Dr. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann

Have a look at our new Dods Political Intelligence blog post to find out what to expect from Germany at the upcoming EU elections! 🇩🇪🇪🇺 #EUelections #Germany #EU2024 #2024EUElections

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Hot from the press 😊: "Trustworthy Public #Communications" just released by the European Commission Joint Research Center. A wonderful work led by Mario Scharfbillig and Laura Smillie with the support of a broad list of colleagues and experts (including yours truly). MAIN TAKEAWAYS (from Mario's post, copypasted from the main text): - better listening to citizens (not just using social media, actually engaging...!!) - is your communication goal to inform or change behaviour? be transparent about it. - use the latest science for how to influence and listen best - evaluate properly whether we achieved our outcomes - and lastly, invest more in public communicators' skills and competences. ✔ All of that is in the report, with tips and tricks for how to implement this.

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Berlin facilitates the largest number of people in Europe who consider themselves as "Palestinians". Referring to a study that is about ten years old, there are 30 000 of them only in Berlin, and that amount is, of course, today multiplied. The latest protests feeded their sacrificial myth as colonialist victims and racially oppressed. These same "victims" are accusing German law enforcement with most colorful falsifications. Well, does this sound like a Blitz for - or against - the European cultural heritage?  The core values of the European nation states are being undermined by these same radicals while grouping under "Migrantifa" which states at their website (theleftberlin.com) to represent ”people of migrant decent across various communities" and to make their mission more alarming state that "we consider ourselves a revolutionary organisation”. Time for some sobering reality check? An awarded (Egon-Erwin-Kisch-Preis) author Harald Martenstein has notified, that Germans are fast approaching the moment when native German speakers are only a minority in primary schools, in many places it has been that way for a long time. The sharp increase in violence against the societal pillars and first responders (incl. law enforcement), by far-left and anarchist extremist groups is an alarming fact. Is it indeed necessary to start a broad based discussion about the security and safety of indigenous peoples in Europe? Check out Die Welt report: SPD-KRISE: "Esken sicher diejenige, die es mit Wirklichkeitsverweigerung am weitesten treibt" #germany #deutschland #europeanvalues #europeanheritage #haraldmartenstein #immigration

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Dear Friends, If you are new to R.Politik and have not yet signed up for our newsletters, we are pleased to offer you an exclusive opportunity to obtain our latest R.Politik Weekly Digest for free! To access the digest, please register here: https://lnkd.in/e_85KmBR In this edition, we cover four major topics: – Putin’s “Peace Plan”: Why now and what are the real intentions? – Undesirable Entities: A harsher approach to undesirable organizations. – Belousov’s Meeting with Military Correspondents: The balancing acts of the new Defense Minister. – New Secretary of United Russia’s General Council: The significance of Vladimir Yakushev’s appointment.

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The European elections in June 2024 are more than a political event; they are an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to sustainable peace and Europe as a peace project. Europe values are based on promoting inclusive participation, supporting civil society, addressing polarization, and upholding solidarity! As voters, we have the power to shape the future of our continent. Let's use this opportunity to advocate for candidates and policies that prioritize peace and cooperation. Together, we have to elaborate a new and constructive vision of Europe that stands as a beacon of democracy and peace. https://lnkd.in/e2GDN2dN

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I was very pleased to contribute to the panel debate on cohesion policy at the "External #RegHub Workshop" in the town hall in Cologne. After the speech by state secretary Mark Speich I was able to introduce the #regionennrw network and then explain the #Aachen region's perspective on the cohesion funds. And in my opinion it is right for those responsible in #Brussels and the #EUCommission to include the implementers of EU-financed projects in the planning for the new #cohesion period. And #european #financial #support must be noticeable for citizens in the #future... Many thanks for the invitation. #europe #cohesionpolicy #regionen #nrw Region Aachen Zweckverband Dr. Philipp Schwartz Thomas Wobben 👉 Background & context: The #European #Committee of the Region's "Regional Hubs Network (RegHub)" plays an active role in the better #regulation agenda of the #EU through its targeted #stakeholder. The Hubs monitor the implementation of #EU policies on the ground and make sure, that the #evaluation and #fitness checks of policies take into account the #experience of relevant regional and local stakeholders. 📷Land NRW / Robin Teller

