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“We will hunt her,” Alexander Gauland exclaimed to a crowd of supporters in Berlin late on September 24. “We will hunt Mrs. Merkel and whomever else. And we will take our country and our people back.” Gauland’s party, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), had just won a historic victory in…

Leaking damaging documents during election season, feeding the media false stories about candidates, and concocting conspiracy theories to smear politicians: this will sound familiar to anyone who followed the U.S. presidential election, and to an extent, recent campaigns in France and Germany. But…

Angela Merkel is set to resume her fourth term as the chancellor of Germany, surprising no one. However, contrary to expectations, this victory was far from comfortable. In a trend visible across Europe, the established parties took a beating, with the far-right populists faring much better than…

It would seem that German voters reserved the big bang for the ballot box, as if to counteract what many observers had decried as a "boring election". In a major shake-up, a record number of seven parties secured seats in the Bundestag following Sunday's election, including the extreme right-wing…

Both Sunni and Shi’a PMF have played a large role in this Sunni Arab district on the border of Ninewa and Salah ad-Din. Reports of mass forced displacement and abuses of the civilian population suggest that the road to reconciliation and recovery will be long, even after the eastern bank is retaken…

Die Re­gie­run­gen in Un­garn und Po­len ern­ten schon seit Län­ge­rem Kri­tik von ih­ren eu­ro­päi­schen Nach­barn. So sag­te der fran­zö­si­sche Prä­si­dent Em­ma­nu­el Ma­cron erst kürz­lich, man­cher po­li­ti­sche Füh­rer aus Ost­eu­ro­pa of­fen­ba­re ei­ne „zy­ni­sche Her­an­ge­hens­wei­se“…

For two decades after the end of the Cold War, the direction of international influence was clear: it radiated from liberal democracies outward, as the West sought to spread its model of governance around the world. With the help of Western-led democracy promotion, the thinking went, authoritarian…

Just as Germany’s run for a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2019-20 term is gathering steam, its government has published a new white paper, titled “Preventing Crises, Managing Conflicts, Building Peace.” In this release, Germany promises to become more active in the…

Shi’a PMF forces helped to capture and still control significant parts of this Sunni Arab district. They also looted the area’s most valuable asset, an oil refinery. Civilian returns have been minimal to this district, which faces diminished economic prospects, ongoing security threats from the…

Vergangene Woche forderte Ungarns Ministerpräsident Viktor Orban in einem Brief an EU-Kommissionspräsident Jean-Claude Juncker 440 Millionen Euro. Damit solle die EU „im Geiste der europäischen Solidarität“ die Hälfte der Kosten für den Grenzzaun übernehmen, den Ungarn seit 2015 an seiner Schengen-…

On August 19, in Granada, the Spanish police detained the author Dogan Akhanli, a German citizen of Turkish origin, because the international police organization Interpol had issued a red notice for a worldwide search. The German government reacted swiftly and clarified to the Spanish government…

ISIL’s advance on Kirkuk created opportunities for Kurdish forces to tighten control over oil resources and Kirkuk city in this most coveted part of the Disputed Territories; however, a strong (for now officially accepted) PMF presence in the south, anchored with local Turkmen PMF forces, threatens…

Local, Sunni tribal forces have been key to recapturing and holding ISIL-held areas. However, different mobilization and control patterns in Ninewa and Salah ad-Din have created different forms of Sunni forces, and may determine how much these Sunni forces contribute to stability or tension in the…

Shi’a PMF and local tribal Sunni Arab hashd hold off ISIL on the frontline in Dour, but their strong presence, and periodic outbreaks of violence and looting challenge ISF’s ability to maintain rule of law in Salah ad-Din’s capital area.…

Autoritäre Regierungen nutzen die Roteckfahndung von Interpol für grenzenlose politische Verfolgung. Das Problem ist bekannt – die kurzfristige Festnahme des deutschen, türkischstämmigen Schriftstellers Dogan Akhanli im spanischen Granada ist leider nicht der erste Fall, nur das jüngste Beispiel für…