"Arabellion und die Ratlosigkeit der deutschen Politik"

In der Zeitschrift "Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft" habe ich einen Artikel zur deutschen Politik gegenüber den Revolutionen in Nordafrika veröffentlicht.

„Der Erfolg hat die Politiker kleinmütig gemacht“

Für den FOCUS habe ich einen Kommentar zur deutschen Außenpolitik verfasst:

Europäische Nachbarn sorgen sich heute eher über ein zu schwaches als ein zu starkes Deutschland. Die Außenpolitik steckt in einer tiefen Krise – meint SPD-Vorstandsmitglied Niels Annen in einem Gastkommentar.

Es klingt kurios, aber ausgerechnet Deutschlands Erfolg hat seine Außenpolitik in eine tiefe Krise gestürzt. In einer Situation, in der in Amerika eine neue Rezession droht und weite Teile Europas als Wachstumsmotoren ausfallen, richten sich die Blicke automatisch auf Deutschland. Doch der Erfolg hat Deutschlands Politiker kleinmütig werden lassen. Das Verhalten in der Euro-Krise erweckt bei vielen Nachbarn den Eindruck, Deutschland könnte seine pro-europäische Politik revidieren. Hier geht es weiter

Ist der Afghanistan-Krieg gerechtfertigt? Kontroverse mit Niels Annen (SPD) und Norman Paech (Die Linke)

Mit meinem ehemaligen Kollgen Norman Paech habe ich bei Kontext.tv über Afghanistan diskutiert, hier geht es zur Aufzeichnung

With Or Without You

Meine neuste Kolumne im SEJ zum Krieg in Libyen:

Widely unnoticed by the general public, German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has announced, that Berlin is granting the provisional Libyan government in Benghazi a credit of 100 million Euros. Westerwelle’s decision appears to be part of a larger damage control operation. Germany’s abstention on the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) had irritated the country’s most important allies and some observers interpreted Germany’s abstention as new isolationism. Reacting to sharp criticism from both sides of the Atlantic, Mrs. Merkel was eager to reassure Germany’s friends. continue

Back for Good?

Meine neuste Kolumne zum geplanten Abzug der U.S. Truppen aus Afghanistan

When President Obama in his West Point speech announced the beginning of an American withdrawal from Afghanistan, few pundits took him seriously. The overwhelming majority within the security community in Washington saw his announcement to pull back the first troops by early July 2011 to be a mere domestic political maneuver, intended to mitigate concerns within his own Party. After all, Obama had given in once before to pressures of his military advisers and agreed to increase the amount of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan – so why then shouldn’t he give in again? hier geht es weiter

Niels Annen: Die Parlamentsbeteiligung in Regierung und Opposition

In einem Buchbeitrag habe ich mich mit der Parlamentsbeteiligung bei Bundeswehreinsätzen auseinander gesetzt:

Schwegmann, Christoph (Hrsg.)
Bewährungsproben einer Nation.
Die Entsendung der Bundeswehr ins Ausland. Mit einem Vorwort von Volker Rühe.
21 Abb.; XXI, 243 S.

Weitere Informationen gibt es hier

Merkel in Washington

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel ist zu einem offiziellen Besuch nach Washington D.C gereist. Sie wird von Außenminister Guido Westerwelle, Verteidigungsminister Thomas De Maizere, Finanzminister Wolfgang Schäuble, Innenminister Hans-Peter Friedrich und Wirtschaftsminister Philipp Rösler begleitet.

Heute Nachmittag erhält die deutsche Regierungschefin im Rahmen eines Staatsbanketts im Weißen Haus die höchste zivile Auszeichnung der USA, die Friedensmedaille.

Das Verhältnis zwischen Obama und Merkel ist dennoch nicht konfliktfrei. Der letzte Streitpunkt ging um den Libyen nach der Enthaltung im UN-Sicherheitsrat. Vor kurzem war Obama in Europa, kam aber nicht nach Deutschland. Nun ist Merkel in Washington. Ist die Leidenschaft früherer Jahre weg?

Über diese und andere Fragen sprach Angela Ulrich mit MdB Niels Annen, (SPD).

