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Publications by Thorsten Benner
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Commentary 21 Oct 2013
Pilloried Peacekeepers
In October 2010, a cholera outbreak started in Haiti. Until now, it has claimed almost 9000 lives in a country where no cases of the disease had been recorded for 150 years. Despite efforts to contain it, the epidemic still kills about 1000 people per year. Three years later, earlier this month, a… -
Commentary 28 Aug 2013
Germany’s Response to the Syria Conundrum
Berlin didn't mince words: A "taboo" has been broken and "a crime against civilization" has been committed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle used the strongest possible terms to denounce the large-scale use of chemical weapons in Syria. Merkel's spokesperson… -
Commentary 22 Aug 2013
Frei, offen und sicher: Deutschland sollte sich für mehr Datenschutz im Internet einsetzen
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Commentary 19 Aug 2013
Vieira de Mello’s Lessons
Exactly ten years ago, on August 19 2003, a terrorist attack in Baghdad killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, then chief of the UN mission in Iraq. 21 UN colleagues and local staff from 11 countries died in the rubble of the Canal Hotel where the UN had set up shop after the US invasion. The attack sent… -
Commentary 12 Jun 2013
Keeping Tabs on the New Hi-Tech Warriors
The Brandenburg gate as a backdrop. A reference to the John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech from almost exactly 50 years ago. A few warm words on the continuing relevance of the transatlantic alliance. It could be so easy for President Barack Obama to win over the German public and… -
Book chapter 26 May 2013
Learning in International Organizations
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Commentary 01 May 2013
The Awakening of the German Netizen?
As of May 2, Deutsche Telekom (DT), Germany's former state monopolist turned stock-listed telecommunication provider, will no longer sell flat-rate Internet access packages. Users who exceed a monthly data allowance will face severe cuts to the quality of their service - in the worst case throwing… -
Working paper 31 Mar 2013
Brazil as a Norm Entrepeneur
On 21 September 2011, Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff declared in a speech to the UN General Assembly: “Much is said about the responsibility to protect; yet we hear little about responsibility in protecting. These are concepts that we must develop together.” In the following months, the Brazilian… -
Commentary 07 Feb 2013
The EU’s Cyber Hodgepodge
"We want a peaceful strategy because you don't want to play with fire by developing cyber weapons." This is how EU Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, a driving force behind the new EU "cyber security strategy" that was unveiled in Brussels on Thursday, sums up the EU approach to cyber defense.… -
Article 31 Dec 2012
Internet. Wer regiert das World Wide Web und nach welchen Prinzipien?
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Article 09 Dec 2012
Brasilien als Normunternehmer. Die “Responsibility While Protecting”
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Commentary 06 Dec 2012
Der Einfluss des Westens auf das Internet ist zu groß
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Commentary 02 Dec 2012
The Dinosaurs’ Last Hurrah?
"You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather." In 1996, John Perry Barlow, the apostle of the Independence of Cyberspace, famously disinvited governments from dealing with the business of the Internet. Now that cyberspace has developed from a hangout for the nerdy fringes… -
Book chapter 14 Oct 2012
Statebuilding and the Political Economy of the Extractive Industries in Post-Conflict States
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Article 01 Apr 2012
Responsibility to Protect
Libyen, Elfenbeinküste, Südsudan – in diesen Fällen berief sich der UN-Sicherheitsrat 2011 in seinen Resolutionen auf die Schutzverantwortung (R2P). Doch in Syrien und im Sudan geht das Morden bis heute weiter, die internationale Gemeinschaft kann sich nicht auf ein gemeinsames Vorgehen einigen. Was… -
Study 31 Oct 2011
The Evolution of Organizational Learning in the UN Peace Operations Bureaucracy
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Journal article 28 Sep 2011
Heart of Darkness
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Commentary 07 Sep 2011
NATO’s Libya Mission Could Cause a Political Backlash
The Libya intervention presents an unsettling paradox, says Thorsten Benner. While it was the right decision to prevent a massacre in Benghazi, NATO's subsequent actions could harm future efforts to protect civilians. We are witnessing the heyday of the Libya intervention triumphalists. Presented… -
Commentary 08 Jul 2011
Berlin Should Lead by Example to Help South Sudan
On Saturday South Sudan declares its independence marking the break-up of Africa's largest country. On Wednesday next week German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will preside over the UN Security Council session that will recommend the new nation for admission as the UN's 193rd member.… -
Commentary 08 Jul 2011
Hilflose Helfer
An diesem Samstag erklärt der Südsudan seine Unabhängigkeit, am kommenden Mittwoch wird der UN-Sicherheitsrat unter Vorsitz von Bundesaußenminister Guido Westerwelle das Land für die Mitgliedschaft in den Vereinten Nationen vorschlagen. Westerwelle möchte dazu beitragen, dass „zwei stabile…