Germany

Politics

The ruling Green party's co-leaders, Omid Nouripour and Ricarda Lang, resigned on Wednesday to give the party "a fresh start" after underwhelming results in three east German state elections, the Financial Times reported Sept 25. 

Germany: Green Party Leadership Resigns to Address Party’s “Deepest Crisis” in a Decade

Free Democratic Party (FDP) chairman and current finance minister Christian Lindner announced an "autumn of decisions" that could include his party exiting the coalition should cooperation with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens continue to fail on immigration, economic growth and the federal budget by Dec. 21, Euractiv reported Sept. 23.

Germany: FDP Chief Lindner Warns of 'Autumn of Decisions,' Hints at Coalition Collapse

Germany's incumbent center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD, made a last-minute comeback in Brandenburg state's Sept. 22 election, winning 30.9% of votes, narrowly followed by the opposition far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, with 29.2%, DW reported on Sept. 23

Germany: SPD Scrapes Past AfD in Brandenburg State Elections

Lithuania

Finland

Latvia

France

Estonia

Romania

Spain

Italy

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled her team of Commissioners, a press release by the Commission shows Sept. 17. 

EU: Von der Leyen Unveils New European Commission

Uzbekistan

Kazakhstan

Economics

Energy

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a series of agreements to increase bilateral cooperation with Uzbekistan across several areas, including critical raw materials and migration, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 15.

Germany, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan: Berlin Strengthens Central Asian Energy and Raw Material Ties

Luxembourg

Denmark

Belgium

Netherlands

Military & Security

Berlin announced that the country will extend border controls with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark for at least another six months to ''further restrict irregular immigration'', reported the Financial Times on Sept. 9.

Germany: Berlin Extends Temporary Immigration Controls to All Land Borders

Iran

United Kingdom

France, Germany and the United Kingdom -- the so-called E3 grouping of signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal -- issued a joint statement on Sept. 10 criticizing Iran's transfer of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Europe: France, Germany and the U.K. Sanction Iran Over Missile Transfers to Russia

China

Despite warnings from China, a German frigate and a supply ship will sail through the Taiwan Strait in mid-September, Der Spiegel reported on Sept. 7.

Germany: Navy to Embark on First Transit Through Taiwan Strait Since 2002

Assessments

Mozambique

Brazil

United States

Israel

Tunisia

Ukraine

A man in Maputo walks past a wall covered with electoral posters in support of Daniel Chapo, the ruling party candidate in Mozambique’s presidential election, on Oct. 4, 2024. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Visits Germany as Mozambique, Tunisia and Brazil Hold Elections

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Japan

Sri Lanka

The site of an Israeli strike on Sept. 19 in the southern Lebanese border village of Mahmoudiyeh. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah will continue to intensify in the next week.

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Escalating Israel-Hezbollah Conflict, the Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Europe

Russia

A Russian warship transits the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Cyber

Russia's risk tolerance for physical and cyber operations against Western targets appears to be increasing, raising the likelihood of more disruptive and/or violent attacks.

A More Brazen Russia Slowly Raises the Specter of a NATO Confrontation

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mongolia

Supporters attend a campaign event for the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Erfurt, eastern Germany, on Aug. 29, 2024, ahead of upcoming regional elections.

The Weekly Rundown: An Africa-China Summit, State Elections in Eastern Germany

Turkey

Cambodia

Turkmenistan

Kyrgyzstan

Afghanistan

The Geopolitics of Water

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The escalating impacts of climate change and water scarcity will inflame tensions between Central Asian countries, raising the risk of violent state conflict in the coming decades. 

The Looming Threat of Central Asian 'Water Wars'

Sweden

Norway

Austria

Slovenia

Hungarian police officers check cars at the Nickelsdorf-Hegyeshalom border crossing on the Austrian-Hungarian border on March 18, 2020. 

Increasing levels of migration, terrorism activity and Russian aggression in Europe are driving Schengen countries to tighten their border controls, heralding a more spotty functioning of the passport-free travel zone.

Growing Border Controls Threaten Europe's Schengen Area

Cars drive past election campaign posters in the German city of Zwickau, located in the eastern state of Saxony, on Aug. 20, 2024, ahead of Saxony's Sept. 1 state election. 

A strong showing by far-right and -left parties could disrupt the implementation of federal migration and energy policies in Germany's east, while weakening mainstream parties ahead of the 2025 national election.

