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In recent weeks, politicians and intelligence officials in France and Germany have stepped up their warnings of Russian interference in the national elections both countries will hold next year. In late November, Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, told the Süddeutsche…

This book contributes to an ongoing debate about the EU as a global actor, the organization’s ability to speak with one voice in energy affairs, and the external dimension of the regulatory state. Investigating whether the Energy Union amounts to a fundamental shift towards Europe's new 'Liberal…

Amidst all the uncertainty introduced by the age of Trump, two realizations have reached this side of the Atlantic. First, Germany and the European Union as a whole will have to increase their engagement in foreign and security policy. Second, voters feel left behind here, too. Mistrust of…

Bei aller Unsicherheit nach der Wahl von Donald Trump, zwei Erkenntnisse sind diesseits des Atlantiks bereits angekommen. Erstens, die Verantwortung Deutschlands in und mit Europa in der Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik wird weiter und deutlich wachsen. Zweitens, auch in Deutschland und Europa fühlen…

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…

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…

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…

On October 30, 1938, chaotic scenes took place in parts of the United States. Thousands of radio listeners who had tuned in to an adaptation of H. G. Wells’s novel The War of the Worlds had mistaken the fictional account of an impending alien invasion on the East Coast for an actual emergency…

Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States raises many question marks, among them the prospect of a rise in trade barriers and unilateral economic policies. But a glimpse at recent World Trade Organization (WTO) talks reveals that, with or without Trump, the political will to revive…

This article explores competing interpretive frames regarding shale gas in Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania. These countries face the choice of embracing shale gas as a potential revolutionizing domestic source of energy, against the backdrop of Russia serving as the dominant gas supplier. This makes…

Political flare-ups between pro- and anti-Beijing supporters have catapulted Hong Kong into the international spotlight. Bei­jing’s increasing intervention in Hong Kong’s political affairs has led to violent street clashes between the two camps in the city and international condemnations of China.…

Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as the next president of the United States present clear risks to the system of international humanitarian response. The rise of populism seems bent on politicizing aid even more than it is now, putting Dunantist ideals of impartial aid to their greatest test. If…

Amid the hubbub over the notorious echo chambers that Facebook’s algorithm generates in user news feeds, overlooked is a more consequential, hair-raising takeaway: Facebook and its competitors are swiftly replacing journalism as the gatekeepers of professional reporting standards. Already they yield…

„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…

Introduction One morning in July 2015, Caroline Spreitzer, a 34-year-old mother of three in the German city of Passau, close to the Austrian border, looked out onto her driveway and saw seventeen Syrian refugees. After providing them with water and sandwiches, she called the police, as the refugees…

Introduction Rising powers need not fear criticism of human rights abuses from Berlin, for trade trumps human rights in German foreign policy. This conventional wisdom is frequently invoked by human rights activists and journalists alike, but it is neither very informative nor entirely correct.…

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…

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,…

Introduction Operating in insecure environments is one of the more critical tests for the humanitarian community. Access constraints, uncertainty, attacks and aid diversion make these unlikely settings for innovation. Yet several new approaches come from highly insecure environments. In these…

Background In insecure environments, where humanitarian staff have limited opportunities for face- to-face interactions with communities, achieving accountability to affected populations is more complex and often requires a mix of approaches. Community feedback mechanisms can be a valuable tool to…