Publications in English

Micha'el Tanchum: Turkey's String of Pearls: Turkey's Overseas Naval Installations Reconfigure the Security Architecture of Mediterranean-Red Sea Corridor, AIES Fokus 4/2019

Turkey will soon preside over an arc of blue-water power projection extending from Northern Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean to Qatar in the Persian Gulf that fundamentally alters the security architecture of the Middle East. Deftly combining soft power initiatives with the construction of coastal military installations in Sudan on the Red Sea and in Somalia on the Arabian Sea, Turkey has created a ‚string of pearls' that directly challenges the power of Egypt-Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates alliance. With the military entrenchment of Turkey in the Horn of Africa, the Turkey-Qatar versus Egypt-Saudi Arabia-UAE competition has created an incendiary fault-line that now encompasses the entire Eastern Mediterranean-Red Sea maritime corridor.

Backed by Qatar, Turkey's maritime expansion is also a response to Egypt's trilateral strategic partnership with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, an alignment supported by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. In this complex web of rival alliances that spans the Aegean and Arabian seas, any one of the previously localized conflicts could ignite a wider regional clash.

Julian Grinschgl: Pipeline Politics, A Single Market, and the Rise of Renewable Energy: Challenges and Pathways for European Energy Security, AIES Fokus 3/2019

At the end of 2018, Gazprom reported a record high in natural gas exports to Europe, exceeding 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) for the first time. As of, early January 2019, the United States (US) ambassador to Germany threatened to sanction German companies that will continue to be engaged in the controversial Nord Stream 2 (NS2) project, aiming to build another direct pipeline from Russia to Germany circumventing transit states. Just a few months earlier President Trump boldly announced that Europe would buy "vast amounts" of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and criticized Germany as being held captive by Russian energy exports. Moreover, Turkey threatened Cyprus over the exploitation of newly discovered gas on disputed territory, and Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of oil, announced another $2 billion investment in solar and carbon complex facilities as part of 12 large renewable energy projects in the country. These headlines illustrate the continuing dependence of Europe on Russian natural gas, the ongoing shift in global energy markets due to the shale gas revolution, new technologies, renewable energy, as well as, competition over customers and suppliers. This article will focus on energy security, commonly defined as "the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price", for the EU, but will also consider geopolitical aspects and aims at identifying challenges and pathways forward.

Lívia Benková: Hungary-Orbán's project towards "illiberal democracy", AIES Fokus 2/2019

The recent developments in the country and its controversial reforms reflect, that Hungary is steadily moving away from the principles of a liberal democracy and is heading towards becoming a centralized, semi-authoritarian state. The course of Hungary was clearly stated by Prime Minister Orbán himself as he announced his preference of "illiberal democracy", in 2014 at a speech in Transylvania, Romania.

Shaun Riordan: Post-Brexit Relations between the EU and the UK in the Field of Security and Defence Policy, AIES Fokus 1/2019

Adam Karlsson: African Union – European Union relations: untapped opportunity or unsolvable predicament? A look at the development of the relations between Europe and Africa in recent years, AIES Fokus 8/2018

Alex Tanchev: The strategic dimensions of cyber-security – an interdisciplinary approach, AIES Fokus 7/2018

Sofia Maria Satanakis: Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: The Prespa Agreement. What comes next?, AIES Fokus 6/2018

Matteo Ilardo: The Rivalry between France and Italy over Libya and its Southwest Theatre, AIES Fokus 5/2018

Peter Nassif: The Lebanese Parliamentary Elections of 2018: Much Ado about Nothing?, AIES Fokus 4/2018

Lívia Benková: The Rise of Russian Disinformation in Europe, AIES Fokus 3/2018

Benjamin Zyla: How to Strengthen Resilience in Fragile States: Taking Stock, AIES Fokus 8/2017

Lawrence Kettle: Brexit Negotiations: Phase One Completed?, AIES Fokus 7/2017

João Raphael da Silva: 'Jihadist Terrorism' and EU Responses: Current and Future Challenges, AIES Fokus 6/2017

Christine Strassmaier: The next chapter of the Syria crises – (obstacles to) reconstruction under the perspective of the current and future trajectory of the conflict, AIES Fokus 5/2017

Lívia Benková: Europe's Response to the Migration Crisis, AIES Fokus 3/2017

Stephanie Polezzeli: The South American Integration Trail: The Southern Integration and the European Union Model, AIES Fokus 2/2017

Stanley R. Sloan: Transatlantic Relations: A perfect storm across the Atlantic, AIES Fokus 1/2017

