Peace Blog
The views expressed in the blog are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the IIP.
At first glance, there is little that connects China and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The Organization emerged as a platform for dialogue between East and West during the Cold War and was transformed into a permanent institution in 1995 with the main mandate to increase security based on a cooperative approach for its 57 participating States as well as for the more than one billion citizens living in those countries.
On 9th and 10th of December 2021 President Biden will receive representatives from „democratic“ countries for the „democracy summit“ he is eager to organize. For him this was already during the election campaign an important endeavor to underline the difference to countries like Russia and China. Certainly, one cannot speak of high democratic standards in these two countries. But there are many countries in our world, invited by President Biden, where democracy is far from being perfect. India and Pakistan, Serbia and Poland are countries where we see grave deficiencies in implementing democratic standards - especially under the present leadership.
Es ist schon erstaunlich wie die Diskussion über den Kolonialismus in jüngster Zeit wiederbelebt wurde. Das trifft auch auf Deutschland zu, wo vor allem die Eröffnung des Humboldt Forum in Berlin und hier wieder der Umzug der außereuropäischen Sammlungen aus dem Museum im Bezirk Dahlem ins Humboldt Forum die Debatte über die Herkunft der gesammelten Werke und damit über den - deutschen - Kolonialismus beflügelt hat. Diese Debatte ist aber Teil einer internationalen Auseinandersetzung über den Kolonialismus und wie sich der Westen den Verbrechen der Vergangenheit stellen soll. Das betrifft ja nicht nur die eigentlichen Kolonialmächte, sondern alle Länder die vom Kolonialismus profitiert haben.
The recent withdrawal of US and NATO troops and the „end“ of the endeavor of the West to change Afghanistan by military force, must be used to reconsider Western global policies. It became obvious that Western -or any other - policy for regime- and societal- (!) change must run into a disaster, if it is vague in its goals, poor in its pre-assessment and if it lacks cultural, historical and religious characteristics under specific circumstances.
A reassessment of neutrality is necessary. The old Swiss concept of “sitting still” should be left behind. False diplomatic caution should be replaced by a courageous and aggressive advocacy of self-evident values. Austria is good example of how neutral states should use their special status to engage in international crisis management. In a polarized world, neutral states will become even more relevant.
It is not too late to invite the UN to play a bigger role, for example by organizing a regional conference and in positioning peace contingents in accordance with a coalition government in Kabul. Such an UN contingent will not be cheap to put together and maintain. But for peace in this volatile region, it would be much less expensive than the costs of the past war.
This year’s Architecture Biennale of Venice goes under the theme “How we will live together?” The question concerns not only this year’s Biennale but all our considerations about deteriorating climate, numerous ongoing conflicts and natural disasters that many of us have experienced, including in Europe this summer. The Biennale is vastly extending the term „architecture“ and defines it as a vital contribution to our natural, built and social environment. Architecture as one way of changing our environment is also affecting our social life. As this year’s Biennale is underlining the togetherness, it presents ideas which are relevant for local communities, for example for relations between different ethnicities in one region or state, or even beyond state borders.
Van der Leyen as President Elect of the European Commission made it clear in her speech in the European Parliament, that she has a geopolitical Commission in her mind. It is not known what kind of strategy and instruments she had in mind when she promoted that vision. As a former minister of defense, she could have thought about military instruments. But the EU has very few military means and that will not be changed soon. So what else could it be? If we think about the great geopolitical powers, the US and increasingly China, it is the economy which gives them strength – besides their military capacity. Certainly, the economic capacity of the EU is an asset which could and should be used geopolitically.
