Ein Untersuchungsausschuss des Bundestages befasst sich mit den letzten anderthalb Jahren des Einsatzes in Afghanistan und vor allem mit dem desaströs verlaufenen Abzug. Zudem beleuchtet eine Enquete-Kommission des deutschen Parlaments das gesamte internationale Engagement von 2001 bis 2021 und formuliert Lehren für die Zukunft. Während die Befunde dieser beiden Gremien abzuwarten bleiben, gibt es bereits zahlreiche Publikationen zum Scheitern des internationalen Einsatzes in Afghanistan. Ein Teil dieser Ursachenforschung legt Folgerungen nahe, die ein kritisches Abwägen des Ob und Wie künftiger Einsätze erschweren.
The paper examines the role of conflict-generated diasporas and their agency in state-sanctioned truth-seeking processes by asking how such a process impacts the diaspora community in the country of residence and what purpose the process serves the diaspora. It builds on the case study of the Colombian diaspora in Switzerland as the Colombian Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-repetition (Comisión para el Esclarecimiento de la Verdad, la Convivencia y la No Repetición; CEV) from 2018-2022 was the first truth commission to officially have a mandate to include diaspora communities in their truth-seeking.
"Russia's actions in and around Ukraine in 2014, as well as its activities in Syria and further afield, sparked renewed debate about the character of war and armed conflict, and whether it was undergoing a fundamental shift. Since 2014 there has been wide-ranging discussion about Russia's "new way of war", with labels such as hybrid warfare, grey-zone operations and the Gerasimov doctrine dominating Western analyses. However, there has been scant analysis of Russian perspectives on the changing character of conflict and what future wars may look like: Western attempts to understand how and why Russia uses force have tended to rely upon mirror-imaging and an expectation of similar strategic behaviors. This book explores Russian views of the changing character of conflict and the debates that have emerged about how future wars might evolve. It sets out the trends and debates in Russian military thought, outlining the implications of Russian conclusions regarding the characteristics of contemporary and future conflict"--
The Americanization of European Union Democracy Promotion: Ideology, Diversity, and United States Hegemony is a timely and thought-provoking exploration of the origins, development and growing prominence of international democracy promotion in the past hundred years. Building upon the vast literature on the topic, chapters look at the EU as a global governance actor and map its multilevel governance system in democracy promotion, contextualising and comparing this with the United States hegemonic design, which has become a fundamental instrument of national foreign policy in the past two decades. Creating a comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences between the EU and US approaches, José M. Magone examines various EU models of democracy, analysing how different national democracy understandings in Europe coexist with the technocratic liberal European one. The book ultimately argues that since 2004 the EU has aligned with a more aggressive ideological US hegemonic model of democracy promotion that has its roots in Wilsonian international liberalism.
In March 2015, the outcome of an overlooked but vital war hung in the balance. The strategic city of Aden - once the world's busiest port - had been invaded by a curios mixture of Iran-backed Houthi mountain fighters and the Republic Guard armoured troops of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the deposed president who had ruled Yemen for decades by playing off one enemy against another. If they seized Aden, their coup against the UN-backed government would be complete and Iran would have a new proxy able to close the Suez Canal and threaten the holy cities of Makkah and Medina. Opposing the invaders was a ragtag force of surviving loyalist army units and Adenese civilians. Most had never been soldiers and they had less than one gun per man, but they were defending their own city - the capital of the independence-seeking southern Yemenis. As Houthi forces clawed their way into the iconic city, which is literally built into the crater and slopes of a dormant volcano, a new force entered the fray. Answering Yemen's call for military support at the United Nations, a coalition of Arab countries stepped up to the challenge and threw their weight behind Aden's defenders. 25 Days to Aden is the true story of how, in just one week in 2015, the Gulf States pulled together a ten-nation coalition and launched the biggest military operation they had ever unilaterally undertaken. If the US is truly a global empire in decline, then this unique story may hold important pointers for a future of warfare driven by emergent powers in the gap left by the withdrawal of American influence.
