Foreign & Security Policy

ISIS lives off bare bestiality. While their opponents are paralyzed with fear, the work of satirists flourishes. Meanwhile Bashar al-Assad tries to present himself as the lesser evil in Syria.

Ukrainian author Jurij Andruchowytsch, jointly with numerous intellectuals, calls for solidarity with Ukraine in an open letter to the German government.

Prime Minister Narenda Modi faces the challenge of balancing threats to India’s national security while maintaining good relations and peace with its neighbours. Modi's visit in Bhutan is seen as both, a demonstration of India's strength and the willingness for collaboration.

"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.

In his speech at the opening event of the 15th Annual Foreign Policy Conference Prof. Dr. Heinrich August Winkler illustrates the historical development of Europe. The German opening towards the political culture of the West is the most important lesson drawn from the Age of Extremes, according to the historian.

Video:  At the opening event of our 15th Annual Foreign Policy Conference, international guests discussed whether German foreign policy is ready to respond appropriately to current challenges

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.

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.

"At the heart of the problem is the existence of two competing logics for how arms control discussions in the Middle East should proceed: immediate focus on the elimination of Israel’s assumed nuclear weapons (Egypt’s view), or dealing first with the very problematic context of inter-state relations in the Middle East, creating essential channels of communication and dialogue, and establishing a basis of mutual confidence and trust (Israel’s view)."

Besides threats to effectiveness, the multilateral export control system for nuclear weapons faces a separate challenge of political will and legitimacy.

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.

Ben Coetzee reminds "that the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons were left unchecked and unregulated until it reached a point where it is costing the world billions of dollars to mitigate the damage caused by these weapons."

The global system of nuclear security has many gaps and weaknesses. Des Browne points out why Russia is a key player and what needs to be concentrated on at the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands in 2014.

"In May 2010, the 189 members of the Review Conference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons endorsed holding a Middle East Conference (MEC) in 2012 whose aim would be to create a zone in the Middle East 'free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of destruction' (WMD)."

"At its simplest, evolution in this field seems to be responsive to two sets of forces in the environment: the economics of fear and the economics of economics."

Dealing with Non-stated armed groups (NSAGs) is a highly complex job. For that reason, this article tries to conceptualize the special arms issue and deliver internvetion points.