The lead article in the Spring 2014 issue of Connections looks into the interplay of incentives and requirements for NATO membership from the point of view of an aspirant country, Georgia. Other papers question the effectiveness of the UN Security Council vis-a-vis the Syrian crisis, the US pivot to Asia in view of the enduring terrorist threat, and the application of the concept of sovereignty in the South Caucasus. The issue provides also an insight into the evolution of Bulgaria's post-Cold war defense policy, the security of the Sinai Peninsula and key references on Afghanistan.