Publications
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Routledge Handbook on Global China
This innovative Routledge Handbook sheds light on the complex and transformative nature of Global China, prompting a re- evaluation of existing theories on global and regional dynamics. It encourages theoretical innovation, methodological reflection and analytical transformation, providing new avenues for critical engagement with China’s global interactions. The chapters propose three key commitments for the study…
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Sentiment Shifts and a New Approach to Strategic Narratives Analysis. Russian Rhetoric on Ukraine
How do countries’ strategic narratives (SNs) evolve during conflicts? Are changes in sentiment in diplomatic communication related to kinetic developments? This paper assesses Russian rhetoric toward Ukraine from 2004 to 2019 by qualitatively and quantitively analyzing nearly 3,000 statements by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this time, Russian identity narratives changed from projecting…
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The silence of religions in times of war
Silence is not empty, but full of answers and omnipresent in everyday social life: whether individual secrecy, situational looking away or systematically imposed silence – silence conveys messages and sends signals. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of silence tends to be researched along disciplinary traditions; a comparison and even a dialogue between the disciplines has been lacking…
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Strategic Identity Narratives Through Time
This paper illustrates how studying the evolution of strategic narratives – stories that states tell in their diplomatic communication to convince publics at home and abroad to frame their views and actions – can provide valuable insights into diplomatic developments. Rhetorical shifts often precede political shifts and can help identify opportunities to influence foreign policy.…
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Religion, War, and International Relations
How does the field of study of International Relations (IR) engage with questions of religion and war? This paper addresses the long neglect the field experienced in terms of including religion in its research agenda and presents the increase of interest and approaches which has emerged in the last two decades. By including work from…
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RE:THINK Academy Magazine #02
In this second issue of our magazine, you will find numerous articles and interviews dealing with current conflicts and suggestions for ways forward in global politics. The role of the Eastern and Central European states in the face of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is once again a central topic, which we examine from…
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Moldova’s National Security Strategy and societal cohesion
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has had severe implications for security perceptions, discourses and internal societal dynamics, in particular in countries in the Russian Federation’s immediate vicinity. Viewed in terms of the ‘ontology of security’, the invasion was a paradigmatic rupture for the entire region, which as well as reinforcing longstanding fears,…
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Moldova. A Society Under Pressure. Internal Vulnerabilities and Multiple External Risks
In addition to all the destruction, suffering and horror for the people affected, Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine has also led to a profound instability of what is commonly understood as the world order. The annual CBEES State of the Region report provides an up-to-date overview of the multiple challenges facing the…
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The EU just asked for a bigger pay rise for teachers, than the government has planned
While the government says Brussels „“blocked teachers’ pay increases, documents obtained by us show that the European Commission explicitly supported giving teachers a pay rise with EU money. And faster and faster than the government’s original plan.
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Why the EU silence on why Orban’s €10bn was unblocked?
On 13 December 2023, the European Commission decided to unblock €10.2bn of EU money earmarked for Hungary, until then frozen due to the non-fulfilment of a funding criteria on judicial independence. Next day, EU leaders agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine after Viktor Orbán dropped his veto by simply walking out of the conference room.
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RE:THINK Academy Magazine #01
The first issue of the AIA Magazine provides insights into the Academy’s activities and contains contributions from our Fellows as well as renowned experts in the field of international politics on topics such as artificial intelligence, geopolitical challenges, international relations and cooperation. The magazine is published annually with a circulation of 600 copies.
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Crisis of Authority and the Cybernetic Politics of African International Organizations: The ECOWAS and Its Institutional Circuits of Heterarchical Entanglement
This chapter examines how African inter-state relations are shaped by the crisis management initiatives of African International Organizations using the case of the Economic Community of West African States. It leverages the insights of cybernetic politics and heterarchy to decentre the dominant heuristic of hierarchy in the framing of intra-African international politics given that it…
