Crises

Articles about crises and crisis management. This section deals with personal experiences, methods for dealing with difficult situations and approaches for long-term stabilization.

Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics: How Europe lost its strategic role

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Game theory explains 25 years of geopolitics

For many, game theory sounds like dry mathematics, like formulas, like something that only plays a role in lectures or business games. In reality, however, it is an ancient thinking tool that existed long before its academic formalization. Diplomats used it, commanders used it, captains of industry used it - long before it was even called that. In the end, it is nothing more than a sober question:

„When several players have to make decisions in an uncertain situation - what options do they have and what are the consequences?“

This kind of thinking has become surprisingly rare today. Instead of analyzing alternatives, much is narrowed down to moral narratives or spontaneous interpretations. Yet in geopolitical issues in particular, a clear analysis of the possibilities would be the foundation of any mature policy. It is precisely this old craft that I would like to take up again in this article.

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Permanent crisis as a normal state: How narratives distort our perception

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Permanent crisis, narratives

It's strange how certain developments creep up quietly and only reveal their full impact in retrospect. When I think about how I perceive the news today, I realize that my approach to it changed fundamentally more than twenty years ago. Since the turn of the millennium, I have hardly watched any traditional television news. It was never a conscious decision against something - more a gradual growing out of it. At some point, I simply realized that the daily bombardment of alternating doomsday scenarios was neither improving my life nor making my vision clearer.

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Jan-Josef Liefers: A portrait of attitude, origins and artistic freedom

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Jan-Josef Liefers

When you see Jan-Josef Liefers today as the eccentric Professor Boerne in „Tatort“, it's easy to forget how long it took to get there. I myself have always enjoyed seeing him in this role: as a mixture of subtlety, narcissism, humor and astonishing clarity. But this mixture doesn't come out of nowhere. It is the result of a life that began in a completely different Germany - in the GDR, in a country with narrow borders and clear guidelines.

To understand why Liefers takes such a consistent stance today, you have to go back to his childhood, to his parents' theater world and to a time when criticism of the system was anything but without consequences.

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State of the German economy in 2025: Five years of crisis, figures, trends and outlook

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State of the German economy in 2025

If you look at the German economy today, it is almost impossible to separate the last five years. It was a chain of events that overlapped, reinforced and in some cases blocked each other. The starting point was 2020 - the year in which the pandemic brought public life, supply chains and entire industries to a standstill in one fell swoop. Many companies had to close, production was interrupted and government aid was provided to prevent the economy from collapsing completely in the short term.

However, what seemed like a temporary exceptional situation at the time developed into something bigger: The consequences of the decisions made at the time still affect the everyday lives of entrepreneurs, the self-employed and employees today. Anyone who thought back then that after a few months everything would be „as it used to be“ can now see that many things have changed permanently.

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Why Dieter Bohlen speaks when others remain silent: A portrait of diligence and clarity

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There are personalities that you only really understand when you detach yourself from their public image. Dieter Bohlen belongs exactly in this category. Musically, I myself am not a big fan of his shallow, often very simple melodies - and yet, to be fair, it has to be said that what he created was extremely precise, target group-oriented and clearly structured for the 1980s. Bohlen was never the great artist in the romantic sense. But he was an outstanding businessman, a hard worker and someone who understood his craft in a way that few do today.

What makes him interesting for me is not so much his music - but the fact that he remained successful for decades, while whole generations of artists came and went around him. That he attended the same commercial college in Oldenburg as I did. And that today - after many years of silence - he is suddenly taking a clear stand on social issues. That is the reason why it is worth looking at Dieter Bohlen as a person beyond the usual media image: not as a pop titan, not as a TV pundit, but as a craftsman, businessman and mirror of a time that understands itself less and less.

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Dieter Bohlen in plain language: Why Germany is failing because of its own bureaucracy

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Dieter Bohlen in conversation with Dominik Kettner

This article highlights a recent, remarkably candid conversation between Dieter Bohlen - the longtime music producer, entrepreneur and one of the most recognizable faces of German pop culture - and Dominik Kettner, a precious metals expert, YouTuber and financial entrepreneur who has been studying wealth protection and economic trends for years.

At first glance, the meeting of the two seems unusual: here the entertainer with decades of international experience, there the financial analyst who primarily addresses security-conscious savers and entrepreneurs. But it is precisely this mixture that makes the interview so exciting. Bohlen speaks freely, without a PR filter, while Kettner drills down and makes complex developments tangible. Together, they create a space in which undesirable political developments, economic risks and personal experiences are interwoven - clearly, directly and without excuses.

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Where does SARS-CoV-2 come from? A factual overview of all corona theories

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SARS-CoV-2 - Corona

When the first reports of an unusual lung disease emerged in Wuhan, most of us thought it was just a side note. A new pathogen, somewhere in China - you heard something like that from time to time. But within a few weeks, the situation changed dramatically. Borders closed, schools shut down, events were canceled. There was uncertainty, and suddenly this virus affected everyone - directly.

With a little distance, you can sense today that there is still a lot going on beneath the surface. Many people have the feeling that not everything was open, not everything was clear and not everything was fully communicated at the time. Anyone who tries to find objective information about the origin of the virus quickly encounters contradictions, gaps and conflicting accounts. For this very reason, it is worth sorting through the topic calmly and clearly - without haste, without polemics, without pigeonholing.

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Your opinion counts - New surveys on current topics

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Surveys on current topics

A magazine thrives on exchange - now also interactively. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't write to preach - but to initiate thought processes. The articles on my website have never been a one-way street, but an invitation to reflect. However, what has been missing so far is the opportunity for readers to take a very concrete stand - anonymously, honestly, directly. This is exactly what is changing now.

You can now find interactive polls on my website that are integrated directly into articles on specific topics - and also appear in rotation in the sidebar. This is a step that was long overdue: because in a world in which more and more opinions are being imposed from above, every freely expressed opinion from below is a piece of digital sovereignty.

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