In his essay for the major German weekend newspaper “Welt am Sonntag” Ralf Fücks, founding director of LibMod, analyzes the current debate about Israel, the efforts to get rid of Germany’s special commitment to the Jewish state (“end of the cult of guilt”), and the long lines of hostility toward Israel on the “progressive” left.

Is it legit­imate to restrict political freedoms – such as freedom of speech or the right to build political parties and to run for elections – in order to protect national security and to defend liberal democracy against its enemies? This is of course one of the classic contro­versies of political theory and practice, as Ralf Fücks analyzes.

It is her own personal story that gives hope: Israeli Tzipi Diskind was born in Jerusalem and is a member of the ultra-religious Haredim. According to the mother of four, her religious community could play a special mediating role in the conflict with the Pales­tinians. After all, they have a lot in common with religious Muslims, she says. Empathy and trust, above all, are needed so that dialog between Israelis and Pales­tinians can succeed, as Tzipi Diskind writes. She believes in a peaceful solution to the conflict — despite the extremely difficult political situation. 

Samer Abdel­razzak Sinijlawi grew up during the first intifada. He was imprisoned as a teenager. It was in prison that he got to know the other, the Israeli view of the conflict. Despite the current political situation, he believes in a peaceful solution between Israelis and Pales­tinians — with the help of a dialog based on trust and mutual empathy. The West can also contribute, he says.

In an Op-Ed for spiegel.de, Ralf Fücks and Marieluise Beck present 10 propo­si­tions about what is at stake in Russia’s war against Ukraine and what needs to be done.

In the light of Vladimir Putin’s military failures in Ukraine and discus­sions about Russia’s possible future after Putin, there has been much discussion recently about Russia “disin­te­grating” or “falling apart”...

On the 24th of August Ukraine celebrates its Indepen­dence Day. An indepen­dence for which the country pays a high price. In his commentary, Vitaly Sych, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian media house NV, explains why it will still be a day of hope.

Ukraine must rely on its partners for funding to win the war and rebuild the country. This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) was an oppor­tunity for Ukraine to build trust and trans­parency regarding its plans and goals for the funding. Now Ukraine should address its long-term challenges and its commitment to build a stable business environment, while preparing for the URC 2024. Despite or even because of the ongoing war Ukraine should make reforms its priority next to fighting Russia and liber­ating its territories.

Another Russia is possible: On 5/​6 June, repre­sen­ta­tives of the Russian opposition and the EU discussed the perspec­tives of a post-imperial and democ­ratic Russia. LibMod Director Ralf Fücks summa­rizes the four key takeaways.

It is time to think about a Russia after Putin. If defeated in Ukraine, condi­tions in the country will also change. Whether for the better or the worse is an open question. Without a departure from the imperial delusion, Russia will remain in the eternal vicious circle of war politics and author­i­tarian rule.

In the once secular US, religious funda­men­talists are increas­ingly gaining influence, as most recently shown by the abortion ruling. Trump has appointed 120 conser­v­ative judges during his term in office...

Chancellor Scholz supports Ukraine only so much that it can defend itself with diffi­culty, but cannot launch a counter­attack. But if Putin is not defeated in Ukraine, there will be no...

The granting of candidate status does not mean accession: it is above all a recog­nition of the progress Ukraine has made in reforms and a great symbolic gesture to a people who are...

Hong Kong’s free society is being destroyed by China’s National Security Laws. With the election of John Lee as Chief Executive, a nightmare has come true for Hong Kong’s democracy movement....

So far, the people of Ukraine have borne the burden of the war all alone. For the German precept of “never again”, this is a reality shock, comments Marieluise Beck.

Based on six criteria of the United Nations Convention against Genocide, Russia is committing genocide in Mariupol, says Inter­na­tional law expert Otto Luchterhandt.

Political scientist Oleksandra Keudel warns of European and global conse­quences in the case of Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

How should the West counter Russian threats of war? We document Ralf Fücks’ OP ED at DIE WELT, 21.12.2021.

The consid­erable break­throughs in the EU-Ukraine economic agenda have been harmed by sluggish political devel­opment, partic­u­larly concerning the rule of law. The judicial reform, anti-corruption efforts, independent and efficient law-enforcement...

The impact of the Biden-Merkel-Agreement on Nord Stream 2 in Ukraine is simply disas­trous. Especially among western oriented, reform-minded people trust in Germany and the US fell at a record low. China...

A commentary by Ralf Fücks on Putin’s latest historical policy manifesto, published by the Kremlin.

Only temporarily, says Michael Zürn, Director at the Berlin Social Science Center. 

In the coalition agreement, the CDU and the SPD dodge important reforms and take a scattershot approach to the distri­b­ution of a great deal of money. The big challenges, like climate, demographic...