Lívia Benková: The Dayton Agreement Then and Now, AIES Fokus 7/2016

Apolonija Rihtarić: Why Croatia urgently needs a new holistic National Security Strategy, AIES Fokus 5/2016

Christine Strassmaier: Lebanese Municipality Elections 2016: Local decisions with national and regional ramifications, AIES Fokus 4/2016

Fariza Dzorthova: Understanding the Russian withdrawal from Syria, AIES Fokus 3/2016

Christine Straßmaier: Turning the tide? Developments in the fifth year of the Syrian civil war, AIES Fokus 2/2016

Lawrence Kettle: The UK’s Referendum on EU Membership: The debates and the consequences of a Brexit, AIES Fokus 1/2016

Kamil Szubart: The Future of Polish Foreign and Security Policy in the context of Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in 2015, AIES Fokus 8/2015

David Christopher Jaklin: Western Volunteer Fighters fighting Daesh – Background and possible Implications, AIES Fokus 7/2015

David B. Skillicorn / Christian Leuprecht: Beyond the Castle Model of Cyber-Risk and Cyber-Security, AIES Studien 4/2015

Velina Tchakarova: What future for the Eastern Partnership? More than a partnership, less than a membership, AIES Fokus 5/2015

As a partner institute of the European Security and Defence College, the AIES is pleased to inform about the new "Handbook on CSDP missions and operations". The 'Handbook on CSDP missions and operations' deals with the operational level of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. It describes various crisis management tools which are combined within the 'comprehensive approach' and includes topics such as development, diplomacy and defence. With reference to current crises, the handbook deals with hot topics such as hybrid warfare, cyber security, strategic communication and maritime security. In her foreword, HR/VP Mogherini writes: 'This handbook makes an important contribution to explaining the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Apart from being an invaluable resource for trainers and trainees of the European Security and Defence College, it is a one-stop shop for anyone in search of a full picture of the EU’s security and defence policy.' Jochen Rehrl, Galia Glume (eds): Handbook on CSDP missions and operations. Vienna, 2015. ISBN 978-3-902275-42-4. The Handbook can be downloaded via the website of the ESDC.

Iryna Mikhnovets: Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia: what has been done after the decisive Eastern Partnership, AIES Fokus 4/2015

Stefanie Felsberger: Gaza: Destructive Reconstruction, AIES Fokus 3/2015.

Oleksiy Melnyk: Should War Be Given the Name … and A Chance?, AIES Fokus 2/2015.

Arnold Kammel: The EU-Africa Partnership: Another Lost Year? AIES Fokus 8/2014.

Arnold Kammel / Sofia Satanakis: NATO after Wales: Back in Business? AIES Fokus 7/2014.

Benjamin Zyla: Between Mars and Venus: Transatlantic strategic cultures and Canadian Earthlings? AIES Fokus 6/2014.

Stefanie Felsberger: Palestine in Egypt: From Solidarity to Fear to Common Struggle, AIES Fokus 5/2014.

Stanley R. Sloan: Transatlantic Relations: Permanent Alliance or Perpetual Crisis?, AIES Fokus 2/2014.

Lidija Čehulić Vukadinović: The Croatian View on the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), AIES Fokus 1/2014.

Ana Isabel Xavier: The EU‘s Battlegroup in perspective: addressing present challenges for future deployments, AIES Fokus 7/2013.

Velina Tchakarova: The European Union and its European Neighborhood: Before and After the Vilnius Summit of the Eastern Partnership, AIES Fokus 6/2013.

Benjamin Zyla: Free Riding for Punching? Canadian Peacebuilding in the Balkans in the 1990s, AIES Fokus 4/2013.

Arnold H. Kammel: The relationship between Sudan and South Sudan after independence – Interdependences as key variables for sustainable peacet, AIES Fokus 3/2013.

Csaba Törő: CSDP on the agenda of Visegrad cooperation – An increasingly important and practical instrument in a Central European concert, AIES Fokus 2/2013.

Franco Algieri: Irrelevant or not? Thoughts on the EU’s strategic partnership with China, AIES Fokus 8/2012.

