Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Kuhn Rikon macht einen Fünftel des Umsatzes in den USA. Doch die US-Zölle belasten die Zürcher Firma – insbesondere die auf Stahl und Aluminium. Geschäftsführer Tobias Gerfin gibt Einblick, wie seine Angestellten die zusätzliche Arbeit stemmen.

Die Abteilung Energie, Verkehr, Umwelt des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) sucht zur Mitarbeit im Forschungsprojekt Wärme-ZIEL zum 1. Februar 2026 eine studentische Hilfskraft (w/m/div) für 10 Wochenstunden.

Das Forschungsprojekt Wärme-ZIEL ist am 1. November 2025 gestartet und begleitet die Umsetzung der kommunalen Wärmewende im Raum Lüneburg mit Praxispartner*innen aus den Kommunen und der Energiewirtschaft.

Luzerns schwer enttäuschter Coach Mario Frick will nach der Blamage gegen den FC Winterthur partout kein Schönredner sein und zensuriert sich selber. Beim Tabellenletzten hingegen ist Klartext für Freistoss-Künstler Pajtim Kasami kein Problem.

L'Istrie fut une terre de résistance, où la mémoire des partisans de la Seconde Guerre mondiale reste plus présente qu'ailleurs en Croatie. Pas seulement avec d'imposants monuments brutaliste, mais aussi par des témoignages plus diffus et plus intimes, dans tous les petits villages de la péninsule. Diaporama.

- Articles / Mémoires Italie, Courrier des Balkans, Croatie, Histoire, Yougonostalgie, Une - Diaporama

Decembertől Peter Janků vezeti a Szlovák Rádiót – közölte Zuzana Vicelová, az STVR kommunikációs osztályának vezetője. Martina Flašíková, az STVR vezérigazgatója szerint Janků kinevezése világos jelzés, hogy a közszolgálati rádió a kulturált párbeszéd, a pluralizmus és a professzionális zsurnalisztika megjelenítője.

A nyilvánosság segítségét kéri a losonci rendőrség a 14 éves gömörsídi (Šíd/Losonci járás) Ivan megtalálásához, akit szerdán (11. 26.) láttak legutóbb Füleken, azóta nincs hír róla.

Die Spitzen von CDU, CSU und SPD wollen das Rentenpaket unverändert im Bundestag beschließen. Dies kommentiert Rentenexperte Peter Haan, Leiter der Abteilung Staat im DIW Berlin:

Die Einigung zum Rentenpaket im Koalitionsausschuss sendet ein wichtiges Signal: Der Reformbedarf ist erkannt, der politische Druck zum Handeln nimmt zu. Positiv ist, dass die Rentenkommission zügig Empfehlungen erarbeiten soll, um noch in dieser Legislatur eine Reform zu ermöglichen. Gleichzeitig bleiben zentrale Schwachstellen bestehen: Finanzierungsfragen sind nicht geklärt und werden in die Zukunft verschoben. Der Auftrag an die Kommission ist ambitioniert, und die Erwartungen an ihre Durchsetzungskraft ist kaum realistisch. Eine Besetzung mit Wissenschaftler*innen und Politiker*innen kann die Konsensbildung fördern. Doch die Kommission kann nur erfolgreich sein, wenn sie nicht von parteipolitischen Konflikten geprägt wird. Zudem bleibt die Herausforderung, alle gesellschaftlichen Gruppen einzubeziehen, enorm groß – ohne breiten Konsens dürfte die Halbwertszeit der Beschlüsse begrenzt sein.

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological developments such as artificial intelligence, digital transformations affect almost all areas of social, economic, and environmental life. Emerging as a tool for addressing challenges – but also as a source of new problems or as an amplifier of existing challenges – digital transformation has increasingly become the focus of initiatives at the European Union (EU) level. Since 2015, the EU has developed a comprehensive digital agenda spanning various policy domains, ranging from bolstering the single market to addressing foreign and security policy concerns. This paper examines the evolving landscape of digitalisation-related EU policies through the lens of strategy documents and policy guidelines, with particular emphasis on developments between 2020 and 2025. It explores the EU’s overarching approach towards digitalisation – its conceptualisation, objectives, and self-defined role in shaping the digital revolution. The analysis reveals that the EU addresses digitalisation through a multitude of policy-specific strategies and guidelines, characterised by four predominant strategic narratives: A geopolitical (“digital sovereignty”), an environmental (“twin transitions”), a socio-political (“fundamental rights”), and an economic (“growth and competitiveness”) narrative.

