The threats to the EU come from inside and outside: outside, as proven by the instabilities in Northern Africa and the Sahel; and inside, with the latest speech by British Prime Minister Cameron fitting within the euroskeptic narratives. The French intervention in Mali should concern all EU Member States and make them realize that the […]
As the EU is dragged into coping with the ongoing financial crisis, there has been a lively discussion what will be the consequences on the EU’s foreign policy in the long-term forecast. Most of the arguments deal with a question of how the nature of the EU Crisis Management will change in the upcoming years, as EU […]
Finally, the French government has launched a military operation, under the code name Serval, in Mali after a distress call by the Malian President and in accordance with the U.N. Charter. The degradation of the internal situation in Mali and the growing risks of terrorism in Mali and its spread throughout the Sahel have been […]
Following on former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s nomination to serve as President Obama’s third secretary of defense, Foreign Affairs has made available his 2004 essay “A Republican Foreign Policy.” Reading it with the benefit of eight years of hindsight, the essay reveals how Sen. Hagel’s worldview appeals to the Obama Administration. His views on the foundational […]
Pro-democracy and human rights movements beyond the EU borders will have a new access to grants from a budget of the newly established European Endowment for Democracy (EED). However, even though The Board of Governors of the EED held its meeting in Brussels on 9 January 2013, which also marks its official launch, the future […]
For the first time in my living memory, the Austrian Federal Army is front-page news of Austrian papers and is debated heatedly on public television. Riding a populist crest but lacking the foresight of any clear direction, Vienna Mayor Michael Hauepl, Federal Chancellor Werner Feymann, and Minister for Defense and Sport Norbert Darabos are calling […]
President Obama’s actual nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) to be the next Secretary of State seems certain to succeed where mere discussion of other nominees – U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for State and former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) for Defense – quickly met with serious criticism. In its endorsement of his nomination, The Washington […]
The topic of Winston Churchill’s speeches – particularly his postwar speeches – first brings to mind his “iron curtain” speech. During the recent round of discussions over the future of the Euro after the financial crisis, Churchill’s name is occasionally invoked as a one of Europe’s founding statesmen. He was not, like Jean Monnet, an […]
Belatedly and after many recommendations, I went to see Ben Affleck’s Argo recently before heading home for the holidays. True to the reviews, it was smart, suspenseful (particularly since one knew walking in how it all ended) and had its share of dark humor, particularly about the limitation on decision-making within a government bureaucracy and […]
Reflecting on 2012: where to start? 2012 has been another busy year for writers, analysts and students of foreign policy: from the violence in Syria and the Middle East, to the reelection of President Obama, to the lingering of the Eurocrisis, to the increase of natural disasters, so on and so forth. This year in […]
In hopes of generating patriotic fervor, German politicians have asked that their national football team to be compelled to sing the national anthem before each match. Players, such as Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski, have been criticized for not participating in the ceremonious singing of the Deutschlandlied before each national match. Why? Özil is a third generation Turkish-German and Podolski first […]
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair defended the U.K.’s full participation in the EU from the most recent wave of Euroscepticism in a speech at Chatham House late last month. Conceding up front that the European social model needs reform to remain sustainable, an argument echoed by the moderate left in the U.S., Blair […]
When one reads the words ‘arms sales’ or ‘weapon systems sold’, one does not usually expect to see the word ‘Germany’ close by. Though it may be quiet global arms dealer, for the past several years (2007-2011) Germany has been the world’s third largest arms exporter. Though Berlin 9% of the total exports trails the […]
On Monday December 10, the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Parliament President Martin Schulz will represent the EU and receive the Nobel Prize in Olso. As discussed in a previous piece, the Peace Prize came as a surprise, but also marked an important turning point in […]
The socio-political development of the Arab Spring has been a real wake-up call for the EU’s policy-makers. Rapid changes in the South Mediterranean once again pointed the finger at the EU’s inability to act swiftly, decisively and audaciously to the events unfolding beyond the EU’s southern borders. Numerous policy changes have recently occurred in the […]