In the last decade, rulers in Gulf regimes have aspired to greater strategic autonomy and distance from the West. Coined the "Gulf moment" by local commentators, this regional trend reflects a redistribution of power in the Arab world. This is the first book to examine the military dimensions of these shifts. Gulf military strategy has prioritised the improvement of local armed forces and the diversification of defence partnerships towards countries such as Russia, Turkey or China. However, this book shows how this has led to the militarisation of Gulf societies, the further erosion of multilateral initiatives - including the Gulf Cooperation Council - and the Gulf's perilous involvement in the war in Yemen. The book also highlights enduring reliance on the West. Each chapter covers a key aspect of defence policy from governance of armed forces, military education and power projection capabilities to regional security cooperation and lessons from warfighting experiences. Close attention is paid to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, countries that have enjoyed prominent roles in the region's security affairs during the last ten years. The research is based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with major decision-makers, officials, and diplomatic and military representatives. It is also uses recently declassified official documents to gain rare insight into what Gulf countries intend for their defence policies
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 aims to reduce harmful tax avoidance and evasion by multinational enterprises (MNEs), which creates large losses in governments' revenues. In times of multiple crises, many governments urgently seek additional revenue sources to finance public expenditures for sustainable development. In particular, many low- and lower-middle-income countries have tax-to-GDP ratios of less than 15 per cent, which is insufficient to provide basic public goods such as health, education and infrastructure for their populations. This policy brief evaluates the achievements and remaining challenges of the BEPS Project to mobilise more domestic revenues, in particular in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). After the financial crisis of 2009, the G20 mandated the OECD with the design and implementation of the BEPS Project. The goal was to identify and tackle the most pressing issues that led to the erosion of corporate tax bases in their member countries. A key issue is the phenomenon that MNEs avoid large amounts of tax by shifting their profits from affiliates in high-tax countries to affiliates in low-tax countries. In 2013, the OECD presented its 15-point agenda to tackle BEPS in OECD member states. However, global tax avoidance and profit shifting can only be effectively addressed if a large number of countries is on board. Thus, in 2016, the Project opened for non-OECD/G20 countries to join the Inclusive Framework on BEPS and the implementation process of the BEPS Action Plan. However, tax administrations of many LMICs complain about the highly complex rules designed under the BEPS Action Plan that are not adapted to their context-specific capacities and needs. Today, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS has 145 member countries, and the implementation of the BEPS Action Plan is almost finished. Preliminary academic evidence shows that the overall impact of the BEPS Project in reducing global tax avoidance and profit shifting is indeed limited. According to recent estimates, tax revenue losses due to profit shifting even increased from 9 to 10 per cent in the first years when anti-BEPS measures were implemented (see Wier & Zucman, 2022). Since there is no counterfactual world in which the BEPS Project did not take place, we can only assume that tax avoidance would have increased even more in the absence of the Project. However, the BEPS Project is still considered the biggest overhaul of global tax rules since the last century. Positive achievements include increased awareness of MNEs' profit shifting behaviour, as well as the agreement on a global minimum tax. To tackle BEPS challenges more successfully – globally and in particular in LMICs – international tax coopera¬tion needs to become more effective in three dimensions: Inclusive decision-making process: Countries should show more political will to combat tax avoidance and stop blocking more comprehensive international tax reforms. Truly inclusive cooperation between OECD and non-OECD countries is needed. Mandatory implementation: Many BEPS Actions were voluntary standards and, thus, not many countries introduced them into their domestic tax laws. To fight BEPS effectively, more mandatory tax rules need to be included in future reform packages. Simplified rules: Several BEPS Actions were watered down and became highly complex because individual countries bargained for carve-outs. Future inter¬national tax rules need to be more ambitious and simplified in this regard. Bilateral and multilateral development cooperation agencies should provide low-income countries with capacity building and assistance in implementing tax rules.
