Suchergebnisse

In early 2023, the Turkish government expressed exceptionally open public criticism of China concerning the rights of the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang region. Notably, in his end-of-year press conference in December 2022, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Cavuşoğlu, said that bilateral relations between Turkey and China had deteriorated because Beijing was "disturbed" … Continued

In the wake of Erdogan's electoral victory, Türkiye will continue to deepen ties with the Tripoli government, but may also seek reconciliation with Benghazi.

Maybe it’s the sense of the passing of the seasons and the proximity of the next British general election, but recently I’ve been asked a lot about whether a Labour government would make a bold move on EU relations. Mujtaba Rahman has obviously also been finding this, with his report today about various member states […]
The post What might Labour do on UK-EU relations? appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Maybe it’s the sense of the passing of the seasons and the proximity of the next British general election, but recently I’ve been asked a lot about whether a Labour government would make a bold move on EU relations. Mujtaba Rahman has obviously also been finding this, with his report today about various member states […]
The post What might Labour do on UK-EU relations? appeared first on EUatOU.

As the war in Ukraine moves into its third year, Russo-Japanese relations continue to deteriorate from the level that existed prior to the Russian invasion in 2022. Relations between the two countries have never been smooth. Relations have been hampered since World War II by the inability to conclude a treaty formally ending hostilities between the two countries and a disagreement resulting from an old territorial dispute involving a chain of Pacific islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kuriles. Even before the Ukraine conflict, Tokyo had complained about increased Russian military deployments on the islands. Despite these lingering post-World War II hostilities, Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2020, helped foster warmer relations with Moscow as he attempted to court Russia as a buffer against China, Japan's greatest security threat. According to TASS, Putin and Abe met in person over 25 times and held about ten phone calls. Their last meeting took place in the fall of 2019 and their last telephone conversation was held on August 31, 2020, when Putin called Abe.The cornerstone of the Putin-Abe relationship was based on strong personal respect as well as mutual interests in increased trade, particularly to feed Japan's need for commodities. Abe also saw Russia as a potential buffer against an increasingly hostile China. In 2013, Russo-Japan trade approached a record $34.8 billion and remained strong throughout the decade despite fluctuating oil prices. As recently as 2021, total trade turnover was still above $20 billion, with 45% percent consisting of fuel exports to Japan. After the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, Tokyo revoked Russia's most-favored-nation status as part of a series of economic sanctions, including asset freezes targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian central bank. According to The Japan Times: "without the most-favored-nation status under the World Trade Organization rules…tariffs imposed on salmon imported from Russia have been raised to 5% from 3.5% and those on crab to 6% from 4%." As a result of these and fuel-related sanctions, total trade amounted to barely $10 billion in 2023.A decrease in imports of Russian coal by 67.1%, as well as a 44.9% drop in supplies of cars to Russia and Japanese spare parts and components by 32.5% amid sanctions against Moscow were the main factors behind the contraction of trade turnover. Energy resources and transport vehicles still account for over 69% of total trade turnover. Despite the decrease in total trade, a February report from JETRO, the Japanese External Trade Organization, claims that 156 companies and economic organizations were active in Russia before 2022 and 35% reported they continue business without any changes.Until the fall of 2023, Japan's $12.1 billion contribution to Ukraine over the past two years consisted mostly of financial and humanitarian aid as its military equipment provisions have primarily been limited to non-lethal weapons. However, in December, Moscow reacted angrily when Japan stated it would be prepared to ship Patriot air defense missiles to the United States after revising its arms export guidelines. This represents Tokyo's first major overhaul of such export curbs in nine years. Although Japan's new export controls still prevent it from shipping weapons to countries that are at war, it may "indirectly benefit Ukraine in its war with Russia as it gives the United States extra capacity to provide military aid to Kiev."The diplomatic situation has taken on a more contentious character recently as well.The Moscow Times reports that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on February 20 "slammed Japan's prime minister after he said his government remains committed to signing a peace treaty with Moscow to resolve the territorial dispute over an island chain claimed by Tokyo." Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a policy speech to parliament earlier that day that Tokyo "remains fully committed" to negotiations over what Japan refers to as the Northern Territories and signing an agreement formally ending World War II. Kishida also said that his government's support of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia "would not waver." Mevedev responded on X: "We don't give a damn about the 'feelings of the Japanese' concerning the so-called 'Northern territories." He added, "They're not 'disputed territories,' but Russia." This is indicative of the stance the Russian government has taken to Japan as an "unfriendly" country.Japan has also taken economic initiatives towards reconstruction in Ukraine that are not pleasing to Moscow. In mid-February, the government of Japan hosted the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction. The conference, organized by the Japanese and Ukrainian governments as well as business organizations and JETRO, can only be viewed as an indicator of Japanese geopolitical priorities in support of the status quo in Europe. Moreover, Japanese efforts to spearhead reconstruction efforts send a clear indication that its priorities are allied with the United States and Europe Union. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Japanese and Ukrainian government agencies and companies signed more than 50 deals, Japan pledged 15.8 billion yen ($105 million) in new aid for Ukraine to fund demining and other urgently needed reconstruction projects in the energy and transportation sectors, and President Kishida also announced the opening of a new government trade office Kyiv. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine its military cooperation with China has gotten stronger. Japan views their growing military cooperation as an unprecedented threat as it could become isolated in the region. As a result, it continues to try and demonstrate its commitment to the status quo in terms of supporting international sovereignty and law and order. While Japan's elites would like to continue the stability offered by its Cold War military alliance with the United States and South Korea, they understand the U.S. may no longer share the same interests in the region. Moreover, relations with South Korea are fractured and can make the alliance with the United States dysfunctional at times. This requires Japan to continue to seek openings with Russia that are in its own national interests. Although the Abe administration may have represented the peak for Russo-Japanese relations and such a level of relations is not replicable in the short term (particularly while Russia is still at war with Ukraine) it is in both Russia and Japan's interests to foster cordial relations, if not entirely friendly ones, via business, cultural and other non-government exchanges. Japanese companies still share a desire to resume business operations and invest in Russia once the war concludes in Ukraine. In April 2022, negotiations were concluded between the two countries regarding salmon and trout fishing and other potential fishing agreements could be concluded in the future.In addition, January 2024 saw double the number of Russian visitors to Japan as in January 2023. These are just two areas for positive interaction. However, a considerable measure of restraint will be required as a long war with Ukraine may erode possibilities even in these areas.

