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Shale gas policies vary significantly across Europe, notably in Russia-dependent Central Eastern Europe. Most strikingly, Bulgaria banned shale gas, whereas Poland remains firmly committed to fostering it despite its drawbacks. This article uses a policy regime approach to explain the shale gas…

Just hours after the United Nations concluded its refugee summit, breaking news on the displaced could hardly be more sobering. A UN aid convoy in Syria was bombed, leaving 12 aid workers dead; Kenya is closings the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, pressuring refugees to return to Somalia;…

With this Sunday’s elections in Berlin, the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is expected to enter the tenth regional parliament in Germany. While the AfD is drawing voters from all mainstream parties, the bleeding from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is the…

Zum Mitnehmen Schweden und Finnland rücken immer näher an die NATO heran, bislang aber ohne die Vollmitgliedschaft anzustreben. Daran wird sich wohl auch vor den Parlamentswahlen 2018 bzw. 2019 nichts ändern. „Für die NATO wäre die Aufnahme der Nordeuropäer unkompliziert und brächte zahlreiche…

„Deutschland ist bereit, sich früh, entschieden und substanziell als Impulsgeber in die internationale Debatte einzubringen, Verantwortung zu leben und Führung zu übernehmen. Dazu gehört auch die Bereitschaft, zur Bewältigung heutiger und zukünftiger sicherheitspolitischer sowie humanitärer…

Generally speaking, security sector reform (SSR) refers to planned improvements to existing structures and methods in a country’s security sector, with the objective of improving security for the population. On the one hand the country’s police and soldiers have to be well trained and equipped. They…

China beschäftigt die Europäer. An diesem Mittwoch empfängt Premier Li in Peking EU-Ratspräsident Donald Tusk und Kommissionspräsident Jean-Claude Juncker zum jährlichen EU-China-Gipfel. Bereits im Juni war Kanzlerin Angela Merkel mit fünf Ministern und zahlreichen Firmenchefs nach Peking gereist…

After a decade of negotiations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed in February this year, is now set to go to legislators among the 12 signatory states for ratification. And they have much to consider: the expected economic gains are disputed; protests have erupted in the US, New Zealand,…

Calling for regime change and a participation revolution, humanitarians are once again committing to take accountability to affected populations (AAP) to the next level. But would the full implementation of these demands have unintended side effects? On paper, the proposal for accountability to…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has often called the German-China relationship a win-win for both countries. During a recent visit to Beijing last month – Merkel’s ninth – German ministers and CEOs publicly signed €2.7 billion worth of agreements. But business rewards are no longer sufficient to…

In den Phantasien vieler heißblütiger Brexit-Unterstützer steht die EU-Armee kurz vor der Tür. Für Penny Mordaunt, Staatssekretärin im britischen Verteidigungsministerium, gibt es für das Vereinigte Königreich nur einen Weg, der Zwangsmitgliedschaft in der EU-Armee zu entgehen: der Austritt aus der…

Die Erwartungen waren groß als vor zehn Jahren die Reformbemühungen des damaligen UN-Generalsekretärs Kofi Annan in der Ablösung der dysfunktionalen Menschenrechtskommission durch einen neuen, schlankeren Rat gipfelten. Man könnte sagen, sie waren zu groß, um nach einer zehnjährigen Bilanz nicht…

Expectations were high in 2006 when former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s reform efforts culminated in the replacement of the dysfunctional UN Commission on Human Rights with a new, downsized Human Rights Council. Now, in light of the council’s 10-year anniversary, high expectations have turned…

If you believe ardent Brexit supporters, the EU is close to establishing a joint army that Britain would be forced to join. For UK Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt the only way to escape this certain fate is to vote “Leave.” This is of course rather fanciful scaremongering. But while Mordaunt's…

The Dublin Regulation, which is the cornerstone of the Common European Asylum System, is crumbling. The law, directly applicable in all European Union states, seeks to achieve a system in which asylum seekers submit only one application for asylum in one member state. In May 2016, the EU Commission…

Abstract What is stabilisation, and why do we need a conceptual discussion? Based on interviews and policy documents from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, this article distils two conceptual visions of stabilisation, outlines a range of institutional and…