Geopolitics

Geopolitics describes the interactions between energy, the economy, technology and international power structures. Many developments that seem like isolated events in Europe are in fact part of larger strategic movements that have often been growing in the background for years or decades. In my analyses, I shed light on these connections soberly and without ideological filters: How do energy prices change political decisions? What role does AI play for global power blocs? And why is Europe losing strategic influence? If you want to understand where the world is really heading, you need geopolitical perspectives.

Fracking, LNG and energy policy: a sober analysis of risks, opportunities and reality

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Natural gas fracking and energy policy

There are political and social discussions that are not linear. They come in waves. Fracking is one such issue. For years, the matter in Germany seemed settled. With the legislative package of 2016 and the resulting regulation from 2017, the framework was clear: commercial fracking in unconventional reservoirs will not take place. The debate calmed down and the issue largely disappeared from the public eye. It was as if a lid had been put on it.

But this impression was deceptive. Because while the debate in Germany was dying down, the world was changing in the background. The energy supply, which had long been considered relatively stable, came under increasing pressure. Prices began to fluctuate, supply chains became more fragile and geopolitical tensions increased. The events from 2022 at the latest made it clear that energy is not a matter of course, but a strategic commodity.

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Who actually is J. D. Vance? A portrait of his origins, career, contradictions and future

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Who is J. D. Vance?

International reporting on the United States is usually dominated by the big, loud figures. Names that polarize, that provoke, that generate headlines. For many European observers, politics in the USA is therefore often an interplay of escalation, conflict and clearly recognizable opposites. And then suddenly a name appears that doesn't fit into this picture at all: J. D. Vance.

Not a classic loudspeaker. Not a man of grand gestures. Not a politician who immediately attracts attention with pithy words. And yet he is suddenly there - in interviews, in analyses, in political debates. Not as a marginal figure, but as someone who obviously plays a role that is bigger than it appears at first glance. For many readers in Germany or Europe, this is precisely where the real question begins: who is this man anyway - and why has he suddenly become so important?

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The Iran-Israel conflict: Why this escalation is the West's strategic nightmare

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Israel-Iran - Strategic nightmare

There are moments in the story when you sense that something is shifting. Not abruptly, not with a single decision, but like a line that slowly but inexorably runs through the dust of old certainties. The past few days have been such moments. I wondered for a long time whether I should really write this editorial - after all, I have already dealt with Iran in detail once before and made it clear that you can only understand this country and its power structures if you look at the decades-old lines. But it is precisely these lines that have now become visible again, more clearly than ever.

What makes me sit up and take notice is not just the hard facts: the nightly strikes, the overloading of Israeli missile defenses, the rhetoric of political leaders, the increasing shift of power in the background. It is the underlying pattern - the sense that here is a conflict entering a phase that will be a nightmare for any strategist. And that is precisely why I am writing this article: because many see the surface, but hardly anyone understands what is brewing underneath.

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From the end of compulsory military service to school strikes: the new debate on the Bundeswehr and education

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School strikes on compulsory military service and the Bundeswehr at school

When I myself was conscripted into the Bundeswehr in the 1990s, it was still a fairly normal part of life for many young men in Germany. Anyone who had finished school did either civilian service or military service. It was simply part of life back then - just like training or studying. People talked about it, they knew roughly what to expect, and almost everyone had someone in their circle of acquaintances who was currently doing military service or had recently done so.

I myself also did my military service. There were no major ideological debates about it in my environment. Of course, there was criticism of the military or discussions about deployments abroad - but the Bundeswehr was basically a normal part of the state. It was there, but it didn't play a particularly dominant role in most people's everyday lives. Interestingly, this also applied to school.

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Europe between freedom of expression and regulation: New US info portal raises questions

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EU censorship, hate speech and the new US portal

I recently stumbled across a piece of information that initially interested me rather casually - and then stuck with me. A report said that the US government was planning a new online portal. A portal that would make content accessible that is blocked in certain regions of the world. Countries such as Iran and China were mentioned. But then another term came up: Europe.

Europe.

The idea that American agencies are developing an information portal that is expressly intended for European citizens, because certain content is no longer accessible here, made me wonder. Not outraged or panicked, but wary. When Europe is suddenly mentioned in the same breath as traditional areas of censorship, it is worth taking a closer look.

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Cancel Culture in the West: Sport, universities, the military and EU sanctions analyzed

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Cancel Culture in the West

When you hear the word „cancel culture“ today, you quickly think of universities, social networks or prominent individuals who come under pressure for making a thoughtless statement. Originally, the phenomenon was actually very much located in the cultural and academic sphere. It was about boycotts, protests and symbolic distancing. But something has shifted in recent years. The dynamic has grown, it has become more serious - and above all: it has become more political.

Today, we are not just observing individual debates about lectures or Twitter posts. We see athletes who are not allowed to compete. Artists whose programs are being cancelled. Professors coming under massive pressure. Military officers whose statements make international waves within hours. States that keep lists. Entry bans. Sanctions that affect not just institutions, but specific individuals.

This is more than a marginal cultural phenomenon. It has become a political mechanism.

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Energy, power and dependency: Europe's path from world export champion to consumer

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Europe and energy

If you look around Germany today, you will notice one thing: The energy situation is different than it was twenty years ago. And fundamentally so. Two decades ago, Germany was considered the epitome of industrial stability. Reliable electricity supply, predictable gas prices, robust grid infrastructure. Energy was not an ongoing political issue, but a matter of course. It was there. It worked. It was affordable. It was - and this is crucial - plannable.

Today, however, energy has become a strategic uncertainty factor in Europe, especially in Germany. Prices fluctuate, industry is shifting investments, political debates revolve around subsidies, emergency reserves and dependencies. Energy is no longer just infrastructure - it is a power factor, a bargaining chip and a geopolitical lever.

In this article, we want to calmly trace this development. Not in an alarmist or conspiratorial way, but step by step. What has changed? What decisions have been made? Who benefits? And above all: how did a continent that was sovereign in terms of energy policy end up in a situation in which it barely has any independent control over its most basic foundation - its energy supply?

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Russia, NATO and the fear of war: what can be proven - and what can't

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NATO, Russia and the fear of war

This article is not the result of a current impulse, indignation or partisanship. Rather, it is the result of a long period of observation - and a growing sense of unease. I have been studying Russia not just since the war in Ukraine. My interest goes back further. I had already studied Russian as a foreign language at school, and at that time I studied the language, history and mentality in a very relaxed way. This early interest led me to follow developments there over the years without constantly changing my perspective.

This is precisely why I am shocked today by how crude, how simplistic and how self-assured many images about Russia and its alleged goals are placed in the public sphere - often without sources, without context, sometimes even without any internal logic. It becomes particularly irritating when such narratives not only appear in talk shows or commentary columns, but are also adopted almost without reflection by journalists, politicians or other official voices. At some point, the question inevitably arises:

Is that actually true?

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