Beginning in 2014, the High Contracting Parties of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) have held meetings at the United Nations in Geneva to discuss possible limitations on the development and deployment of lethal autonomous weapons systems (AWS). In November 2017, the CCW convened a formal Group of Governmental Experts (GGE), chaired by India’s …

Let me unequivocally state: The status quo with respect to innocent civilian casualties is utterly and wholly unacceptable. I am not in favor of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) nor of lethal weapons of any sort. I would hope that LAWS would never need to be used, as I am against killing in all its …

As polarized as the discussion surrounding Nord Stream 2 may be, each side posits legitimate arguments deserving of careful consideration. It is thus essential to discard doomsday scenarios, return to reason and soberly substantiate the debate. Four main issues are at stake:

Detractors of Nord Stream 2 argue that European energy security is already impaired …

If we listen to those groups advocating on behalf of Nord Stream 2 – the second double pipeline designed to move Russian natural gas through the Baltic Sea – we might come to think the new project is a highly energy-efficient project and politically quite harmless. According to them, Nord Stream 2 will increase European …

Relations between Europe and the United States have never been just a pleasant walk in the park. The transatlantic partners have had many passionate agreements; intermittent laments about an increasingly broad “rift,” “chasm,” “gulf” are nothing new. But never before has the danger of actual divorce been more real than after the inauguration of Donald …

What a difference a year makes. In early 2016, a lot of Europeans saw Russia as the most serious threat to their security. Nowadays, quite a few of them are torn between identifying Russian President Vladimir Putin or US President Donald Trump as the bigger challenge. After 70 years of entrusting their foreign and security …

President Donald Trump feels Europeans must do more for their own defense. He is not alone among Americans. Many think the US has gotten a raw deal. How far will Trump go to put America first?

America’s European allies say they aim to increase their defense spending to 2 percent of national GDP by 2024. …

Since its founding in 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany has had ten foreign ministers. The first three – Konrad Adenauer, Heinrich von Brentano and Gerhard Schröder – anchored Germany in the European Community and in NATO. The next three – Willy Brandt, Walter Scheel and Hans-Dietrich Genscher – initiated West Germany’s Ostpolitik, the détente …

Not so long ago, armed conflict between the states on the shores of the Baltic Sea was considered almost unimaginable. The thought of military conflict in the Baltic Sea region was like a distant echo from the past, an idea with no further relevance. The region was often presented as a model case for cooperative …

During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the famed US film director Stanley Kubrick decided to move to Australia. He reckoned that in a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union, the fallout would be less Down Under. However, when he learned that he would have to share the bathroom of the ship’s …

Analysts and politicians talk about a new Cold War. In my view, the term does not fit the current situation; Cold Peace is more apt.

Cold Peace is worse, more dangerous and less predictable than Cold War. It is “cold” because no one wants to fight a war. Yet a few old methods have made …

Europe is witnessing the worst security crisis since the end of World War II. The conflict in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea demonstrated again that military conflict is still possible in Europe.

This is aggravated by a general increase in military activity, including the stationing of Russian and NATO forces along strategic …

Europe stands at a crossroads. Internally, populist forces question the basis of our liberal democracies and the Brexit vote has shaken the very foundations of the EU, probably the world’s most successful democratic project.

Externally, the list of challenges seems almost infinite; vast parts of the Middle East and Central Africa are held back by …

Wherever we look, we see wars and armed conflicts: Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eastern Ukraine. We have witnessed violations of international law, burgeoning isolationism and looming trade wars. We are confronted with flows of migrants that are increasingly difficult to control. Radicalization, fanaticism and violent terrorist acts have struck at the heart of our …

It may be overstating the case to claim that US President Donald Trump’s inauguration signals the start of a new world order, but his policies will set off a new dynamic in the geopolitical “parallelogram of power” comprising the United States, Russia, China and Europe.

A possible American-Russian rapprochement is already causing concern in Europe, …