Boris Johnson’s Brexit, coming on the heels of a recent tepid endorsement of NATO by Donald Trump’s USA, is another reminder that Europe, minus the UK will have to do more for its defence. On occasion of the last NATO-summit the widening gap between Western Europe – Eastern Europe clings to the Atlantic security treaty…
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Clouds in the East
[ ... ]The rapidly deteriorating situation in the Asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific threatens peace and prosperity in the rest of the world, too. Can Europe do anything to prevent further sliding? ‘The Asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific (AP/IP) is the future’. That gospel has been, and is resonating in Europe, too. More than ever in the past, Europe’s prosperity, and relative peace worldwide as…
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Macron als internationaler Staatsmann
[ ... ]Die Treffen der sieben grössten westlichen Wirtschaftsmächte sind seit Amtsantritt von Präsident Trump zu diplomatischen Gratwanderungen geworden. Am Gipfel in Biarritz Ende Juli hat Gastgeber Macron nicht nur die Neutralisierung des Elefanten im Glas- rsp. Weissen Haus fertiggebracht, sondern auch zentrale Themen, die Trump verabscheut, prominent in Erinnerung gerufen. Die G-7 Gruppe (USA, Kanada, Japan,…
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‘Security Brexit’: Johnson follows Trump in the Persian Gulf
[ ... ]In aligning himself with US President Trump with regard to policing the Gulf, the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has abandoned any pretense that his type of Brexit would exclude security and defense matters. This is in sharp contrast to the May government before him which has always insisted that it was willing and…
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China’s expansion, regional reactions to it and India’s ambiguous maneuvering
[ ... ]In the field of competition for domination beyond national borders, one of the keys to strategic power is the capacity to project military power. For those who fear Chinese expansion, it is therefore relevant to look first at the development of China’s military means. From 2008 to 2018, China has doubled its defense budget. That…
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Radikale Religion in Demokratien
[ ... ]Die Instrumentalisierung von radikaler Religion zum demokratischen Machterhalt funktioniert auch in Asien, so eben bei Wahlen in Indien und Indonesien. Religion dient oft als Deckmantel verschiedener, anderer Ursachen von Konflikten. Aber Religion eignet sich vorzüglich zur Mobilisierung und auch zur Disziplinierung der Massen. So eben in Indonesien und Indien – beides ehemalige Kolonien, welche zu…
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Europe and the Anglosphere drifting apart
[ ... ]Yes, the far-right gained in the recent European elections, yet is riven by nationalist preoccupations. More worrying is another long-term trend. Beyond the somewhat confusing continental results of the elections to the European Parliament, a longstanding trend becomes clearer. Britain is trying to go alone on its nationalist and conservative way, mirroring the US and…