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Publications by Thorsten Benner
All Issue Areas
Global Order
Humanitarian Action
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Years
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Commentary 12 Dec 2016
The Fight Against Filter Bubbles Needs to Start Offline
German Chancellor Angela Merkel aims to be as uninteresting as possible in public speeches, observed The New Yorker a few years ago. By this standard, her November speech in parliament outlining government priorities started with a big bang: liberal democracy is increasingly under threat in a… -
Commentary 12 Dec 2016
Der Kampf gegen Filterblasen fängt offline an
Ein Reporter des amerikanischen Magazins The New Yorker hielt in einem Porträt von Angela Merkel einmal fest, dass die mächtigste Frau der Welt sich bei öffentlichen Reden augenscheinlich darum bemühe, so wenig interessant wie möglich zu erscheinen. Gemessen an diesem Maßstab eröffnete die… -
Podcast 05 Dec 2016
How Emerging Powers are Remaking Global Order – A Talk with Oliver Stuenkel
With emerging powers like China, India and Brazil playing a growing role in international affairs, the global balance of power is shifting. What does this mean for the future of the international order? Will China dominate the twenty-first century? Will the BRICS grouping prove to be a disruptive… -
Commentary 24 Nov 2016
Deutschland sollte besser mit dem Schlimmsten rechnen
„Wir schaffen auch den!“. Mit großen Lettern sprach „Bild“ am Tag nach der Wahl von Donald Trump den Lesern Mut zu. Doch wie? Noch nie war es so schwer wie heute für Verbündete, sich auf einen neuen US-Präsidenten einzustellen. Niemand (Donald Trump wahrscheinlich eingeschlossen) weiß, wie die… -
Commentary 17 Nov 2016
Germany Can Protect the Liberal Order
As U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Berlin for a farewell visit on Wednesday, German policymakers were scrambling to develop a road map for dealing with the presidency of his successor, Donald Trump. Last week, in a congratulatory note to the president-elect, German Chancellor Angela Merkel… -
Commentary 15 Nov 2016
Facing Up to Authoritarian Influence-Peddling
While the US was debating Russian hacking and leaks ahead of its elections, EU leaders met last month to discuss Moscow’s efforts to influence European liberal democracies through misinformation and propaganda. “We don’t have the tools to look at this centrally,” one senior EU diplomat complained,… -
Commentary 09 Nov 2016
Wir brauchen eine Abwehrstrategie
Autoritäre Staaten nutzen die selbstverantworteten Schwächen offener Gesellschaften aus. Namentlich unsere allzu willfährigen Dienstleister bieten eine willkommene Angriffsfläche, dazu gehören Dienstleister aus der Finanzwirtschaft, Lobbyfirmen und Anwaltskanzleien. Die Hackerangriffe auf das… -
Commentary 07 Nov 2016
Merkel and the Trump/Clinton Aftermath
Donald Trump is Germany’s gift to America. After all, his grandfather left Germany for the US, where Friedrich Drumpf morphed into Frederic Trump. If he becomes president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will feel a special responsibility to help make the world safe from a Trump presidency.… -
Commentary 27 Sep 2016
Germany’s Right-Wing Challenge
In recent years, Germany has emerged as Europe’s preeminent power not only because of the strength of its economy but also because of the extraordinary stability of its political system. Chancellor Angela Merkel is the embodiment of this stability: for most of the past decade, she has been able to… -
Commentary 17 Sep 2016
The End of German Populist Exceptionalism
With this Sunday’s elections in Berlin, the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is expected to enter the tenth regional parliament in Germany. While the AfD is drawing voters from all mainstream parties, the bleeding from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is the… -
Commentary 12 Jul 2016
Merkels China-Illusion
China beschäftigt die Europäer. An diesem Mittwoch empfängt Premier Li in Peking EU-Ratspräsident Donald Tusk und Kommissionspräsident Jean-Claude Juncker zum jährlichen EU-China-Gipfel. Bereits im Juni war Kanzlerin Angela Merkel mit fünf Ministern und zahlreichen Firmenchefs nach Peking gereist… -
Commentary 01 Jul 2016
Angela Merkel Needs China Reality Check
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has often called the German-China relationship a win-win for both countries. During a recent visit to Beijing last month – Merkel’s ninth – German ministers and CEOs publicly signed €2.7 billion worth of agreements. But business rewards are no longer sufficient to… -
Commentary 22 Jun 2016
Brexit: Ein Störmanöver ohne Wirkung
In den Phantasien vieler heißblütiger Brexit-Unterstützer steht die EU-Armee kurz vor der Tür. Für Penny Mordaunt, Staatssekretärin im britischen Verteidigungsministerium, gibt es für das Vereinigte Königreich nur einen Weg, der Zwangsmitgliedschaft in der EU-Armee zu entgehen: der Austritt aus der… -
Commentary 21 Jun 2016
Brexit Is Not Brexit When It Comes to Security
If you believe ardent Brexit supporters, the EU is close to establishing a joint army that Britain would be forced to join. For UK Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt the only way to escape this certain fate is to vote “Leave.” This is of course rather fanciful scaremongering. But while Mordaunt's… -
Commentary 19 May 2016
The Encryption Debate We Need
In late March, the FBI announced that it would drop its lawsuit against Apple because it was able to unlock the iPhone of Syed Rizwan Farook, a gunman in the December shooting in San Bernardino, California, without the tech giant’s help and using an undisclosed vulnerability. Apple remains alarmed –… -
Commentary 19 May 2016
In der Kryptofalle
Während in den USA heftige Auseinandersetzungen um Verschlüsselungsmethoden und die daraus resultierenden Herausforderungen für Sicherheitsdienste toben, herrscht in Deutschland Ruhe. Offiziell gilt das Regierungsmantra der "Digitalen Agenda": "Wir unterstützen mehr und bessere Verschlüsselung",… -
Commentary 10 May 2016
Precarious Union: Why Europeans Need to Fight for Their Project
June 23, 2016 might very well be a watershed moment for the European project. Depending on the results of the British referendum scheduled that day, it may mark the first time that a country leaves the European Union. This will come as a shock to those who still view the EU as a supranational… -
Commentary 13 Apr 2016
How Europe Can Get Encryption Right
While Europe has taken a great interest in the “crypto war” between the US government and Apple as well as other Silicon Valley behemoths, it has yet to wake up to the gathering storm of encryption policy within its own borders. Various EU governments have proposed unilateral measures on how to deal… -
Commentary 09 Mar 2016
Populists Don’t Need to Run Europe to Ruin It
Contrary to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s boldest dreams, illiberal national populists will not run Europe anytime soon. In many countries, the shrinking center still just about holds. But this should provide little comfort. Populists don’t need to run Europe to ruin it. Of course, the… -
Commentary 08 Feb 2016
Europas einsamer Hegemon
Für den Oxford-Wirtschaftswissenschaftler Paul Collier liegen die Dinge klar. Angela Merkel ist verantwortlich für die Flüchtlingskrise. „Wer sonst?“. Er weiß auch ganz genau, warum Deutschland so gehandelt hat: „Deutschland gefällt sich offensichtlich in der Retterrolle“. Es wäre leicht, dies als…