Taiwanese voters elected Vice President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as their next president on Saturday, which will be the third consecutive presidential win for the party and an indication voters want to stay the course — in policy and in current US-China-Taiwan relations.Whether it will result in heightened tensions between the island and mainland China, and Beijing and Washington, remains to be seen, and will likely be determined by the public actions and reactions by each party in the immediate days and weeks.Despite a late tightening of the presidential race between Lai and his main opponent, Hou You-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT), the candidate of the incumbent party prevailed with 40% of the vote in a three-way race that included Ko Wen-je of the Taiwanese People's Party.The failure of the two main opposition parties to unite on a joint ticket last fall paved the way for Lai's victory. While opposition campaign rhetoric painted a win for Lai as a vote for confrontation and conflict with China, enough Taiwanese voters opted to stick with the policies of outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen to give the DPP the unprecedented third term in office. Lai campaigned on a message of continuity with Tsai. In a popular campaign ad, Tsai and Lai were seen driving in a car together and then the outgoing president got out and let Lai get behind the wheel, saying to him, "You can drive better than me." Despite Tsai's somewhat low overall approval ratings, the appeal to staying on the same course was effective enough to secure Lai the win. Lai's victory is unlikely to trigger a major crisis right away, but it will ensure that cross-Strait dialogue will not resume. The lack of dialogue between Taiwan and China has coincided with and contributed to a period of increasing Chinese pressure and deteriorating relations between the United States and China. As a result, the tensions that have built up between Taiwan and China and between the U.S. and China over the last eight years will remain high for the foreseeable future. The Biden administration was already adding to those tensions last week with the announcement that it would be sending a delegation of former high-level officials to Taiwan after Saturday's election. This move was unwelcome to Beijing, and the Chinese government condemned the decision, saying that the administration should "stop sending wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence separatist forces and refrain from interfering in elections in the Taiwan region in any form."For their part, the Chinese government had been putting additional pressure on Taiwan in the weeks leading up to the election with threats of punitive trade measures. The DPP triumph is not in itself a prelude to war, but it could encourage hardliners in Washington to pursue more aggressive and provocative policies toward China while making the Chinese use of coercive tactics more likely. As the Quincy Institute's Michael Swaine said in response to the election result, Lai's victory "will likely worsen the negative dynamics" in the U.S.-China relationship that he and his colleague James Park discussed in their recent QI brief. Depending on how Lai manages relations with the U.S. in the coming years, there is a danger that his efforts to strengthen ties with Washington will cause a backlash from China that brings all parties closer to a new crisis. Lai has expressed a desire to see a Taiwanese president visit the White House sometime in the future. If Lai were to pursue such a visit, and if the Biden administration indulged him in this, that would almost certainly be met with significant Chinese punitive measures, whether in the form of economic warfare, military drills, or some combination of the two. More modest efforts to build up the relationship with the U.S. may not have such dramatic consequences, but they will contribute to the ongoing strains in U.S.-Chinese relations. The old status quo between the U.S. and China has been steadily eroding for at least the last eight years, and this has accelerated over the last three years under Biden. The bipartisan consensus in Washington in favor of containment and rivalry and ill-conceived gestures of "support" for Taiwan have fed a cycle of threat inflation and overreaction in both countries. Officials in both governments tend to assume the worst about the intentions of the other side, and there are few safeguards in place in the event of a crisis. Cross-Strait relations and relations between the U.S. and China have both suffered significantly since then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei in 2022. Following that and the spy balloon incident, it took almost all of last year for the Biden administration to stabilize the relationship between Washington and Beijing. That has left Taiwan measurably worse off under the "new normal" conditions that have been created. It has also undermined the peace in East Asia that has endured for more than 40 years. It is against this backdrop of growing mutual mistrust and hostility that we need to view the implications of the Taiwanese election results. The U.S. can expect and should prepare for at least four more years of heightened tensions and worsening relations with China.That is why it is imperative that the U.S. approach become much more cautious and responsible than it has been in a long time. The U.S. not only needs to avoid taking provocative actions like extending an explicit security guarantee to Taiwan or restoring normal diplomatic ties, but it must also seek to offer credible assurances to Beijing that it has no interest in encouraging what the Chinese government considers separatism.Reassurance is as important as, and possibly more important than, making deterrent threats. As Bonnie Glaser, Jessica Chen Weiss, and Thomas Christensen recently explained in their article in Foreign Affairs, "For effective deterrence, both threats and assurances must be credible." The U.S. has no trouble in convincing other states that it is prepared to use force. The difficulty is in getting other states to believe that the U.S. can be trusted to leave well enough alone. The U.S. should take care in the coming months not to make any moves that suggest that it is upgrading the relationship with Taiwan. The post-election delegation that Biden is sending should be the last one of its kind for a long time. The Chinese government already perceives a gap between the Biden administration's rhetoric and its actions, so it is crucial that this gap not get any wider than it already is. The administration also needs to communicate privately to the incoming president that he should not take any actions that are likely to antagonize Beijing. Given the political incentives in an election year to engage in gratuitous China-bashing, that may be a tall order, but it is what needs to happen if the U.S. and Taiwan are going to navigate the year ahead without serious incident.

