What happens when digital systems outgrow the Earth that sustains them? Computing has always consumed energy and water, but the growing ambitions of the AI industry are pushing demand to an unprecedented scale. As pressures mount, data centers in orbit around the Earth have been pitched as a solution. But space is no escape, and what is framed as a technical fix risks entrenching digital…

Georgia has been an EU candidate country since December 2023. In 2024, the Georgian parliament passed the so-called foreign agent law, which was modelled on Russian legislation. Reporters Without Borders documented more than 600 attacks on journalists in ​​a single year. Both the ruling party and the opposition claim to support Europe. However, Georgia’s candidacy was effectively terminated in…

Die afghanischen Auslandsvertretungen in Deutschland werden zunehmend durch Taliban-Vertreter kontrolliert. Dies betrifft die Botschaft in Berlin, das Generalkonsulat in Bonn sowie das Generalkonsulat in München, wie verschiedene Medien berichten (zum Beispiel: Tagesschau; Deutschlandfunk/ARD-Recherche; Reuters; DIE ZEIT ). Die Kontrolle der Vertretungen durch die Taliban kann nicht auf die Frage…

Recent protests in Iran have been increasingly dominated by voices that represent a backlash against the feminist foundations of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. What began as a movement centered on women’s rights, bodily autonomy, and resistance to systemic gender discrimination has gradually been reframed through a masculinist narrative that frames itself as the sole voice of Iran. In doing…

The U.S. nuclear umbrella isn’t watertight, the French Eurodeterrent isn’t fully stretched out, and a German A-bomb would have painful consequences for the country. This PRIF-Blog therefore concludes that the triad of an effective European conventional defense, arms control, and active diplomacy offers the best protection against nuclear threats from Russia. Especially since Trump has withdrawn…

The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by both Iran and the US. The result is a disruption of a large share of the supply of global crude oil and gas, but also petrochemical feedstock materials for fertilizers. While this energy and resource shock is truly global in reach, its impact is felt differently in different world regions, as this joint PRIF blog article shows. 

Within displacement camps across Benue State, Nigeria, governance is increasingly shaped by informal digital practices that emerge alongside weakened institutional response systems. Support structures are overstretched and camp conditions remain precarious, while governance is often assumed to rest solely with external actors. Yet within these spaces, displaced youth are forging alternative…

Quase cinco meses depois de um golpe de Estado ter interrompido o processo eleitoral na Guiné-Bissau, a violência política e a repressão contra civis e contra os meios de comunicação social têm contribuído para uma transição política sem fim corroendo as perspetivas democráticas. Numa dinâmica conversacional, reunimos as nossas perspetivas enquanto investigadora em paz e conflitos, jornalista e…