Date & time: Tuesday, 25 May at 6:00PM CET / 12:00PM ET
Format: Online discussion
Join us for a discussion with Joerg Forbrig and Serge Kharytonau on the pressing issue of the hijacking of the Ryanair flight and the kidnapping of Roman Protasevich by Belarus. The shocking actions taken by Belarusian authorities to arrest one of the main opposition journalists living in exile evoked a strong initial response from the EU leaders but will this event lead to more sanctions put on Belarus?
In the discussion, we will touch on the international reaction to the recent events, Biden’s agenda for his visit to Europe in June and the resilience of Belarusian society after nearly 10 months of the protests. Is it still possible to save Roman Protasevich and what is the best way to do it?
May 20, 2021
Muriel AsseburgSenior Fellow in the Middle East and Africa Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs
The EU and its member states can do little to mediate a cessation of violence between Israel and Hamas due to their self-imposed no-contact policy toward Hamas.
But they can contribute to de-escalation by addressing the security needs, rights, and religious feelings of both populations rather than framing the conflict mainly as one between Israel and a terrorist organization, in which they take Israel’s side.
What is more, they can support ending impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity by backing the International Criminal Court’s investigation into suspected crimes committed by both Palestinian armed groups and Israel rather than trying to undermine the court’s work.
The Biden administration is trying to rebuild relations with Europe, but it is moving cautiously to unwind tariffs imposed by President Donald J. Trump.
May 13, 2021
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – Despite their increasingly bitter rivalry, the United States and China have recently been sending the right signals regarding potential cooperation on combating climate change.
The joint statement issued after the mid-April meeting between John Kerry, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, indicates that the two governments may be trying to use collaboration on climate policy to prevent their relationship from devolving into outright enmity. But the path ahead is strewn with geopolitical landmines.
It is not difficult to understand why the U.S. and China are behaving responsibly at the moment. Both countries view climate change as an existential threat and have a strong interest in cooperation. And Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping know that open intransigence or obstructionism on this issue would cost them dearly in terms of international public opinion.
4 ways to work toward an anti-racist allyship
Advancing Racial Equality & Social Justice
4 ways to work toward an anti-racist allyship
By Engy Abdelkader
Image from Shutterstock.
Over the course of the last four years, the Trump administration’s policies, practices and rhetoric not only laid bare the deleterious effects of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, but it also revealed the manner in which ideologies of oppression anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-Asian racism may also overlap, intersect and interlock.
For example, what was initially understood as a Muslim travel ban eventually evolved into an African travel ban. The 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh by a white supremacist who killed 11 congregants and injured six others showed how anti-Semitism and Islamophobia intersected in the mind of the alleged killer who posted xenophobic screeds about both Jews and Muslims. Notably, the attacker believed tha