What Russian intervention in Syria says about Putin

By Kristin Helberg

The West is bewildered. What is the driving force behind President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy? What are his goals and what tools is he willing to use to achieve them? To answer these questions, it would be wise to take a look back at Syria – Putin’s longest, most extensive foreign intervention. Since 2011, Moscow has worked to secure …

Behind Moscow’s roar lies the realization that its international influence is on the wane.

“German weapons for Ukraine?” “Will Nord Stream 2 sink to the bottom of the Baltic if Russia attacks?” If German and international policymakers continue to focus on naval-gazing issues like these, they face the grave danger of losing sight of the real challenge we’re facing in the debate over Russia: The leadership in Moscow aims to …

How will Central Europe react to Russian aggression against Ukraine?

After 1990, it seemed that all was right with the world. With the demise of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the hitherto semi-sovereign states of Central and Eastern Europe were given the opportunity to determine their own security policy interests. And their choice was clear: They wanted to join NATO and the EU and drop the Brezhnev Doctrine, …

Putin’s doomed attempt to reconcile Russian myth with today’s realities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a leader who scrupulously weighs his interests, calculating the risks of each policy and balancing them against the potential rewards. The limited military interventions pursued thus far by Russia in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, for example, would seem to confirm this theory. But while Putin clearly sees himself as a political strategist, he also sees …

The security crisis unleashed by Putin in Europe has the SPD rethinking its Russian policy.

In politics, timing is often everything. And, sometimes, when a particular series of developments appears simultaneously, it can lead to moments of clarity and truth. This is precisely what has happened to Germany’s governing SPD with regard to how they intend to face the challenge posed by Russia and President Vladimir Putin – an issue …

Putin’s gaze spans the entire Soviet sphere of influence.

A Russian invasion of Ukraine, reminiscent of the 2014 incursion, is a real possibility. With Russian forces once again massing on the Ukrainian border, the European Union must take heed of Ukraine’s security concerns. Appeasement of the Kremlin would have disastrous consequences – not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe, as well as for countries farther east such …

Democratic states share not only noble ideals, but basic and vital interests, as well

Two contradictory trends are vexing the West. One is the globalization of the world economy: Trade and investment relationships are so tightly interwoven that the unrestrained pursuit of political conflict or ideological antagonism is out of the question due to the degree of self-harm it would cause.

The second trend is an ongoing, 15-year turning away …

Security Times Contribution | Special Edition of the MSC

For almost six decades, world leaders have met each winter at Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich to discuss the most pressing challenges to global peace and international security.

In 2021, the pandemic has forced us to postpone the regular conference. But we remain deeply committed to our core mission – providing a global platform for informal critical dialogue. Dialogue on how …

A letter to President Joe Biden from the publisher Detlef W. Prinz

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations! When today, at 12 noon Washington time, you swear your oath to the US Constitution and are officially inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, the world will breathe a collective and deep sigh of relief. The aberration is no more. America is back.

But let’s not kid ourselves – yours will …

After almost nine years of civil war, the crisis in and around Syria has not been resolved. Nonetheless, it is clear who the winners and losers in the conflict are. Among the winners are the Syrian regime, Russia, Iran and even Turkey, to a certain extent. These countries have always known what they wanted, have proven ready to do anything to get what they want, and have been able to …