Peace Blog
The views expressed in the blog are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the IIP.
Recently, US foreign minister Mike Pompeo visited Central Europe including Austria. Pompeo is a fervent follower and spokesman of President Trump. Both practice a special form of a nationalistic policy. This became also clear from the report of former security advisors John Bolton when he described his differences with President Trump. Trump has of course the interests of the United States on his mind -as he sees them - but primarily he wants to follow his own personal interest.
In the last weeks the world lost two strong and determined peace makers: John Lewis in the US and John Hume in Ireland. Interestingly, both have been influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King. Both had strong convictions and were victims of vicious attacks, but both were representing politics of peaceful change and non-violence.
July 2020 marked one of the most intense escalations in the more than thirty-year-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the occupied Azerbaijani territories – Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. The sudden clashes, which occurred on 12–14 July on the state border between the two sides in the direction of the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan, geographically far from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, resulted in the loss of up to 20 military servicemen on both sides. The recent historical background of these clashes and the developments following them demonstrate that the two conflicting countries have entered a period that is likely to be more dangerous and unstable for the peace and security of the region.
Die dramatischen humanitären Konsequenzen der Atombombenabwürfe der USA auf Hiroshima und Nagasaki vor 75 Jahren sind oft erörtert worden. Die offizielle Erzählung der USA ist, dass sie zur Beendigung des Weltkrieges in Asien unerlässlich gewesen wären. Historische Forschung stellt diese Darstellung allerdings immer mehr in Frage.
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.
