Tag: Europe

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

A Future in the East? – Chances and Challenges for Sino-European Cooperation

With the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and Donald Trump proclaiming his ‘America First’ policy, the Western world has experienced a clear shift towards post-multilateralism. In these difficult times for the traditional trans-Atlantic partnership another great power is rolling out a new map: China.
The following paper addresses the question whether the New Silk Road can be more advantageous for an inner-European cohesion and if the previous work has changed the perspective on Europe towards global South-South relations.

Read More

Das Phänomen des Gaucho-Lepénisme – Motive und Konsequenzen der französischen Präsidentschaftswahl 2017

Bei der französischen Präsidentschaftswahl 2017 gewann mit Marine Le Pen zum ersten Mal eine rechtsextreme Kandidatin die Mehrheit der Wählerstimmen in der Arbeiterschaft und bei Menschen mit einer schwierigen Einkommenssituation. Eine ‘linke’ Stimme für die Rechte schließt sich ideologisch nicht mehr aus.

Read More