The analyses in this paper show that the next German government will also be a pro-European one. There are, however, various necessary changes when it comes to European integration, where the new German government could play a constructive role. Germany, the EU’s largest member state, went to the ballot box …

Despite heightened expectations, significant Chinese assistance to Afghanistan is unlikely to materialise soon. The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul on 15 August has strengthened speculation regarding a rising Chinese role in Afghanistan to replace the US-led coalition’s two-decade-long presence. The Taliban have recently called Beijing a ‘top ally’. China played its …

NATO has its problems, and the emergence of a European defence identity is an imperative. But the severing of transatlantic links is never the answer. No one has forgotten that French President Emmanuel Macron referred to NATO in 2019 as ‘brain dead’. In Brussels, there were comments on this decidedly …

Iran-backed forces in Syria said on Thursday they would respond forcefully to an Israeli strike over Syria’s Palmyra area in the province of Homs on Wednesday evening in the second such strike within a week. The Syrian defence ministry said in a statement that one soldier was killed in the …

“Recently, 2 terrorists were arrested including a Daesh (ISIS) financier.” The US-led coalition confirmed on Thursday that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a successful anti-ISIS operation that resulted in the arrest of an ISIS financier in the notorious al-Hol camp. The official Twitter account of the US-led coalition …

Egypt is seeking greater cooperation with Sudan’s transitional authorities to track down terrorist elements, including Islamic State and those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood . Sudanese security forces, led by the country’s intelligence services, have been cracking down on Islamic State (IS) members over the past weeks. Five members of …

For Moscow, contradictions with Tehran may turn out to be much more sensitive than disputes with Ankara. During Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Moscow on Oct. 5, one of the main topics of the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov was rising tensions in Iranian-Azerbaijani ties. At …

The Kurdish-held town of Tell Rifaat stands out as the focal point of a potential new crisis in northern Syria as Turkey threatens another military offensive amid discords with Russia and the United States. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised the specter of a new Turkish military campaign against Kurdish …

Grievances have been piling up unaddressed in Tihama, Yemen’s Red Sea coastal plain, for almost a hundred years. Since the revolt of al-Zaraniq against Imam Yahya Hameed al-Din of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom (then North Yemen) in 1925-26, consecutive Imams and the republican elite have pursued policies that have systematically marginalized …

Iran-Azerbaijan relations have been going through a rough patch recently; both sides have genuine concerns that they want addressed. Iran could have addressed its various bones of contention with Azerbaijan through diplomatic channels. After all, both countries have full diplomatic relations; this includes fully functioning embassies and ambassadors on each …