Ein Marshall-Plan für Nordafrika

Hier ein Kommentar von mir auf Deutschlandradio Kultur, den ich noch vor der Entscheidung des Sicherheitsrates zu Libyen verfasst habe:

Eine neue europäische Politik für Libyen und Nordafrika

In Libyen, so kann man es in Gaddafis "Grünem Buch" nachlesen, regiert sich das Volk in spontanen Versammlungen selbst. Die Libyer haben Gaddafi vermutlich zu sehr beim Wort genommen.
Die Freude darüber hält sich in den europäischen Hauptstädten in Grenzen, denn die Revolutionen werfen ein bezeichnendes Licht auf eine Politik, die sich jahrelang mit den autokratischen Herrschern im Maghreb verbrüdert hat. Weiterlesen

A Comeback in Asia?

"How China is Shaping U.S. Foreign Policy in the Pacific"- das ist das Thema meiner neuen Publikation aus der Reihe "Perspective" der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung:

􏰀 Asia is the United States’ biggest foreign policy challenge. There is no consensus in the U.S. on how relations with or strategy towards the region should be shaped, and U.S. policy risks being influenced by distorted views of China.
􏰀 Asia is the region with the highest increase in defence spending in the world. Crises like the recent »fisheries incident« between China and Japan remind us that East Asia is still a fragile and potentially dangerous region.
􏰀 The U.S. has a fundamental interest in stability in the region, not only because of economic considerations but also because of its military commitment to the defence of Taiwan and Japan.
􏰀 The countries of Asia are increasingly worried about the rise of China. Thus while China today poses the biggest challenge to the U.S. power posture in Asia, it also offers a new opportunity for an increased political and military presence in the region, as many countries either openly – or in most cases discreetly – are looking to the U.S. to contain the »awakening giant« on the Yangtze river.
􏰀 Owing to the uncertain consequences of China’s rise and unsolved problems from North Korea to Taiwan, a protracted U.S. political and military presence in the Pacific will be a major contribution to growth and stability in the region. But this should not be misunderstood as a preparation for a new Cold War as some pundits in Washington would have us believe.

Hier geht es weiter

German Conference at Harvard

Am 19.2. diskutiere ich auf der "German Conference at Harvard" zum Thema "Western Security Policy in Times of Deficit and Debt - Coherent Strategies in a Changing World or Simply Executing budget Cuts?", mehr Informationen gibt es hier.

Zwei Schritte vorwärts-ein Schritt zurück

Der letzte NATO-Gipfel in Lissabon ist das Thema meiner neuesten Kolumne im Social Europe Journal:

Politicians love bombastic rhetoric and one of their annoying habits is to call summits historical, especially when they themselves attended them. Fortunately, this judgment is going to be made by future historians and not by a communiqué. Be this as it may, the last NATO summit in Lisbon was a remarkable gathering with remarkable results. If it could be called ‘historic’, so the unsurprising characterisation by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, remains to be seen. Continue here

From Indispensable to Neglectable? Europe and the United States *言語:英語(通訳なし) *事前申し込み不要

Die Zukunft der Beziehungen zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und Europa stehen im Mittelpunkt eines Vortrags, den ich an der Sophia University in Tokio halten werde:

For more than sixty years the common enemy of the Communist bloc bound the US and its European allies together, and leaders from both side of the Atlantic took this relationship for granted. Today there is criticism that President Obama shows no enthusiasm for the transatlantic relation and lacks emotional ties with Europe. But what sounds disappointing in the first place is nothing more than the consequence of NATO’s success. Europe’s security is no longer threatened. Instead of being nostalgic about the Cold-War-solidarity, the new situation should be seen as a chance. It opens the way for a necessary evaluation of structures and readjusting political priorities. The transatlantic relationship will not lose its importance, but it certainly needs a new foundation.

Weitere Infos gibt es hier

Niels Annen on the Impact of the Financial Crisis on US Power in Asia

Am 27.11. werde ich an der Temple University Japan Campus in Tokio einen Vortrag über die Auswirkungen der Finanzkrise auf die U.S. Politik in Asien halten:

The current debate about the future of America’s position as a global power is dominated by a growing sense of decline. A skyrocketing federal deficit and slow economic growth has shaken the foreign policy community in Washington. While some predict the end of the American Century and the start of the Chinese Era, others think that changes will be far less dramatic. Since 9/11, the U.S. defence budget has increased 10% annually, but Secretary Gates himself recently proposed to cut his own budget, thus we will be likely to witness a smaller footprint of the U.S. in the world in the near future, though how this will affect Asia remains hard to predict.

