Foreign & Security Policy

"In a globalised world that is closely interconnected through trade, investment, migration and the Internet, a ‘without us’ attitude just isn’t realistic", emphazised Ralf Fücks in his opening speech of our 15th Annual Foreign Policy Conference, which asked for current status of Germany's foreign policy.

The EU cannot give up on the project of a unified and free Europe without giving up on itself. This includes the promise that all European nations on the path to becoming a democracy and constitutional state can become a member of the European Community. Ukraine is the touchstone of this promise today.

The United States and Russia are implementing the New START Treaty, which requires that each side reduce to 1550 deployed strategic warheads on 700 deployed strategic missiles and bombers by 2018. The Obama administration would like to go further. Doing so, however, will require that Washington address several related issues, first and foremost missile defense.

For three years, Pakistan has single-handedly – and successfully – blocked the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva from discussing an effort that would put a cap on fissile materials.

The United States intent to deploy a new Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS). This short paper assesses the chief challenges the United States faces in allaying Russian concerns about about CPGS deployments.

The US and its allies have engaged in efforts to stop North Korean nuclear program at least three times, every time ending up with a sense of betrayal. Now, it has become clear that North Korea did not really have the intention to abandon its nuclear program.

A conversation with Mykola Rjabtschuk, a writer based in Kiev, regarding some issues that have led to heated discussions within the EU.

Most important now is that the international community responds speedily and clearly to what amounts to a Russian occupation of the Crimea and the additional threat of Russian troops being stationed in Ukraine. Europe is in no way powerless in the face of Russian actions, as Ralf Fücks and Walter Kaufmann illustrate in a ten-point plan.

The official relationship between Israel and Iran is tainted. But nonetheless both states have shared characteristics and common goals. This article analyzies which steps could be realistically undertaken to make things better for both sides and strengthen the bilateral relationship – unilaterally.

Above all, the West wants stability in Syria. Because he has managed to sit out everything that has happened in recent years, the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad seems to offer this very stability. But accepting the kind of stability Assad offers would mean having to forget the atrocities committed by his regime.