Expectations placed on the German EU presidency in the first half of 2007 are especially high: Besides the current work that needs to be processed efficiently and cooperatively, each EU presidency has the opportunity to put items on the agenda that it considers to be especially important. Today,...

By shedding light on the reasons for their success as well as identifying 'best practice', a critical dissection of EU presidencies can improve the functioning of the Union's Council system. The contributions to this study grapple with two questions, namely: what demands were placed on the...

Europe is increasingly required to assume greater responsibility for its own wellbeing and security. The debate about strengthening Europe's ability to exert influence and act on its interests revolves around concepts such as strategic autonomy and - above all in France - European sovereignty....

Rivalry between the United States and China has become a paradigm of international relations over the past two years. It shapes both strategic debates and real political, military and economic dynamics. The dimensions of Sino-American competition over power and status include growing threat...

Over the last years, Islamist movements and parties have more and more been able to translate their popularity into impressive election successes or victories, for example in Egypt, Iraq, and Palestine. In many states in what has been termed the "Broader Middle East," moderate Islamists are...

Islamist politics pose one of the most important and complex set of challenges that the US and Europe face today. Foreign policies have not reflected that complexity adequately, but have focused to a large degree on Islamist actors with a global jihadist agenda and the global "war on terror."...

Over the last few years, the EU and its member states have become ever more active in conflict management in the Middle East. ESDP missions in the Palestinian territories such as EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS, European involvement in the security sector in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories,...

Since the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) emerged into the light of day in June 1999, the EU's capabilities in this field have grown considerably. Twenty-three ESDP missions and operations deployed to places from the Balkans to Africa, the Middle East and even Asia testify to the...