Almut Möller and Roderick Parkes: Germany as seen by the other EU member states three years into the euro crisis, AIES Fokus 7/2012

Earlier this year, we convened colleagues from think tanks across the EU to discuss what has been framed as “the new German question” . How does Berlin’s centre-stage role in overcoming the euro malaise play out in its relations with its fellow EU members? Is it fair to say that Berlin is considered part of the problem as much as it is a key to the solution? Our discussions and the publication that followed in the summer suggested the picture across the EU was rather diverse. This is a more inter­esting finding than it might first appear, given that most countries seem to find common ground in their concerns about Germany. Indeed, an overall anti-German feeling was not a theme we found in the essays, leaving aside public opinion in countries most affected by the crisis. While all member states in one way or another seemed to create their own EU identity in relation to Germany, suggesting that Germany indeed matters, they did it in different ways.

Yves Boyer: French defence policy in a time of uncertainties, AIES Fokus 5/2012.

Stefanie Felsberger: The Future of Egyptian Foreign Policy – To what extent will Egypt's foreign policy change under President Morsi?, AIES Fokus 4/2012.

Stefanie Felsberger: The emergence of peaceful protest in Egypt under Mubarak, Observer: A Journal on threatened Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines, Volume 4, Number 1, 2012

Germany as Viewed by Other EU Member States
Almut Möller and Roderick Parkes (eds.)
EPIN Paper
No. 33 / June 2012

Berlin's take on the euro crisis has been widely discussed. This paper turns the tables: 14 Analysts from EU countries such as Spain, Italy, Finland, Poland, Austria, Greece and Bulgaria discuss their perspective of Berlin's Europe policy. The country perspectives are complemented by data of the Gallup World poll survey. Is there really what has been rather dramatically framed as "the new German question"? A "national narcissism" has defined debates on the European debt crisis, say the authors of a new EPIN paper. Throughout the EU, governments, politicians, and commentators have revived their own histories and questioned what the crisis reveals about their own country. Long-time EU members such as France, Italy, and Great Britain have consciously separated themselves from the German course for saving the euro and have made "not being like Germany" part of their identity. From this perspective, European integration is based less on overcoming differences than in solidifying them, write the authors. Möller and Parkes conclude that, in general, Germany's reputation is better than commonly assumed. But Germany's success also leaves its partners unsettled. Berlin needs to be more sensitive in its interactions with other EU countries so that Germany does not become further detached from its partners.

Christian Leuprecht: International security strategy: The socio-demographic and economic dawn of a new day, AIES Studien 3/2011, ISSN 2222-9841.

Vojtech Horsák: The European Parliament and the Common Security and Defence Policy: Does the Parliament Care?, AIES Fokus 2/2011.

Axel Berkofsky: Japan's North Korea policy: Trends, controversies and impact on Japan's overall defence and security policy, AIES Studien 2/2011, ISSN 2222-9841.

Dagmar Hilpert, Roderick Parkes: Split Citizenship: Immigrant integration in an age of circular migration, AIES Fokus 1/2011.

The youth of today, it is claimed in a recent slew of media commentary, will reject the pro-European enthusiasm of their parents in favour of a destructive, devilmay-care attitude towards the European Union: if the EU is anyway doomed, they will reason, why waste time on it? Happily, this diagnosis of burgeoning euronihilism is misplaced. Although the coming generation will probably never be truly enthusiastic about their unlovely inheritance, they will not give up on it. The reason is as straightforward as it is ugly: uncertainty. So long as the future remains uncertain, the temptation of joyful nihilism will have to cede to something a lot less fun. Whilst there is still hope for the EU, there is no other option but to fret about it. Turning the EU from liability into solution will be a hard grind, and one to which this collection of essays makes its own contribution.

Almut Möller: European Elections Under Scrutiny - Lessons for a European Democracy, AIES Fokus 5/2009.

Almut Möller: The Future of Germany's Foreign Policy in the Middle East: European, Transatlantic, and Eventually More German? AICGS Transatlantic Perspectives, June 2009.

Almut Möller: After Gaza: A New Approach To Hamas, AIES Fokus 2/2009.

Franco Algieri: Commentary - Why China sees the EU as a counterweight to America, Europe's World, Autumn 2008.

Dr. Erich Hochleitner: Permanent Planning and Command Structures for Autonomous EU Operations. A Capacity Deficit to Be Adressed, Arbeitspapier, Maria Enzersdorf 2008.

Sven Biscop, Franco Algieri (Eds.): The Lisbon Treaty and EDSP: Transformation and Integration, Egmont Paper 24, The Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels, June 2008.

Dr. Erich Hochleitner: The Political Criteria of Copenhagen and their application to Turkey, Arbeitspapier, Maria Enzersdorf 2005.

Vladimir Bilcik: The Emergence of the CESDP and the State of the Transatlantic Relations. The Perspective of Central European Candidate States for EU-Membership, Maria Enzersdorf 2001.