Till Schmidt

According to Oliver Moody, people in the Baltic states have been aware of the threat posed by Russia for much longer. The Berlin corre­spondent for The Times and Sunday Times has just written a book about “The Baltic Sea Conflict Zone” (“Konflik­tzone Ostsee”) In an interview with Till Schmidt, he explains what we can learn from the Baltic states.

In his book “Appeasing Hitler”, British historian Tim Bouverie examines the road to World War II, focusing primarily on the British and, to some extent, French reactions to Nazi Germany. In an interview with our author Till Schmidt, Bouverie reveals the parallels he sees between history and how Putin is being dealt with today.

In the face of multiple crises and a depressing world situation, it is not surprising that many non-fiction books from this fall are deeply pessimistic. Unlike “On Freedom” by US historian Timothy Snyder. Our author Till Schmidt spoke with him about his latest book. 

Hongkong-born political scientist and historian Steve Tsang is director of the SOAS China Institute at London University. His expertise includes gover­nance and security policies in China, Taiwan and Hongkong. In his latest book, he examines the Xi Jinping system. Interview: Till Schmidt.

The situation in the Middle East is at the brink of escalation. While observers are waiting for Iran and its proxies to start their announced attack on Israel, diplo­matic crisis inter­vention is running at full speed in order to prevent a full-blown regional confla­gration. In his interview with Till Schmidt, Ali Vaez analyzes the current situation.

In Gaza, the Israeli army is currently fighting Hamas, while at the same time the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah in the north is at the brink of escalation. Is there a two-fronts war ahead for Israel? Till Schmidt talks with political scientist Matthew Levitt.

Despite the far-right’s gains, the overall picture remains mixed: signif­icant losses on the one hand, record results on the other — including for new far-right parties. Europe expert Nicolas Startin on difficult alliances, the voting behaviour of young people and the future of the Green Deal.

Yossi Klein Halevi in an interview about the goals and motives of the far right in Israel’s government – and why the decision whether to exempt the ultra-Orthodox from military service could lead to the fall of the coalition.

Gershon Baskin is one of the leading voices on the Middle East peace process and one of the few Israelis with direct contact to Hamas. For almost two decades, he was in contact with Ghazi Hamad, one of organ­i­sa­tion’s senior political leaders. In this interview, Baskin provides insights into Hamas’ ideology, its often presumed willingness to sign ceasefire agree­ments and into ways to combat the organi­za­tion’s cult of death.

Arkady Mil-Man was Israeli ambas­sador to Russia and now heads the Russia program at think tank Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. In an interview with Till Schmidt, Mil-Man explains the role Russia played in Hamas’s attack on Israel and the relationship between the Russian and Iranian regimes.

Israel and Iran: Iranian-Israeli author Meir Javendafar in an interview with Till Schmidt about the mutual perception of the two countries, the current situation of protests and Russia’s influence on the nuclear agreement.

In Israel, Chinese invest­ments are increas­ingly viewed criti­cally, partly because of China’s relations with Iran. On the other hand, China offers enormous economic oppor­tu­nities, according to Galia Lavi of the...