Weitere Informationen gibt es hier

More Than Dutch Courage in Afghanistan

Die Niederländer haben ihre ISAF-Kontingent aus Afghanisan abgezogen. Ich beschäftige mich mit den Auswirkungen dieser Entscheidung in einem Kommentar:


As the old C-130 Hercules transport plane took off from Tarin Kowt airfield in Uruzgan, I glimpsed a last view of the province that back in 2001 had witnessed the first Pashtun rebellion against the Taliban. This rugged airstrip was an unlikely place to make history, but it was the same strip that had been built by U.S. Special Forces to fly Hamid Karzai to Kabul in 2002, where a Loya Jirga was awaiting to anoint him president of Afghanistan. I spent only two days in the Forward Operating Base “Kamp Holland” in Uruzgan in 2008, but reading the reports about the Dutch withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 1 brought back memories.
continue here

Der pazifische Präsident

In meiner neuesten Kolumne im Social Europe Journal geht es um eine neue Sichtweise auf die transatlantischen Beziehungen:

By his own definition, Barak Obama is the US’ first „Pacific“ President. Indeed, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia there are few “Atlantic” ties to be found in his biography. Obama’s remarks, delivered during a visit to Asia, may be only intended as a polite gesture; nevertheless they indicate a shift of attention away from Europe towards the east.

Americans of course have always looked at the world from the view of a great power and the relationship to Europe has never been exclusive. But during the Cold War the European allies were at the center of America’s political and military strategy to contain Soviet Communism. These days are over and there hasn’t been a President in the Oval Office as eager as Barack Obama to transform the security structures he inherited from the Cold War. Defense projects have been reevaluated, the State Department for the first time is undergoing a profound policy review process and the G20 has already substituted the G8 as the relevant format for decision-making among the big players...continue here

The Specter Of The Never-Ending Cold War

WASHINGTON—In his new national security strategy, Barack Obama defined his tenure as a transitional presidency that will leave Cold War thinking behind in order to adjust U.S. policy to the realities of a multipolar world. But as far as Russia is concerned, not everyone seems to be convinced that the Cold War really is over. Ron Asmus recently wrote in GMF´s Transatlantic Take series about the “specter of Finlandization” as shorthand for “a Russian policy that seeks to limit the foreign policy choices and sovereignty of countries on its borders.” Asmus seems to think that there is an explicit Russian grand strategy to pressure its Western neighbors into choosing neutrality over a Westward course that might culminate in NATO or EU membership... continue reading

U.S. nukes in Europe: it`s about tactics (and tact, too)

Die Diskussion über Gudio Westerwelles Initiative zum Abzug der taktischen Atomrakten aus Europa ist Anlass für einen Kommentar, den ich in der Reihe "Transatlantic Take" des German Marshall Fund veröffentlich habe:

WASHINGTON — To the disappointment of many Europeans, the review conference for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) which opened in New York last week, will not focus primarily on the tactical nuclear weapons remaining in Europe. Germans harbor a particular dislike for these weapons (the exact number is classified, but it is thought to be no more than two dozen), because during the Cold War these weapons were aimed mostly at East Germany. That is why German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle found widespread public support when he launched his initiative to include the tactical warheads in the ongoing disarmament talks. Together with his colleagues from the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg) as well as Norway, Mr. Westerwelle drafted a letter to call for the withdrawal of the last American B-61 bombs from European soil. This appeal was repeated at the NATO foreign ministers’ conference in Tallinn earlier this month... read the full Take here.

In Afghanistan ist mehr deutsches Engagement gefragt

Mit dem Handelsblatt Online habe ich über das deutsche Engagment in Afghanistan gesprochen, den ganzen Artikel gibt es hier.

Interview mit dem Vorwärts

Die Arbeit des German Marshall Fund, Aussenminister Westerwelle und das Deutschlandbild in den USA, darum ging es bei einem Interview mit vorwaerts.de

"The remarks of Mr. Robertson are misguided"

Der ehemalige NATO-Generalsekretär Robertson kritisiert in einem Positionspapier die Absicht der Bundesrepublik die verbliebenen taktischen Atomraketen aus Deutschland abzuziehen. Der russische Sender "Russia Today" hat mich dazu heute interviewt:

Annen told RT: “There was great enthusiasm in my country after the speech given by President Obama in Prague, putting out his vision of a nuclear-free world.” He also said everybody in Germany emphasises that the days of Cold War are over and that“there is a growing consensus among German parties that these warheads should be removed.”

Niels Annen also believes that “there is only one future, and that must be a common future between the members of the NATO alliance and the Russian Federation. Adding if the US and Russian leaders are negotiating on the future of strategic nuclear armament, they should also include tactical weapons.”

Mehr dazu auf der Seite von RT.