the Portuguese Association of Political Science. Miguel Ângelo Rodrigues is an Editor of Perspectivas, Journal of Political Science. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Minho. He is currently Deputy Director of the CICP (Research Centre in Political Science) at the School of Economics and Management, University of Minho in Braga, Portugal. He holds a PhD in Administration Sciences from the University of Minho. His research focuses on issues of public management, governance of public-private partnerships, and local governments. He has also worked in the areas of electoral participation and citizen involvement in local management. He has published articles in Public Choice, Local Government Studies, International Review of Administrative Sciences, and Journal of Urban Affairs. He has also published several chapters in books and in other publications in Portuguese.