Major League Baseball's 30 clubs recently reported for spring training, signaling that the start of the 2024 season is right around the corner. Half of these teams' pre-season sites are based in the "Grapefruit League" in Florida, a state which at its southernmost point is just 90 miles away from one of baseball's most passionate and talent-laden countries in the world.Last season, after 62 years as a franchise, the Texas Rangers clinched their very first World Series title. Their championship run was surprising after losing 94 games the year before. But perhaps more shocking was the rise of a man known as "El Bombi." The Rangers' most valuable player in the playoffs, Cuban outfielder Adolis García, was largely unheralded prior to the 2023 season. Despite Cuba's geographical proximity to the United States and García's robust talent, García's journey stateside was not a simple one. "El Bombi" journeyed everywhere from Tokyo to Paris to Santo Domingo before eventually landing in North Texas.García's roundabout path to the big leagues is far from uncommon, however. Because of the long-standing friction between the United States and Cuba, any Cuban player wishing to compete in the Major Leagues had to defect through another country. García's whirlwind journey en route to becoming a World Series champion illustrates the importance of normalizing relations between the United States and Cuba, and how baseball can play a central role.Although they are regional neighbors, the United States has enforced an economic embargo against Cuba since 1962 in response to its Communist government. Under this policy, American businesses cannot conduct commerce with Cuba. And although the embargo has endured decades, the policy persists much to the chagrin of the international community. In fact, in every single year since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution asserting that the United States should terminate its embargo on Cuba. This economic policy has tremendous adverse effects. In a report to the United Nations in 2020, Cuba suggested the embargo has resulted in a $144 billion loss.Cuban-American relations improved temporarily during the Obama administration. In 2009, Cuban-Americans were allowed to return home to Cuba. A couple years later, Americans were allowed to visit the island for group and individual people-to-people visits. In 2016, a delegation including President Obama traveled to Cuba to watch an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team. Baseball is considered America's "national pastime," but it may be even more popular in Cuba. For as different as the countries are ideologically, baseball is something that unites both the United States and Cuba, and this was certainly on display in 2016.Despite the significant progress the Obama administration made in Cuba, the Trump administration reinstated many of the prior restrictions. Suddenly, once again, Americans were no longer free to travel to Cuba unless for a specific reason. After Trump lost his reelection bid in 2020, President Biden's tenure has been marked by foreign policy decisions in Gaza, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, Cuba has been less of a priority for the administration.That said, the Biden administration has taken some minor steps towards progress in Cuba. Flights have resumed to Cuba from the United States with some regularity, and certain educational trips as well as professional research and meetings are once again permitted. Additionally, the administration has eased restrictions on remittances back to Cuba and has opened an application for Cuban families to visit the U.S. without waiting on migrant visas.The two sides should re-engage diplomatically, and there are a couple of simple ways to accomplish that with baseball at the crux of it. First, the Biden administration should work with Major League Baseball to bring back exhibition games in Cuba. The 2016 exhibition game was seen by many as a resounding success. It had a profound impact on players, fans, and politicians alike. Revitalizing this game promotes goodwill between the countries with little political risk.Major League Baseball could also contest some of its preseason spring training games there. There's actually precedent for this — the Los Angeles Dodgers once previously called Havana their offseason home. MLB has played several games abroad in recent years to increase its international footprint, including in South Korea and the UK; nearby Cuba seems like another logical destination.Finally, the two governments should work together to create a safe path for Cuban players to play in the United States, and vice versa. Doing so would allow players to compete at the highest level, travel back and forth, bring valuable remittances home, and to represent their country on the global stage. An agreement was struck between MLB and the Cuban Baseball Federation to allow players to play in the United States without defecting before the Trump administration struck it down. Biden's administration should resurrect it.Adolis García's emergence last season delighted millions of Americans and Cubans alike and is emblematic of how the United States and Cuba can connect through baseball. It would be nearly impossible for the Biden administration to erase decades of tensions with Cuba, but initiating public diplomacy programs through baseball could be a home run.

