Category: Security policy

Blind spot in the North Atlantic

After the end of the Cold War, the USA closed the radar stations installed on Greenland. Now Denmark has once again decided on an Arctic surveillance programme. After a two-year analysis and planning phase, the Danish parliament decided in February of this year to implement the programme for expanded surveillance of the Arctic air and sea space that had already been adopted in 2019. A tension-free Arctic is a top political priority for Danish policymakers, but the expansion of the Russian base chain along the Siberian coast is a cause for concern. This applies in particular to the Nagurskoye airbase on the Franz Josef Islands, as fighter bombers can use air refuelling to attack the American base at Thule from here.

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Is the journey the destination?

In Kiel, experts discussed the future of western navies Kiss, the Kiel International Seapower Symposium, focussed this year on the paths of an allied maritime strategy in the 21st century. After focussing on maritime strategic ends in 2018 and means in 2019. The conference is part of a series of symposia that evaluate NATO's Maritime Strategy, published in 2011. It also aims to provide impetus for future EU, NATO and national concepts in the maritime sector. Because in view of the latest geopolitical developments and the resurgence of competition between the major powers, some even believe that adjustments are...

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Climate-neutral shipping feasible by 2050

Norbert Brackmann interviewed in marineforum issue 09/2021 The German government has recognised the importance of the maritime industry late, but perhaps not too late. marineforum spoke to Norbert Brackmann about the importance of the maritime industry for Germany, how it fits into the European context and future challenges. The German government's coordinator for the maritime industry, Norbert Brackmann, will no longer be available for this position after the next parliamentary elections. Brackmann has been in this position since April 2018 and has rendered outstanding services to shipyards, suppliers, ports and other maritime sectors in Germany during this time. He has...

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Between disinterest and a new Great Game

Over the past few decades, America has paid little attention to the Arctic. However, the increased involvement of Russia and China is also driving the USA northwards again. The United States has been the world's strongest superpower for around a century, but is it also an Arctic power? When Paul Kennedy caused a furore in the 1980s with his bestseller "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers" and predicted the creeping decline of the USA, his diagnosis was clearly premature. Just a few years later, the implosion and subsequent territorial collapse of the Soviet Union meant that the only serious rival for power was out of the race. The...

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Between wealth and poverty

Far from the public eye, violence is escalating in the East African country of Mozambique. The jihadist insurgency also has a maritime dimension. At the end of March 2021, jihadist fighters linked to the Islamic State attacked the coastal town of Palma in northern Mozambique. According to media reports, several dozen people were killed during several days of fighting around the city of 75,000 inhabitants. The media response that followed the events in Palma brought global public attention to a conflict that has been characterised by violence since 2017 for the first time on a large scale. Since then, the clashes in the country have increasingly escalated. So far...

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