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological developments such as artificial intelligence, digital transformations affect almost all areas of social, economic, and environmental life. Emerging as a tool for addressing challenges – but also as a source of new problems or as an amplifier of existing challenges – digital transformation has increasingly become the focus of initiatives at the European Union (EU) level. Since 2015, the EU has developed a comprehensive digital agenda spanning various policy domains, ranging from bolstering the single market to addressing foreign and security policy concerns. This paper examines the evolving landscape of digitalisation-related EU policies through the lens of strategy documents and policy guidelines, with particular emphasis on developments between 2020 and 2025. It explores the EU’s overarching approach towards digitalisation – its conceptualisation, objectives, and self-defined role in shaping the digital revolution. The analysis reveals that the EU addresses digitalisation through a multitude of policy-specific strategies and guidelines, characterised by four predominant strategic narratives: A geopolitical (“digital sovereignty”), an environmental (“twin transitions”), a socio-political (“fundamental rights”), and an economic (“growth and competitiveness”) narrative.

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological developments such as artificial intelligence, digital transformations affect almost all areas of social, economic, and environmental life. Emerging as a tool for addressing challenges – but also as a source of new problems or as an amplifier of existing challenges – digital transformation has increasingly become the focus of initiatives at the European Union (EU) level. Since 2015, the EU has developed a comprehensive digital agenda spanning various policy domains, ranging from bolstering the single market to addressing foreign and security policy concerns. This paper examines the evolving landscape of digitalisation-related EU policies through the lens of strategy documents and policy guidelines, with particular emphasis on developments between 2020 and 2025. It explores the EU’s overarching approach towards digitalisation – its conceptualisation, objectives, and self-defined role in shaping the digital revolution. The analysis reveals that the EU addresses digitalisation through a multitude of policy-specific strategies and guidelines, characterised by four predominant strategic narratives: A geopolitical (“digital sovereignty”), an environmental (“twin transitions”), a socio-political (“fundamental rights”), and an economic (“growth and competitiveness”) narrative.

ÄNDERUNGSANTRÄGE 1 - 278 - Entwurf eines Berichts Strategische Verteidigungs- und Sicherheitspartnerschaften der EU
Ausschuss für Sicherheit und Verteidigung
Michał Szczerba

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

Die Sozialwissenschaftlerin Sabine Zinn leitet ab sofort das Sozio-oekonomische Panel (SOEP) im Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) und tritt dem DIW-Vorstand bei. Das DIW-Kuratorium hat sie bereits im Mai in diese Positionen berufen. Mit der Vertragsunterzeichnung wird ihre ...

Panagiota Manoli and George Tzogopoulos, Senior Research Fellows at ELIAMEP, provide a first assessment of the ongoing peace talks concerning the war in Ukraine. (in Greek)

This article examines the impact of environmental stringency on firm efficiency, using a large cross-country dataset of 68 developing countries from 2006-2020. We combine the newly published Environmental Performance Index (EPI) as an indicator of the stringency of environmental regulations with firm data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES). Our results indicate that stricter environmental policies significantly increase firm efficiency, and the effect is robust. Moreover, we find that the intensity of environmental stringency matters, and that firm size, firm pollution intensity, and institutional quality also influence the relationship between environmental stringency and efficiency. Thus, our results support the Porter hypothesis in the case of developing countries.

This article examines the impact of environmental stringency on firm efficiency, using a large cross-country dataset of 68 developing countries from 2006-2020. We combine the newly published Environmental Performance Index (EPI) as an indicator of the stringency of environmental regulations with firm data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES). Our results indicate that stricter environmental policies significantly increase firm efficiency, and the effect is robust. Moreover, we find that the intensity of environmental stringency matters, and that firm size, firm pollution intensity, and institutional quality also influence the relationship between environmental stringency and efficiency. Thus, our results support the Porter hypothesis in the case of developing countries.

This article examines the impact of environmental stringency on firm efficiency, using a large cross-country dataset of 68 developing countries from 2006-2020. We combine the newly published Environmental Performance Index (EPI) as an indicator of the stringency of environmental regulations with firm data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES). Our results indicate that stricter environmental policies significantly increase firm efficiency, and the effect is robust. Moreover, we find that the intensity of environmental stringency matters, and that firm size, firm pollution intensity, and institutional quality also influence the relationship between environmental stringency and efficiency. Thus, our results support the Porter hypothesis in the case of developing countries.

In this chapter we draw on our research with displaced people, conflict, violence, gender, and humanitarian aid between 2006 and 2024 in different African countries, which we conducted separately but were brought together by these shared research interests. We address the nexus between conflict, peace, and forced migration using examples from Africa. We situate the discussion within the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras, which we take not as mere footnotes but as salient periods in the continent’s history that have influenced current conflicts and forced displacement in Africa. We therefore emphasize the role of history in understanding contemporary conflicts and forced migration on the continent. In doing so, we critique Western research perspectives on forms of violence and their ahistorical explanations of contemporary violent conflicts in Africa. We explain the role of colonial borders not only in engendering conflict but also in creating structural obstacles for refugees to contribute to transformation in countries of origin. We also critique the separation of peacebuilding in the countries of origin from refugee protection in host countries and highlight this as a limitation of global (i.e., Western) perspectives on peacebuilding.