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The political guidelines of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have been published - and make for a very interesting read: https://lnkd.in/e5jJEZtQ The shift in tone from the previous mandate is telling: "competitiveness" appears 22 times - whereas "sovereignty" a mere twice - in the 31 pages of the text. The guidelines include a number of welcome announcements aiming to speed up the digital transformation of European businesses, for example: - The focus on boosting productivity with digital tech diffusion as part of a "New European Prosperity Plan". Hopefully, this effort will improve adoption of new technologies by European businesses, to address the staggering gaps identified in the latest Digital Decade report. - The focus on making business easier and faster in Europe, including through dialogue with stakeholders and the appointment of a Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification and Interinstitutional Relations to simplify, consolidate and codify legislation and address the (infamous) patchwork of EU laws. This responds to the asks by the majority of EU stakeholders for a less complex, more streamlined regulatory environment, and a Commission that would prioritize implementing successfully existing legislation before initiating new rules. - Focused initiatives to turn the EU into a powerhouse of AI innovation, including the AI Factories initiative, and a very interesting "Apply AI Strategy" to boost new industrial uses of #artificialintelligence and to improve delivery of public services. #EU #EuropeanUnion #digital #techpolicy #digitaltransformation

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Garry Poluschkin and I have published within the German Economic Team Project of Berlin Economics an article in the Internationale Politik Special edition "Rebuilding Ukraine", https://lnkd.in/dsa4E8e2 which is due for the upcoming #Ukraine Recovery Conference (#URC2024) in Berlin https://lnkd.in/dsJ2uCgh    This edition features statements by Chancellor Scholz, President Zelensky, Ministers of the Federal Government of Germany and of Ukraine and outlines the objectives of the upcoming conference. Our article focuses on factors, opportunities, and challenges for private sector involvement in Ukraine's economy. We highlight three factors: ➡️Continuation of international financial support to the state budget for boosting resilience during the war ➡️De-risking and public guarantees against war risks ➡️Continued reforms for improving the investment climate and progress towards EU accession. The emphasis on continued financial support for economic resilience during the war while laying the conceptional ground for a sustainable “build back better” reconstruction should be the main priorities for the URC. Many thanks to Henning Hoff for inspiring us to write this article.

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This four-pager is conceptualized, designed, structured, and worded perfectly enough to serve as a U-LEAD MANIFESTO but also a Road Map for the Government of Ukraine for the next few years of supporting Ukraine’s reforming its local government and regional/cohesion policies. Remarkable knowledge of the substance of the ongoing reforms, as well as the nuances linked to different ups and downs in recent years, allowed the authors to produce a very strong analysis of what has worked so far and what has not, and what needs to be done further on. The piece deserves a wide and preferably targeted circulation – it should be a must-read for all key stakeholders in Ukraine - both domestic and foreign, public authorities and civil society and development partners, politicians and policymakers, etc. The concise wording of the key statements and conclusions and recommendations should not mislead - they can be easily translated into action plans and measures for implementation. Of course, those who will be doing it should be good enough to understand well what the whole talk is about…  Very good job – many thanks to the authors of the chapter.

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Bulletin 2/2024 is out! https://lnkd.in/eXP9bXfp Among other topics: Memorandum of Understanding: OTIF – UNESCAP, Entry into force of the Luxembourg Protocol, Development of the railways and cooperation in South-East Asia, Moldova: application for accession to OTIF, China: application for accession to OTIF, Results the ad hoc Committee on Legal Affairs and International Cooperation, OTIF’s 16th General Assembly: 25-26 September 2024, Interchangeable vehicles, RID/ADR/ADN Joint Meeting, Transboundary movement of wastes: Current legal situation and developments (part 2)…#international #railway

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What role does artificial intelligence play in the creation - and countering - of disinformation?   Lutz Güllner, head of Division for Information Integrity at the European External Action Service, provides his perspective in the latest episode of our #Disinformation and #Democracy series.

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Interessiert an Wissenschaftskommunikation und deren Evaluation? Tomorrow our very own Tobias Dudenbostel will be discussing how #sciencecommunication can be evaluated and what can be learned from other areas.   Find out more below 👇

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Curious how states are selected. Maharashtra is not a top source area for migration. Building flows from the state will need a lot more effort than it would for other states in India that already have a more developed migration eco-system. Maharashtra will need to undertake a whole range of activities to create a migration flow.

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How should the European #GreenDeal 🌱🇪🇺 be reformed to secure support for this project of century? In this blogpost for IDDRI, I discuss the EU's initiatives to boost its #competitiveness and to build up its #resilience and argue for focusing on #emissionstrading as the core instrument for #climate protection. https://lnkd.in/d6-NDhBZ

