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Publications by Thorsten Benner
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Commentary 03 Feb 2016
Europe’s Lonely Liberal Hegemon
For Oxford economics professor Paul Collier things are crystal clear: “Angela Merkel is responsible for the refugee crisis. Who else?” It would be easy to dismiss Collier if he were not part of a growing chorus that sees Germany’s refugee policy as a morality play — with Merkel in the lead, chasing… -
Commentary 27 Nov 2015
Europe Needs to Step Up its Anti-Terror Cooperation
In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, German President Joachim Gauck has been making loose talk about “a new kind of war,” which, some say, would require the creation of a new anti-terror unit for the European Union. But this misses the whole point. Europe does not have any shortage of special… -
Commentary 27 Nov 2015
Es fehlen nicht SEKs, es fehlt Wissen
Europa braucht eine neue Form der Anti-Terror-Kooperation Der Bundespräsident orakelt von einer „neuen Art von Krieg“. Da liegt für einige der Gedanke einer neuen EU-weiten Truppe von Anti-Terrorspezialkräften nah, sozusagen einer schnellen Eingreiftruppe. Doch solche Gedanken gehen am wahren… -
Commentary 02 Nov 2015
Geschichtspolitik: Towards a Responsible Politics of the Past
In July, during a press conference following an all-night negotiation in Brussels on the Greece bailout, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was asked to comment on the French minister of the economy’s comparison of the harsh conditionality of the Greece deal with the Versailles Treaty. Merkel’s answer… -
Commentary 28 Oct 2015
Die naive China-Politik beenden
Vor zehn Jahren forderte Robert Zoellick, damals stellvertretender amerikanischer Außenminister, China auf, zu einem „verantwortlichen Teilhaber“ („responsible stakeholder“) zu werden: Denn Chinas Führer hätten entschieden, dass ihr Erfolg davon abhängt, mit der modernen Welt vernetzt zu sein. Über… -
Commentary 22 Sep 2015
Beyond the “Responsible Stakeholder” Illusion
Exactly 10 years ago today, Robert Zoellick, US Deputy Secretary of State at the time, urged China to become a “responsible stakeholder.” He argued that “China has a responsibility to strengthen the international system that has enabled its success.” From Zoellick’s perspective, China’s “national… -
Commentary 21 Jul 2015
German Diplomacy Without Diplomats
Last Friday, the German parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of opening negotiations with Greece over a third bailout package. Once concluded, it will bring German guarantees for Greece to more than 100 billion euros. Rather than getting minimum credit for this, Germany’s image across Europe and… -
Commentary 21 Jul 2015
Deutsche Diplomatie ohne Diplomaten
Letzten Freitag stimmte der Bundestag mit klarer Mehrheit für die Aufnahme von Verhandlungen mit Griechenland über ein neues Rettungspaket. Dieses würde die deutschen Garantien auf mehr als 100 Milliarden Euro bringen. Doch anstatt minimale Anerkennung dafür zu finden, befindet sich das… -
Commentary 17 Jun 2015
The Dangerous Game of the Orbánversteher
Whitewashing the Challenges Posed by Viktor Orbán’s Authoritarian Populism Germany is used to the fact that the musings and actions of some of its retired politicians often betray lack of good judgment. Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt regularly defends Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heavy… -
Commentary 10 Jun 2015
No Return to a G8 with Russia. Ever.
