Group photo of formally dressed people on a staircase in front of a row of flags.
“Securing our future”: Meeting of European Heads of State and Government at the London Summit, March 2025. | Photo: Christophe Licoppe, © European Union, 2025 | CC BY 4.0

Maintaining the Rules-Based International Order: How Europe can Stand up to the Superpowers as an Alliance of Small States

When Western voices described the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as an attack on the “rules-based” or “liberal” international order, it was always implied that it was Western states, and the USA in particular, that safeguarded international law after the Second World War. However, it was primarily Afro-Asian states that defended the rules-based order during the Cold War when aggressions challenged the inviolability of international borders. A closer look at this history can help to develop concepts for the validity of international norms – especially for a Europe that is in danger of becoming an object of great power politics in the future.

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Ein Podcast-Mikrofon und ein Kopfhörer werden abgebildet, untertitelt mit dem Namen das Podcast "PRIF talk". Zusätzlich wird die Episode "#011 mit Malte Göttsche, Una Jakob & CNTR" angezeigt.

PRIF talk #012 // Klima und Konflikt im Anthropozän

Eisschilde schmelzen, Plastik findet sich in den entlegensten Ecken der Erde und Arten sterben. Längst sind Klima- und Umweltkrisen nicht mehr nur Kulisse politischer Konflikte, sondern führen zu Unsicherheit und Konflikten und bedrohen Existenzen. Die neueste Folge des PRIF talk taucht ein in das Anthropozän – das Zeitalter, in dem der Mensch zum langfristig prägenden Faktor der Erde geworden ist. Patrick Flamm leitet eine neue Forschungsgruppe zu den Zusammenhängen zwischen Ökologie und Konflikt. Im Gespräch erklärt er, warum die Forschung zur Verbindung zwischen Umwelt und Sicherheit wichtig ist und wie eine nachhaltige Friedenspolitik im Zeitalter des Anthropozäns aussehen könnte.

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The picture shows the Genocide Memorial in Windhoek, Namibia which commemorates the extermination order against Ovaherero and Nama following their rising aganist German rule in Namibia. The Genocide memorial is made of stone with a plaque showing people being hanged and german officers with guns standing in front of them. Atop the memorial two bronze figures raise their fists. On the stone it reads “Their Blood Waters our Freedom”
The Genocide Memorial in Windhoek commemorates the extermina-tion order against Ovaherero and Nama following their rising against German rule in Namibia, 04 September 2018. | Photo: © picture alliance / imageBROKER | Thomas Sbampato.

Dealing with Germany’s First Genocide: Why Bilateral Negotiations with Namibia Failed and What the New Government Must Do

Since the end of the last Bundestag session it has become clear that although projected in the coalition agreement, the Scholz government has not taken significant steps towards dealing with Germany’s colonial past in Namibia. A Joint Declaration fell victim to the early elections in Germany. This spotlight presents data from a representative survey showing that dealing with the colonial past in Namibia has no priority for Germans, which might explain why the Scholz government shied away from making the case an election issue. The spotlight identifies key take-away points on what went wrong and what a new German government should do better.

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Serbian people protesting on the street
University students stage protest against Prosecutor General Zagorka Dolovac. | Foto: © EPA-EFE/ Andrej Cukic | Editorial license for print and online

Uprisings in Serbia. Struggle(s) against a resilient regime

Following the collapse of the recently renovated Novi Sad train station, which resulted in the death of 15 people, students across Serbia have been leading one of Europe’s largest protest movements. After months of anti-corruption demonstrations demanding justice and government accountability, hundreds of thousands gathered in Belgrade on March 15, 2025, in what some call […]

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Gruppenfoto formell gekleideter Personen auf einer Treppe vor einer Reihe von Flaggen.
„Securing our future“: Treffen europäischer Staats- und Regierungschefs beim London Summit, März 2025. | Foto: Christophe Licoppe, © European Union, 2025 | CC BY 4.0

Festhalten an der regelbasierten internationalen Ordnung: Wie Europa als Allianz kleiner Staaten gegenüber den Supermächten bestehen kann

Wenn westliche Stimmen den russischen Überfall auf die Ukraine im Februar 2022 als Angriff auf die „regelbasierte“ oder „liberale“ internationale Ordnung beschrieben haben, schwang dabei stets mit, dass es westliche Staaten und insbesondere die USA waren, die nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg das Völkerrecht sicherten. Es waren jedoch vor allem afro-asiatische Staaten, die während des Kalten Kriegs die regelbasierte Ordnung verteidigten, wenn Aggressionen die Unverletzlichkeit internationaler Grenzen infrage stellten. Eine nähere Betrachtung dieser Geschichte kann helfen, zukunftsfähige Konzepte für die Geltungskraft internationaler Normen zu entwickeln – gerade für ein Europa, das Gefahr läuft, zukünftig zur Verhandlungsmasse der Großmächte zu werden.

