Author: Felix Breiteneicher

The Old, the New and the Unknown – Russia, China and India in the ‘Race for the Arctic’

The Arctic has experienced a geographical and geopolitical opening over the last decades, involving more and more players in political, commercial and military Arctic affairs. Russia, China and India have become more active in the region and have increased the geostrategic potential for both cooperation and conflict.

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Which Role Does Neo-Eurasianism Play for Russia’s Foreign Policy in Central Asia?

Since the USSR’s dissolution, Russia has experienced a continuous debate about its national identity and great power status. To create an alternative national idea, the Kremlin has adapted its Eurasianist rhetoric to ideological demands of the public as well as strategic implications of anti-globalist foreign policy. However, its moves can be largely explained through political opportunism.

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China’s Relations with Russia & Central Asia – A Game of Gas and Goodwill

While both the relations between China and Russia as well as the Central Asian states are largely depending on energy investments from the Chinese side, the economic and political background varies. This analysis assesses the various obstacles to a sustainable cooperation between the countries.

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Inside or Outside the ‘Russian World’? – Estonian and Kazakhstani Language Policy towards Russophone Minorities

Moscow has tied the national compatriot identity inseparably to its own Russian-speaking diaspora. With the recent notion of military crises in the Russian territorial neighbourhood, geopolitical fears have grown in both the Baltics and Central Asia. Still, the question of how Moscow-friendly and secessionist the Russophone minorities in both regions are, remains largely unanswered.
This article is focusing on the comparison of two regional actors in the post-Soviet nationalisation process by comparing the language policies of Estonia and Kazakhstan since their independence from the USSR.

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An Idyl of Idleness? – The German Grand Coalition and its Necessity for Structural Economic Reforms

The present economic policy of the German government seems to fulfil neither the calls of experts nor the expectations of the electorate. From the investment point of view, German core industries, such as the electronic and metal industries, on the one hand are treading water and falling behind in international competitiveness while sunrise industries and start-ups on the other hand are lacking a sufficiently funded and developed digital infrastructure. A recent report about national telecommunication connectivity put Germany even behind Albania. An ongoing sell-out of domestic medium-scale companies in future sectors such as solar power and robotics to investors from abroad, especially China, has further threatened German innovative performance.

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Concurrence and Cohesion – The Balkan and Baltic States in China’s ’16+1′ Format

The Chinese charm offensive of ’16+1′ in Central and South-Eastern Europe has led to newly gained self-confidence for a region that was long time subject to either foreign rule or peripheral neglect.
This analysis assesses the roles played by EU and non-EU members inside the grouping by comparing the interacting roles of two smaller European regions – the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and the Western Balkan States (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) with Beijing.

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Wie Bosnien-Herzegowinas Staatsgefüge den Einfluss externer Akteure begünstigt

Das Friedensabkommen von Dayton ermöglicht es externen staatlichen Akteuren Einfluss auf die verschiedenen Ebenen des bosnischen Staatssystems ausüben zu können. Russland und die Türkei als traditionelle Akteure sowie die arabischen Golfstaaten und China als moderne Akteure tun sich dabei besonders hervor.

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