Dear Madam or Sir,

the territorial decline of ISIL in Iraq and Syria raised hopes among the international community that there could be peace in Iraq. Yet even before the last safe havens of ISIL were eliminated, new areas of conflict began to emerge. Since their independence referendum, the Kurds have been struggling for unity and autonomy, while at the same time Iran has emerged as a new power within Iraq. In our latest Working Paper Stefan Lukas sheds light on the consequences and discusses three possible scenarios for German foreign and security policy in the region.

Dear Madam or Sir,

as a result of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, Russian-Western relations are on the lowest level since the end of the Cold War. In our latest working paper, Marek Menkisak finds Russia’s current strategic goals in Europe to be unacceptable for the West. He holds that any improvements were unrealistic as long as the Putin administration remains in power and recommends various measures to both enhance the Western community’s resilience and strengthen its neighbours in Eastern Europe.

Dear Madam or Sir,

in the wake of terrorist attacks throughout Europe, many voices demand closer intelligence cooperation within the European Union, some of them even asking for an EU intelligence service. Intelligence activities, however, lie at the heart of state sovereignty. So how can European integration and cooperation work in this highly sensitive policy area? In our latest Working Paper Pia Philippa Seyfried discusses the potentials and limits of intelligence cooperation at EU level.

Dear Madam or Sir,

today there is a lot of talk about an alleged Turkish reorientation towards new partners in the East, among them most prominently Russia. It is true that after the tensions following the downing of a Russian aircraft by Turkish forces in 2015, relations between Moscow and Ankara have improved again. But do we really have to expect a Turkish-Russian alliance? In our latest Working Paper, Kaan Sahin argues that a comprehensive partnership between the two states would contradict their strategic interests and is thus very unlikely.