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Antarctic coastline with snow mountain range visible in the distance. Three small red buildings are visible in the front right lower corner.
Almirante Brown Research Station at foot of glacier, Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. | Photo: Christopher Michel via Wikimedia Commons | CC BY 2.0

Confronting Antarctic Security. Let’s stop chasing spectres at the South Pole!

Antarctica is often celebrated as a continent of peace and science. All ‘measures of a military nature’ – other than logistic and technical support for scientific endeavours – are prohibited by the Antarctic Treaty, which remains widely observed some 66 years after it was negotiated in 1959. However, conversations about ‘Antarctic security’ appear to be increasing in frequency and salience. Rather than chasing military and national security spectres at the South Pole, we should invest more in diplomatic and political efforts to ensure the ongoing effective and peaceful management of the Antarctic.

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Room with semi-circular tables at which formally dressed people sit. A man in a suit is standing at the lectern, with a number of other people sitting behind him. The flag of the OPCW hangs on the wall.
March 5, 2025: Caretaker Foreign Minister al-Shaibani addresses the Executive Council at OPCW in The Hague | Photo: OPCW via flickr | CC BY 2.0

Chemical Weapons Disarmament in Syria – A Door Opening?

On March 5, 2025, the caretaker foreign minister of Syria, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, delivered a speech at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in which he promised that his government would eliminate the Syrian chemical weapons programme and bring the country back into compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). If implemented, this would end over a decade of Syrian violations of the CWC, offer the opportunity to hold those responsible to account, and reaffirm the global norm against chemical weapons. Deeds will have to follow these words, but this announcement at least allows for some cautious optimism in an otherwise gloomy international disarmament climate.

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A Serverroom: A long row of servers on the left and right in an industrial hall
The order to halt all cyber operations against Russia marks a stark departure from the previous administration’s cybersecurity strategy. | Photo: Ismail Enes Ayhan via Plattform Unsplash | Unsplash Lizenz

US Halts Defensive Cyber Activities Against Russia: A Digital ‘Withdrawal’ from Europe

In a major shift in U.S. cybersecurity policy, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt all planning against Russia, including offensive cyber operations. This policy change, made behind closed doors, represents a significant reversal of the approach taken under the Biden administration, which had identified Russia and China as the most significant intelligence threats to the United States. The decision aligns with the broader foreign policy direction of the Trump administration, which aims to “de-escalate” tensions with Russia, though it seems to be more of an appeasement. And this policy shift obviously comes at the expense of national and allied security, as has become frighteningly clear in recent days with the example of the – one can hardly call it anything else – ‘blackmail’ of Ukraine, which was temporarily denied military and intelligence support by the US.

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Former President Rodrigo Duterto stands at a podium in front of the flag of the Philippines.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police and transferred to The Hague. | Foto: Republic of Korea via flickr | CC BY-S 2.0

The Arrest of Rodrigo Duterte: A Turning Point for Justice and Accountability?

After years of efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC), former President Rodrigo Duterte was finally arrested by the Philippine National Police and transferred to The Hague. What at first glance appears to be positive news, on the other hand, demonstrates the lack of will and abject failure of Philippine politics and authorities to prosecute the former president on their own soil. While the arrest is a first step to accountability and justice, it is also a dramatic testimony to the continued existence of a political elite that has no interest in taking responsibility for the common good themselves.

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Photo of a beach filled with crowds of people in colorful clothes. Close to the shore there is a line of colorful boats.
January 13, 2025: Aerial view of Kumbh Mela at Triveni Sangam | Photo: Pankaj Chauhan via Pexels

Maha Kumbh Mela: Integrating The Pursuit of Spirituality With Political Dynamics

Maha Kumbh is a major Hindu festival in India, noted as the largest human gathering by UNESCO. Occurring every 144 years, in 2025 it was held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (UP), with an estimated 600 million attendees worldwide. This article examines the symbols of the festival, their political significance, and the blending of faith and politics under the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The focus of the study is on methodologies for achieving political goals, as opposed to the customary strategy of employing religion within the context of Indian politics; a stratagem that the majority of prominent national political parties have utilised.

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