As the G7 leaders prepare to gather at the Elmau mountain retreat on Sunday, Russia's absence is fueling debate. Eckhard Cordes, chairman of the German business association representing companies with significant investments in Russia, recently said that barring Russia from the summit was a missed… -
Study 07 Apr 2015
Proteção Efetiva e Responsável contra Crimes de Atrocidade: A Caminho de uma Ação Global
Sumário Executivo Uma década após as Nações Unidas adotarem o princípio da Responsabilidade de Proteger pessoas contra crimes de atrocidade (R2P), os resultados das iniciativas mundiais de proteção de indivíduos continuam trágicos. Entretanto, aqueles que identificam como causa desta falta de… -
Policy brief 07 Apr 2015
Effective and Responsible Protection from Atrocity Crimes: Toward Global Action
Executive Summary A decade after the United Nations adopted the concept of a Responsibility to Protect (R2P) people from atrocity crimes, the world’s record of protection remains grim. But those who point to a global deadlock between “Western” interventionists and “non-Western” stalwarts of… -
Policy brief 07 Apr 2015
针对残暴犯罪 实施有效 负责任的保护： 走向全球行动
By Thorsten Benner, Philipp Rotmann, Erna Burai, C.S.R. Murthy, Christopher Daase, J. Madhan Mohan, Julian Junk, Xymena Kurowska, Liu Tiewa, Wolfgang Reinicke, Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Matias Spektor, Oliver Stuenkel, Marcos Tourinho, Harry Verhoeven, Zhang Haibin概要 联合国修订保护的责任纲要已经十年,全球保护的责任的形势依旧严峻。有人认为：全球以“西方”干涉主义为一方，“非西方”主权捍卫者为另一方的争论，双方对核心问题认识的差异导致了在这个问题上乏善可陈。这些人忽视这场政治争论的实质；因此无法切实严肃面对针对暴行罪提供保护所必须面对的种种实际挑战。… -
Commentary 19 Mar 2015
Europe, the US and the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict
Twenty-five years ago, German reunification ushered in an era of expansion of Western institutions (NATO and the European Union) toward the East. The current Russia-Ukraine conflict marks the definitive end of this period. With its annexation of Crimea, the Russian government made clear that it will… -
Article 19 Feb 2015
Is UN Crisis Diplomacy Increasingly Helpless and Irrelevant?
Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, South Sudan – these are just a few of the hotspots currently challenging the United Nations. In none of these cases can the UN claim anything close to success in its attempts to mediate or bring about peaceful solutions. Increasing geopolitical fissures have buried the liberal… -
Commentary 01 Feb 2015
Digitale Souveränität: Blinde Wut auf Amerika reicht nicht
Die „technologische Souveränität“ sei dabei, „zu den wichtigsten und umstrittensten Doktrinen des Jahres 2015 aufzusteigen“, schreibt Evgeny Morozov in der F.A.Z. vom 15. Januar. In der Tat: Die digitale Hegemonie der Vereinigten Staaten in Gestalt von Geheimdiensten, Militär und den übermächtigen… -
Commentary 01 Feb 2015
Technological Sovereignty: Blind Rage Against the US is Not Enough
“The concept of technological sovereignty is poised to emerge as one of the most important and contentious doctrines of 2015”, predicts Evgeny Morozov in a recent op-ed. Indeed, the digital hegemony of the US in the form of the NSA, the military and the Silicon Valley behemoths has triggered… -
Commentary 05 Jan 2015
Blinded By Rage Against US Digital Hegemony: What Morozov Gets Wrong About “Technological Sovereignty”
“US tech hegemony is making ‘technological sovereignty’ one of the top geopolitical issues of 2015.” So goes Evgeny Morozov’s prediction for the new year. And true to form, the serial provocateur serves up an op-ed to trigger a debate on the topic. Unfortunately, Morozov is so in love with his own… -
Commentary 02 Dec 2014
Beware the Siren Song from IT Nationalists
We can use national technology to protect the data of citizens, companies and governments from foreign surveillance and espionage and at the same time build up a strong and competitive IT industry in Germany and Europe. This is the promise of the advocates of proposals to regain “technological… -
Commentary 18 Nov 2014
Den Dschihadisten nicht auf den Leim gehen
Am Sonntag veröffentliche die Terrorgruppe, die sich "Islamischer Staat" (IS) nennt, ein weiteres Enthauptungsvideo einer Geisel: dieses Mal eines US-amerikanischen Entwicklungshelfers. Binnen Minuten dominierte dies die westlichen Medien: Eilmeldung auf Sendern wie CNN und N24, Hauptmeldung von…