Peace Blog
The views expressed in the blog are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the IIP.
Normalerweise bedeuten und bringen die EU Ratspräsidentschaften keine besonders aufregenden Ereignisse und Ergebnisse. Sie ändern kaum den Lauf der Dinge. Dennoch ist ein deutscher EU Vorsitz, noch dazu mit Merkel als „Chefin“ ( das letzte Mal ?) etwas besonderes. Besonders sind aber vor allem die Herausforderungen, denen sich heute die EU und damit der aktuelle Ratsvorsitz stellen muß.
Seventy-five years after unleashing this terrible weapon, it is time to consign it to the trash heap of history. Nuclear weapons have no role in our world. Their only purpose is lethal destruction and the use of precious resources that should be put to better use. The current pandemic reminds us of the fragility of life on our planet: we don’t need a better argument to help preserve it for future generations.
The ongoing clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan started on July 12 in the territory of Tavush Province in the Republic of Armenia and across the border of Tovuz District in Azerbaijan. Within four days of the outbreak of the conflict, both sides are using heavy artillery, tanks, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Russia, the EU, the US and the OSCE Minsk Group have called for both sides to stop fighting and start negotiations. What steps must the international community take?
Russia and China have opted for cooperation over competition in the Eurasian mainland, as they announced about the cooperation of the EAEU with the Chinese BRI. Moscow and Beijing have significant experience in collaboration on a multilateral level. One of the best examples is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which the two powers founded in 2001 alongside their partners to maintain and ensure peace, security, and stability in Central Asia and promote effective cooperation in politics, trade, economics, research, technology, energy, transport, and other areas. Currently, the SCO on the one hand faces new challenges due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Sino-Indian border clashes, and the changing world order, but on the other hand it can use these challenges as opportunities and play an important role in new developments as a platform for strengthening peace and cooperation.
Der letzte Wahlkampf in Israel war vor allem durch das Versprechen bzw. die Drohung durch Natanyahu , weitere Gebiete Palästinas zu annektieren gekennzeichnet. Das vorgesehene Datum des ersten Juli ist ohne konkrete Aktionen verstrichen. Aber die Annexion etlicher Siedlungsgebiete bleibt auf der Tagesordnung. Anstatt Friedenspläne zu entwickeln und vorzulegen, werden Annexionspläne gewälzt. Ein selbstständiges Palästina rückt in immer weitere Ferne.
The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the inadequacy of decades-old concepts pretending to be indispensable for both national and international security. The virus does not respect any borders, political views, economic strength, or ambition as superior. As in previous pandemics, death is the great equalizer. The pandemic has underlined that security, whether on the national or international scale, is always human security: the security of people living in a certain state or, more broadly, on our globe. The fallacy of juxtaposing human and national security has become evident.
The recent rerun of Malawi’s presidential elections following the Constitutional Court’s annulment has put a check on anti-democratic tendencies by its former president, but the credit for this victory goes entirely to Malawi’s tenacious judiciary and not to the international observers who are meant to support it.
The tragic death of George Floyd was the starting point for many demonstrations against racism around the world. For the US, it was just another violent killing of a black man by the police. The history of the US is full of such brutal police actions. The mixture or combination of racism and police brutality have resulted all too often in the death of black lives. “Black lives matter“ is therefore an appropriate response to actions that prove that for part of US society - and especially many in the police force - black lives do not matter. But is is not only police brutality that proves that black lives do not matter, or at least matter less.
Just a few years ago, there would probably have been astonishment about the title since it was the US (and often forgotten, the Soviet Union) that liberated Europe from the Nazi regime. This historical experience laid the foundation for a long-lasting alliance between Europe and the US. So how come the friends are now drifting apart?
