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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
After the Big Fire
[ ... ]More than a church went up in flames in the Parisian fire which destroyed the interior of the cathedral Notre-Dame, though leaving the stone façade intact. The reconstruction, already decided and well-financed has symbolic value. Ken Follett called the medieval cathedrals in Europe ‘The Pillars of the Earth’. Notre-Dame de Paris, ‘Our Lady of Paris’,…
-
Russia’s policies and strategic moves in Asia: with or without India?
[ ... ]Russia, a big European power, is also an Asian power, in fact a genuinely Eurasian great power. Due to its conflict with its largest European neighbour, the Ukraine, but also overall tense relations with the EU, Russia finds itself isolated at its European front. Having realised that a greater role in a European context seems…
-
The global significance of an electoral showdown in Europe
[ ... ]The upcoming fight for seats in the European Parliament will show whether authoritarian National-Populists, globally on the upswing, can extend their reign to the heart of the European Union. The 700plus members of the European Parliament (EP) are elected in each of the 28-member countries of the European Union through a system of general proportionality.…
-
India’s current geopolitical positioning
[ ... ]India will soon be heading for its next general elections. Prime Minister Modi was brought into power with the general elections of May 2014. His first term, thus, comes to an end in 2019 and the country, as the world’s largest democracy, will be getting prepared to one more giant election process. Modi’s fate will…