In this chapter we draw on our research with displaced people, conflict, violence, gender, and humanitarian aid between 2006 and 2024 in different African countries, which we conducted separately but were brought together by these shared research interests. We address the nexus between conflict, peace, and forced migration using examples from Africa. We situate the discussion within the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras, which we take not as mere footnotes but as salient periods in the continent’s history that have influenced current conflicts and forced displacement in Africa. We therefore emphasize the role of history in understanding contemporary conflicts and forced migration on the continent. In doing so, we critique Western research perspectives on forms of violence and their ahistorical explanations of contemporary violent conflicts in Africa. We explain the role of colonial borders not only in engendering conflict but also in creating structural obstacles for refugees to contribute to transformation in countries of origin. We also critique the separation of peacebuilding in the countries of origin from refugee protection in host countries and highlight this as a limitation of global (i.e., Western) perspectives on peacebuilding.

In this chapter we draw on our research with displaced people, conflict, violence, gender, and humanitarian aid between 2006 and 2024 in different African countries, which we conducted separately but were brought together by these shared research interests. We address the nexus between conflict, peace, and forced migration using examples from Africa. We situate the discussion within the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial eras, which we take not as mere footnotes but as salient periods in the continent’s history that have influenced current conflicts and forced displacement in Africa. We therefore emphasize the role of history in understanding contemporary conflicts and forced migration on the continent. In doing so, we critique Western research perspectives on forms of violence and their ahistorical explanations of contemporary violent conflicts in Africa. We explain the role of colonial borders not only in engendering conflict but also in creating structural obstacles for refugees to contribute to transformation in countries of origin. We also critique the separation of peacebuilding in the countries of origin from refugee protection in host countries and highlight this as a limitation of global (i.e., Western) perspectives on peacebuilding.

Critical minerals (CMs) have become a strategic priority for the European Union (EU) amid the green and digital transitions. These resources – including lithium, cobalt, rare earths and nickel – are essential for clean energy technologies, defence systems and electronics. Yet, their processing and refining are highly concentrated in a few countries, leaving the EU especially vulnerable to supply disruptions and fuelling geopolitical tensions.

Recent shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have further exposed the fragility of supply chains. At the same time, extracting and trading CMs pose severe environmental and social challenges, from high carbon footprints to local community impacts. EU trade policy is therefore confronted with a trilemma: how to safeguard economic competitiveness, ensure en­vironmental sustainability and enhance security of supply.

This policy brief summarises research tracing how the Euro­pean Commission’s trade discourse on CMs has evolved to address the trilemma (Laurens, 2025). Initially, com­muni­cations focused narrowly on free trade and market access for raw materials. Gradually, sustainability and security considerations entered the narrative. Most recently, the EU has embraced a hybrid framing, simultaneously highlighting economic, environ­mental and security objectives in its trade discourse on CMs.

Although this hybrid discursive approach can help build broader support for CM policies and agreements by appealing to diverse stakeholders, it also demands careful policy design to minimise trade-offs and deliver on its promises. Without credible implementation and genuine integration of economic, environmental and security objectives, hybrid framing risks remaining largely rhetorical and failing to steer policy in practice.

Key policy messages:

• The EU should adopt an integrated approach that effectively addresses economic, sustainability and security goals together while anticipating trade-offs to support more robust CM policies. This requires strong coordination across trade, industry, environ­ment and security-related directorates-general to align CM strategies, avoid policy conflicts and maximise synergies. It may also require short-term economic sacrifices for long-term resilience.
• Early and meaningful engagement with research institutions, civil society, local communities and industry should move beyond formal consultation and enable genuine co-creation of solutions. Dialogue should begin before key decisions on CMs are finalised, incorporate stakeholder input trans­parently, and respond to concerns about sustain­ability and security of supply.
• CM policies and agreements should provide for binding obligations and concrete implementation plans to ensure environmental and labour pro­tection, local value addition, skills development and technology transfer in resource-rich but eco­nomically vulnerable regions. Listening to partner governments and local communities as well as investing in the knowledge of local political, social and environ­mental contexts are essential for building trust and long-term partnerships.
• International cooperation on CMs should be strengthened through inclusive arrangements that involve both major consumers and producing countries. Clubs composed primarily of resource-poor but wealthy economies risk being perceived as exclusionary.