SWP

US-Präsident Donald Trump will die Nato lieber heute als morgen loswerden. Aber könnte sein Land so einfach aus dem Bündnis austreten?

The return of power politics to the market is a defining feature of the geoeconomic Zeitenwende, as is currently being experienced in inter­national politics. This has brought renewed attention to the long-standing conventional wisdom that economic activity can not only generate prosperity but also promote foreign and security policy objectives. The analysis and strategy of foreign, security, and economic policy require a clear conceptualisation of the term “geoeconomics”. This is necessary not least to weigh the costs and benefits of geoeconomic measures in a well-founded manner, and to assess their prospects for success more realistically. The contributions to this research paper focus on the theoretical and con­ceptual foundations of geoeconomic thought and examine selected empiri­cal case studies of geoeconomic action in functionally defined policy areas. In order for German geoeconomic policy to become more effective and coherent, the following approaches are recommended: first, the establish­ment of interagency structures for the cross-cutting task of geoeconomics; second, the expansion of communication and coordination with relevant stakeholders from the business sector and academia; and third, the strength­ening of international cooperation with like-minded partners.

The Arctic and the Arctic-North Atlantic region are gaining in geopolitical relevance as Arctic shipping routes and resources become more accessible. Germany should step up its political, military and economic engagement in this part of the world. A successful German Arctic policy requires closer cooperation both with Arctic states and with partners in the EU and NATO, Germany’s stronger engagement with security policy and the improved integration of civilian and military capabilities. The Arctic-North Atlantic region is to be regarded as a single strategic space and viewed in the context of European security. For its part, Germany should actively contribute to the stabilisation of this space and help pre­serve the fragile balance in the Arctic. A German Arctic strategy should not only reaffirm principles such as those of a rules-based order and multilateralism; it should also seek to protect them by means of clearly defined political, economic and security policy instruments. In the long term, a German Arctic strategy must go beyond the 2024 guidelines and identify concrete steps to safeguard German interests in the region. It must also establish clear priorities, outline political and security-policy measures, mobilise resources and both generate and demonstrate overall capacity for action. Germany’s new Arctic policy should be more consistently embedded in a policy framework for Europe as a whole. By ensuring close alignment with EU foreign and security policy and playing an active role in the shap­ing of the EU Arctic strategy, Germany can represent its own interests more effectively and at the same time contribute to Europe’s capacity to act in the region.

US imperial policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean is characterised by a com­bination of dominance ambitions and exclusivity claims. Through drastic coercive measures, Washington is forcing an economic transformation in Venezuela without paving the way for a political transition. At the same time, it is imposing a fuel block­ade on Cuba and threatening to take over that country. Above all, Germany and the EU should support civil society in Venezuela and Cuba. Furthermore, they should un­equivocally acknowledge the already existing violations of international law and adopt a firm stance against the normalisation of violence and disregard for human rights.

Wenn der Herausforderer von Ministerpräsident Orban, Peter Magyar, gewinne, werde er es nicht leicht haben, sagte der Politologe Kai-Olaf Lang auf NDR Info.

The devastating war in Sudan centres, by definition, on those waging it: the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), armed groups, militias, mercenaries. It seems to relegate civilians to the passive position of victims of the hostilities, of mass atrocities, forced displacement, starvation and gender-based violence. Conventional approaches to ending the war, based on Sudan’s long experience with conflict, tend to be narrow elite bargains that privilege those with guns through power and wealth sharing arrangements. Impunity reigned, either through blanket amnesty or long-delayed implementation of official commitments.