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#China #Military #Research Hot off the Press: My Article on Chinese Military History in the 20th Century: Zur neueren Militärgeschichte Chinas also Forschungsgebiet: Bestandsaufnahme und Perspektiven, in: Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift 83/1 (2024), S. 133-148. 💡 Key Takeaways: 📚 Wars and civil wars, like the military itself, are shaping factors not only for the history of Western societies. In China, they have determined the political, social, and to some extent, cultural development over the past two centuries. Therefore, a deeper engagement with military history is urgently needed in China-related research. The aim of this article was to provide an in-depth insight into the relatively young field of Chinese military history. 📜 The paper highlights how military historical research has evolved into an independent field since the 1990s, noting that the international scholarly discourse is predominantly influenced by Anglo-American perspectives. Additionally, the field has established itself institutionally with its own professional society and a journal dedicated to Chinese military history. 💡 1️⃣ Chinese military history has not only established itself as a scientific subfield—military historical perspectives are now an integral part of historical research on general Chinese history. This article illustrated, using the example of 20th-century Chinese history, the importance of a political, social, and cultural contextualized analysis of war and the military for a deeper understanding of Chinese history. 💡 2️⃣ The field of Chinese military history in the 20th century now faces the challenge of debating its future methodological and thematic orientation. Over the past 25 years, research has primarily focused on the complex upheavals up to the mid-20th century. Looking forward, the author of this article advocates for a greater focus on the history of the People’s Liberation Army since 1949, particularly its modernization since the 1980s. This research area would not only provide new insights into recent Chinese history for Sinology and China-related historical studies, but it would also offer valuable connections for German military history, which has a particular interest in questions of transnational exchange and transfer. 💡 3️⃣ Such a perspective would not only yield fundamentally new historical insights but also contribute to a better understanding of the People's Republic of China today. While history may not be a teacher, Xi Jinping's China can be better understood in many respects by looking back at the 20th century. For full text: https://lnkd.in/e37UrhvY

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🌌 Bavarian industry for European sovereignty?   🌟Last Saturday Bayerischer Rundfunk aired a fascinating documentary by Stephan Lina on new space companies in Bavaria. The program delved into the upcoming launch of Microlaunchers, highlighting the growing importance of space exploration for all industries and the significance of space for a self-reliant Europe.   Just a few years ago, the idea of such a strong regional space hub seemed far-fetched to many skeptics. However, in just a short period, a network of 200 research institutions and innovative companies has emerged here, including amongst others Rocket Factory Augsburg - RFA, Isar Aerospace, Reflex Aerospace, DCUBED, TALOS or HIRSCH Engineering Solutions.   🛰️🚀 Listen to the full program here: https://lnkd.in/eSY-uUAt   What do you think: Have the new technologies in space the potential to change our live on earth? 🌠   #Innovation #SpaceExploration 💫

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#Review #China #Geopolitics #WeigelinSchwiedrzik My esteemed colleague Cecilia-Louise von Ilsemann from Leiden University and I have reviewed the great new book by Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik "China und die Neuordnung der Welt". Here is an excerpt: In light of Russia's recent neo-imperialistic reach, even the last adherents of the modernization theory's dictum of the "end of history" (Francis Fukuyama) must have realized that the world is far from a universal adoption of Western liberal order ideals. On the contrary: Even the pillars of the rule-based international order are under pressure like never before. We are witnessing a return to systemic confrontations—regional conflicts increasingly take on a geopolitical dimension, making major power military conflicts more likely. This briefly outlines the starting point of Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik's considerations in her thesis-rich, highly readable book "China and the Reordering of the World." The renowned, emeritus professor of Modern Sinology and current program director for China at the Vienna-based think tank Center for Strategic Analysis is driven by the concern of a new global conflagration (pp. 206f.). Against this backdrop, her book not only serves as a geopolitical assessment but also as an attempt to design new mechanisms for international conflict resolution in a highly fragile, multipolar world (p. 201). In her book, Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik outlines four core assumptions and theses woven throughout its four chapters: First, she suggests we are at the threshold of a multipolar world order. Russia is attempting to regain the stature of the former Soviet Union, and with the People's Republic of China, there is now a third world power that competes directly with the USA. Second, she interprets international relations primarily as a history of hegemonic conflicts. In this context, Weigelin-Schwiedrzik calls for more realism and a decisive focus on the power ambitions, competition, and conflicts between major powers (p. 210). Third, she argues for a greater geopoliticization of political thinking, meaning conflicts like the Russian war in Ukraine or the Taiwan conflict must be primarily approached and discussed geopolitically by all parties involved (ibid.). Fourth, in the context of the current "reordering of the world," she believes that additional power centers such as the European Union are necessary alongside global powers like the USA and China. These centers could act as urgently needed mediating actors, as the current geopolitical conflicts in this "new Cold War" (p. 18) are no longer resolvable by the superpowers alone. Weigelin-Schwiedrzik presents a highly topical book that provides readers with a deeper understanding of the complex geopolitical dynamics of our time. This concise work is highly recommended for anyone wishing to better understand today's world; it is also an important contribution to the debate, deserving as wide a reception as possible.

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