Previewing State Elections in Eastern Germany

Columns

On Geopolitics

A recreational sailing yacht suspected of use in the sabotage of undersea gas pipelines stands in dry dock on the headland of Bug on Ruegen Island on March 17, 2023, near Dranske, Germany. In a high-profile article published late on Aug. 14, The Wall Street Journal provided the latest and arguably most detailed publicly available account that Ukraine was responsible for sabotaging the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea in late September 2022.

The Wall Street Journal provided the latest and arguably most detailed publicly available account that Ukraine was responsible for sabotaging the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, a reminder to us of the importance of acknowledging and doing our best to mitigate our analytic biases.

What New Revelations About the Nord Stream Attack Can Remind Us About Analytical Biases

Mexico

Vietnam

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump on June 22 in Philadelphia. Should Trump return to the White House in 2025, a second term would see him target China, Mexico, Vietnam and the European Union to varying degrees.

Global Elections

U.S.-China Relations

Should former President Donald Trump return to the White House in 2025, a second term would see him target China, Mexico, Vietnam and the European Union to varying degrees.

What a Second Trump Term Could Mean for Global Trade: Who Trump Would Tariff, and How They Would Respond

Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party, arrives to speak to the media in Berlin on June 10, 2024, the day after the elections for the European Parliament were held in Germany.

Mainstream parties will continue their collective stance in preventing the AfD from entering the federal government, but the far-right party's strong support in eastern Germany could still enhance its sway in state-level politics.

The Rise of Germany's Far Right Portends Political Risks in the Years to Come

South Africa

Australia

Malaysia

New Zealand

Switzerland

President Cyril Ramaphosa is sworn in as member of parliament during the first sitting of the new South African parliament on June 14 in Cape Town, South Africa. Ramaphosa will be inaugurated to a second term in a ceremony scheduled to take place June 19 in Pretoria.

The Weekly Rundown: Ukraine's Peace Summit, South Africa's Inauguration

Snapshots

A voter casts their ballot in European parliamentary elections on June 9, 2024, in Berlin, Germany.

Growing political tensions within Germany's ruling coalition will exacerbate infighting, though early elections remain unlikely.

What a Poor Performance in EU Elections Means for Germany's Coalition Government

<p>Germany is a country located in Central Europe, bordered by Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The country has mountainous terrain in the south, dominated by the Alps, with a plateau and forests in the center and the north. The Rhine, the Danube and the Elbe rivers, combined with Germany&#39;s central location in Europe and its access to the North Sea, allowed the country to become a leading exporter and one of the most prosperous economies in Europe. Between the late 10th and early 19th centuries, the territories of today&#39;s Germany were the heart of the Holy Roman Empire, a collection of small kingdoms, principalities, duchies and city-states. This led to the development of multiple seats of political and economic power that achieved unity in 1871. While Berlin is Germany&#39;s capital and most populous city, the country also has several economic and political centers, including Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt. Germany&rsquo;s location in the heart of the North European Plain has led to constant conflicts with its neighbors like France and Russia. After World War II, Germany was divided between East Germany, in the Soviet orbit, and West Germany, integrated to the European Economic Community and NATO. The country achieved reunification in 1990. Germany&rsquo;s main geographic challenge is preserving its territorial unity and maintaining a political balance between regions within the country. It also seeks to maintain a political alliance with France and a balance of power in Europe to preserve peace and keep markets open for trade. Berlin&#39;s efforts to keep the European Union closely integrated amid the current economic crisis are in line with this strategy.</p>

EU: Regional Blocs

Divided EU Foreign Policies

The Fate of the Eurozone

European Disintegration

SITUATION REPORTS

Germany: Green Party Leadership Resigns to Address Party’s “Deepest Crisis” in a Decade

Germany: FDP Chief Lindner Warns of 'Autumn of Decisions,' Hints at Coalition Collapse

Germany: SPD Scrapes Past AfD in Brandenburg State Elections

EU: Von der Leyen Unveils New European Commission

Germany, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan: Berlin Strengthens Central Asian Energy and Raw Material Ties

Germany: Berlin Extends Temporary Immigration Controls to All Land Borders

Europe: France, Germany and the U.K. Sanction Iran Over Missile Transfers to Russia

Germany: Navy to Embark on First Transit Through Taiwan Strait Since 2002

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