Between Scylla and Charybdis The timing could hardly be better: just as Christopher Nolan brings one of the defining epics of Western civilization back to the cinema, the EU finds itself caught between its own Scylla and Charybdis. The Union is under pressure on every side — lagging in the AI race, struggling to hold its ground in world trade. The Draghi report, commissioned by … How to Save a Continent? Why the EU needs to go all in on Industrial Policy (1) weiterlesen

“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
— Sun Tzu, The Art of War

This oft-cited maxim not only encapsulates centuries of Chinese strategic thinking but also prefigures a modern concept increasingly relevant in global security discourse: hybrid threats. Coined by Frank G. Hoffman in 2005, the term refers to a form of warfare blending conventional and unconventional tactics, state and non-state actors, and overt and covert strategies—often remaining below the threshold of open conflict.

As Europe grapples with this evolving threat landscape, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) emerges as a particularly complex actor. This article explores how “hybrid threats with Chinese characteristics” manifest in the EU context and how China strategically exploits political and economic levers to erode cohesion and assert influence.
Hybrid Threats „with Chinese Characteristics“ – The PRC’s Hybrid influence in the EU weiterlesen

Tomorrow, Thursday, 15 May 2025, another round of “peace negotiations” may take place in Istanbul. Following the visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a joint statement was issued calling for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire — a proposal originally put forward by President Trump. This initiative aimed to lay the groundwork for genuine peace talks. However, the Kremlin responded with yet another deflection strategy, proposing a round of sham negotiations in Istanbul.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Kremlin’s bluff by announcing his readiness to negotiate personally with President Putin — an offer the latter predictably declined, as acknowledging Zelenskyy would imply recognition of his legitimacy, which the Kremlin officially denies. A decisive obstacle to any lasting peace is the ideological underpinning of Russia’s foreign policy — a worldview shaped over 25 years of Putin’s rule, which continues to fuel Moscow’s neo-imperialist agenda, particularly in what it considers its “near abroad.”

So what is the underlying justification and ideology of the Kremlin and Russia’s imperialism to justify its full-scale invasion of a smaller neighbor violating international law? The “eclectidology” of Putin’s Russia: The ideological underpinnings of Russia’s neo-imperialism weiterlesen