"Something worth noting (and may not be readily apparent): Yang Hengjun is an Australian citizen. But to the Chinese government, he's Chinese."

In recent times, EU officials have expressed concerns over Georgia's decreased alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), representing a notable challenge to the EU-Georgia relations and integration process

Contemporary ROK-ASEAN relations have been downsized under the Yoon government. For relations to be substantive, it is crucial to acknowledge ASEAN as more than a subset of the Indo Pacific strategy.

The current Spotlight explores different interpretations of Germany's Staatsraison – or raison d'état – which emphasize Germany's commitment to defending Israel's national security. This component has played a crucial role in German-Israeli relations to date. The recent attempts (January–June 2023) by Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government to overhaul the Supreme Court have left Israeli society facing extreme tension and have shaken the country's sense of national unity. Since 1965 and especially in the post Cold War period, German Staatsraison has meant defending Israel's security – but with the assault on Israel's democracy, can it continue with the same purpose in the future? This Spotlight discusses how this development might impact German-Israeli relations.
Author information





Eldad Ben Aharon



Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon war Post-Doctoral Minerva Fellow (2020-22) und ist derzeit Associate Researcher in der Forschungsabteilung "Glokale Verflechtungen" der HSFK. Außerdem ist er Gastwissenschaftler am International Centre for Policing and Security an der University of South Wales. Dr. Ben Aharon promovierte 2019 in Geschichte an der Royal Holloway University of London. Seine Forschung liegt an der Schnittstelle zwischen internationaler Geschichte, Geopolitik, außenpolitischer Analyse, Eliteninterviews und kritischen Sicherheitsstudien. // Dr Eldad Ben Aharon was a Post-Doctoral Minerva Fellow (2020–22) and is currently an Associate Researcher in PRIF's "Glocal Junctions" research department. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the International Centre for Policing and Security at the University of South Wales. Dr Ben Aharon obtained his PhD in history from Royal Holloway University of London in 2019. His research lies at the intersection between international history, geopolitics, foreign policy analysis, elite interviews, and critical security studies. | Twitter: @eldadbenaharon

| Twitter |



Der Beitrag Outlook on German-Israeli Relations: German <i>Staatsraison</i> and Netanyahu's Coalition Contentious 'Judicial Reform' erschien zuerst auf PRIF BLOG.

