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Although Iraq now appears awash in pro-government militias, the majority of the sub-state or non-state groups that exist today are a relatively recent phenomenon. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Saddam Hussein’s strong security apparatus dominated the security landscape. Except for a few notable…

Shi’a Arab PMF from the south have been the main forces present around this ISIL-held area, but if they retake this mixed Sunni-Shi’a Turkmen city, it may spark sectarian and regional conflict.…

Only fully liberated in July 2017, half of the city is severely damaged while weak rule of law allows ample opportunities for a range of armed actors to intervene in Iraq’s second largest city.…

Last week’s nomination of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to the board of Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company, is the most spectacular example to date of a Western politician selling out to an authoritarian government. Though the move is unlikely to change Berlin’s stance toward Russia,…

Letzte Woche nominierte der russische Premier Medvedev Altbundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder für einen Posten als “unabhängiges Mitglied” im Aufsichtsrat von Rosneft, dem größten und staatlich kontrollierten russischen Ölkonzern. Es ist der bislang spektakulärste Fall des Anheuerns eines westlichen Ex-…

This backgrounder is part of a larger study on the role and impact of Local, Hybrid or Sub-state Security Forces (LHSFs) in Iraq. The research surveyed the role played by different local or sub-state groups across three governorates, Ninewa, Salah ad-Din, and Kirkuk, and the impact for local…

Shi’a PMF and local tribal Sunni Arab hashd hold off ISIL on the frontline in Daur, 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.…

A focal point of Kurdish claims within Iraq’s Disputed Territories, Zummar is now under the firm control of Kurdish forces, with local Arab and Kurdish tribal forces providing additional security support to Kurdish forces; return of Arabs to Zummar has been fraught with controversy.…

Wehrmachtsdevotionalien, entwürdigende Ausbildungspraktiken, sexuelle Belästigung, Demütigungen und der Fall um Franco A – 2017 häufen sich die Vorwürfe gegenüber der Bundeswehr. Das Verteidigungsministerium zieht die personellen und organisatorischen Konsequenzen: Generale werden entlassen, der…

This literature review is part of a larger study on local, hybrid, and sub-state security forces in Iraq (LHSFs). Please see the main page for more further reports and research summaries about individual field research sites. Regional or community forces, militias, and other forms of local security…

Local Christian and Shabak forces vie to police this decimated ghost town and surrounding Christian areas, a part of the larger Baghdad versus Kurdish competition and demographic reshaping of the Ninewa Plains.…

A test of the Disputed Territories boundary line, this predominantly Sunni Arab area in Tal Afar district has flipped to Kurdish control after ISIL’s ouster, and local tribal forces have formed units under KDP Peshmerga.…

US-supported and -trained Sunni tribal PMF have played a larger role in this relatively stable Sunni area south of Mosul, but tribal revenge attacks, Shi’a PMF on the outskirts, and a recent ISIL takeover of a liberated town illustrate the uneven control and stability even in safe and politically…

Für ein Vierteljahrhundert nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer sahen sich Deutschland und Europa als Hort der liberalen Demokratie, die auch global auf dem Siegeszug war. Autoritäre Regierungsmodelle würden sich bald auf dem Müllhaufen der Geschichte wiederfinden. Dabei sollte westliche…

“Europe,” Emmanuel Macron said last month, “isn’t a supermarket.” The French president was referring to the recent illiberal actions of some central and eastern European states, which he argued had come to rely on the bloc to “dispens[e] credit” in the form of budgetary assistance “without…

Ladies and gentlemen, we need you! We need your critical questions, your experience, your ideas and your suggestions. We should talk openly about what we are already doing well, and how we can become even better and more efficient. With these remarks at an event on 5 July 2016, then-Foreign Minister…

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has identified one overarching priority for his work: the prevention of human suffering. Specifically, Guterres envisions that the concept of prevention, and the mechanisms it entails, will be able to cut across and strengthen the UN’s three pillars: peace and…

Germans are worried about the future of their partnership with the United States and about their new role on the world scene. Throughout much of Europe, leaders have lost confidence that the US presidency under Donald Trump will make the right decisions in international affairs, and Germany is no…

Meine Damen und Herren, wir brauchen Sie! Ihre kritischen Fragen. Ihre Erfahrungen, Ihre Einwürfe und Ihre Anregungen. Wir wollen offen diskutieren, wo wir bereits gut arbeiten und wo und wie wir noch besser und effizienter werden können. Mit diesen Worten eröffnete der damalige Außenminister Frank-…