PRIF Spotlight

The world’s major sanctioning countries recently showed political willingness to take a leap of faith towards Syria. On May 20, 2025, the European Union (EU) announced to lift its economic sanctions on Syria. Despite the country’s need for economic recovery, sectoral violence and human rights violations continue, while the post-Assad power vacuum is at risk of being exploited by groups battling for influence. To signal credibility in this uncertain situation, the EU approach towards Syria…

Als der südkoreanische Präsident Yoon Suk-yeol im Dezember 2024 überraschend das Kriegsrecht ausrief, galt dieses zwar nur sechs Stunden. Das Land wurde aber dennoch in eine tiefe politische Krise gestürzt. Yoon wurde vom Parlament des Amtes enthoben, widersetzte sich dann aber wochenlang seiner Festnahme. Die Neuwahlen des Präsidentenamtes am 3. Juni finden nun vor dem Hintergrund einer scharfen innenpolitischen Polarisierung und wachsender handels- und sicherheitspolitischer Herausforderungen…

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…

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 the largest mass protest in Serbia’s history. While unprecedented in scale, these protests build on previous uprisings since…

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…

As the new U.S. administration pivots toward negotiating a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, the growing nuclear threat from Russia demands urgent attention. Drawing on Cold War history and negotiation research, this analysis highlights how arms control – formal or informal – can help curb nuclear risks even in the most volatile crises. German and transatlantic policy makers should therefore integrate practical arms control and risk reduction measures into ceasefire discussions to safeguard…

In December 2024, UN members will vote on a worldwide Cybercrime Convention negotiated since 2019. While the convention is problematic, this Spotlight shows why a conditional acceptance nonetheless seems the best way forward. For this purpose, we first present the different meanings of cybercrime and outline the existing regulatory framework. We then examine the UN negotiations and the possible human rights implications of the convention, showing that it reflects the contestation of human…

In Politik, Medien und öffentlicher Debatte begegnen uns immer wieder Konfliktmythen. Bei ihnen handelt es sich nicht um überlieferte Erzählungen aus vergangenen Zeiten, sondern verbreitete falsche Vorstellungen von Frieden und Konflikt. An vielen Konfliktmythen ist nicht alles falsch. Sie dehnen aber Aussagen so sehr über deren Geltungsbereich hinaus, dass sie nicht mehr zutreffen. Sie legen einen bestimmten Umgang mit Konflikten nahe und beeinflussen so Debatten und Entscheidungen. Dieser…

Seit die USA und Deutschland am Rande des NATO-Gipfels 2024 bekanntgegeben haben, dass ab 2026 konventionelle Mittelstreckenwaffen in Deutschland stationiert werden sollen, stehen die neuen Waffensysteme im Fokus der sicherheitspolitischen Diskussion. Dabei werden Rolle und Bedeutung der Systeme hauptsächlich unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Abschreckung diskutiert. Allerdings spielen sie auch eine zentrale Rolle im neuen Multi-Domain-Operationskonzept der US-Armee. Um alle Dimensionen der geplanten…

Russia’s war against Ukraine has echoed in Northern Europe and in the Arctic, where Russia is one of the most influential actors. The region’s security landscape has been significantly transformed after Finland and Sweden, two countries that had previously preferred cooperation with NATO over full membership, joined the Alliance. Because Finland shares a common land border with Russia, its decision was met internationally with reserved understanding. Sweden, however, is in a comparatively…