War Bottrop ein Terroranschlag? (Süddeutsche Zeitung)149 Frauen starben durch den Partner (Tagesschau.de)Richtlinie 12.1 des Pressekodex (Presserat)AfD-Abgeordneter versucht sich an maximaler Provokation (Welt)Thomas Seitz (Twitter)Augenmerk auf Amberg (Süddeutsche Zeitung) "Die Tat war sehr überraschend" (ZDF)"Asylrecht ist Gefahrenabwehrrecht" (Deutschlandfunk) @turboateng (Twitter)Wer wann gehen muss (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Seehofer will raschere Abschiebungen (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Attentäter bekundet Ausländerhass: "Anschlägen zuvorkommen" (WAZ)



Bundestags-Hack 7.0



Frankfurter Generalstaatsanwaltschaft ermittelt zu Datenleak (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Hackerangriff auf Hunderte deutsche Politiker (Spiegel online)Daten von Hunderten Politikern veröffentlicht (Zeit online)Hackerangriff: Persönliche Dokumente von deutschen Politikern und Promis veröffentlicht (heise online)G0d, @_0rbit (Twitter)



35C3



Schiedsstelle des CCC (Chaos Computer Club) Funkzellenabfrage: Die alltägliche Rasterfahndung unserer Handydaten (media.ccc.de)So bekommt Facebook Daten von Nutzern, die keinen Facebook-Account haben (motherboard)media.ccc.deFunkzellenabfragen-Transparenz-System des Landes Berlin (Senatsverwaltung für Justiz, Verbraucherschutz und Antidiskriminierung)



5G-Klagen gegen Vergabeverfahren



LTE-Versorgung in Deutschland besonders schlecht (Golem.de)Telekom reicht Klage wegen 5G-Auktion ein – Jobs in Gefahr (Handelsblatt)5G und Funklöcher: Altmaier droht Netzbetreibern mit staatlichen Konsequenzen (heise online)LTE-Mobilfunk: Deutschland hinkt hinter den Nachbarn her (heise online)Studie 5G National Roaming (Grüne Bundestag)



USA: Government-Shutdown



Integration von Flüchtlingen: Arbeitgeber bestätigen "Wir schaffen das" (Tagesschau)Deutschland senkt Hürden für Arbeitsmigration (Welt)Trump and Democrats Dig In After Talks to Reopen Government Go Nowhere (The New York Times)What Is and Isn't Affected by the Government Shutdown (The New York Times)Trumps Treffen mit Demokraten bleibt ergebnislos (Spiegel online)Democracy in Crisis: What to Watch in 2019 (Council on foreign relations)



40 Prozent Ökostrom



Rekordjahr für Wind und Sonne (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Schmutziger Erfolg (Süddeutsche Zeitung) 40 Prozent des deutschen Stroms waren 2018 öko (Spiegel online)



CSU will Klima schützen



Zurück zur Natur (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Die Neujahrsknaller der CSU (Süddeutsche Zeitung)



Verabschiedung



kuechenstud.io/plus



Sponsor



unumotors https://unumotors.com/dehttps://unumotors.com/www.boxcryptor.comMit Code "Lage18" 30% Rabatt im ersten Jahr für Boxcryptor Personal (Einzelnutzer)



Hausmitteilung



Spenden: BankverbindungSpenden: Banking-Program mit BezahlCode-StandardSpenden: PaypalKuechenstud.io-NewsletterKuechenstud.io Shop"Lage der Nation" bei iTunes bewerten"Lage der Nation" bei Youtube"Lage der Nation" bei Facebook"Lage der Nation" bei Instagram "Lage der Nation" bei Twitter"Lage der Nation" in der Wikipedia

Curt Magleby is Vice President, U.S. Government Relations, Ford Motor Company and spoke to our Public Affairs Career Lecture Series on Thursday, September 26, 2019. He spoke about his position engaging with policymakers on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues and overseeing Ford's federal, state and local government affairs. Magleby previously was director, […]

The principles set out in the Atlantic Charter eighty years ago remain key to the global vision shared by the UK and US. But its terms also contained the roots of international tensions that persist today: for example in relation …

Transport London, the government agency that operates all the subway lines, light rail, and buses in the British capital, is advertising a public relations internship for a college student or recent graduate or someone who has worked no more than one year in public relations. But there's a catch. The internship is limited only to…