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Publications by Thorsten Benner
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Commentary 26 Sep 2017
The German Shake-Up: Rocky Road Ahead for Angela Merkel
It would seem that German voters reserved the big bang for the ballot box, as if to counteract what many observers had decried as a "boring election". In a major shake-up, a record number of seven parties secured seats in the Bundestag following Sunday's election, including the extreme right-wing… -
Commentary 21 Sep 2017
Distanziert euch von den Autokraten!
Die Regierungen in Ungarn und Polen ernten schon seit Längerem Kritik von ihren europäischen Nachbarn. So sagte der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron erst kürzlich, mancher politische Führer aus Osteuropa offenbare eine „zynische Herangehensweise“… -
Commentary 15 Sep 2017
An Era of Authoritarian Influence?
For two decades after the end of the Cold War, the direction of international influence was clear: it radiated from liberal democracies outward, as the West sought to spread its model of governance around the world. With the help of Western-led democracy promotion, the thinking went, authoritarian… -
Commentary 18 Aug 2017
Schröder’s Russian Sell-Out
Last week’s nomination of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to the board of Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil company, is the most spectacular example to date of a Western politician selling out to an authoritarian government. Though the move is unlikely to change Berlin’s stance toward Russia,… -
Commentary 18 Aug 2017
Lehren aus der Schröder-Rosneft-Saga
Letzte Woche nominierte der russische Premier Medvedev Altbundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder für einen Posten als “unabhängiges Mitglied” im Aufsichtsrat von Rosneft, dem größten und staatlich kontrollierten russischen Ölkonzern. Es ist der bislang spektakulärste Fall des Anheuerns eines westlichen Ex-… -
Commentary 01 Aug 2017
Einstehen für die liberale Ordnung?
Für ein Vierteljahrhundert nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer sahen sich Deutschland und Europa als Hort der liberalen Demokratie, die auch global auf dem Siegeszug war. Autoritäre Regierungsmodelle würden sich bald auf dem Müllhaufen der Geschichte wiederfinden. Dabei sollte westliche… -
Commentary 28 Jul 2017
Investing in Illiberalism
“Europe,” Emmanuel Macron said last month, “isn’t a supermarket.” The French president was referring to the recent illiberal actions of some central and eastern European states, which he argued had come to rely on the bloc to “dispens[e] credit” in the form of budgetary assistance “without… -
Commentary 28 Apr 2017
World Court in the Dock
Earlier this month, Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, was asked if the US president believed that Syrian President Assad had committed war crimes. “I think that there is a court that decides those things,” Spicer replied. Indeed there is: the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The… -
Commentary 18 Apr 2017
It is Time for International Investors to Speak Up About Hungary’s Assault on Democracy
Earlier this month, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned against an assault on civil society and academic freedom in the heart of Europe. “Europe must raise its voice,” he declared. He was referring specifically to the predicament of the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. The… -
Commentary 05 Apr 2017
Orbans „illiberaler Staat“: Deutsche Unternehmen müssen dem Spiel ein Ende bereiten
Bundespräsident Frank-Walter Steinmeier mahnte am Dienstag, Europa dürfe „nicht schweigen, wenn der Zivilgesellschaft, selbst der Wissenschaft – wie jetzt an der Central European University (CEU) in Budapest – die Luft zum Atmen genommen werden soll.“ In einer in der EU bislang beispiellosen Attacke… -
Interview 03 Apr 2017
Dealing with the Authoritarian Challenges to Liberal Democracy
Badisches Tagblatt: What has stopped the global spread of liberal democracy that many hoped for and expected in the 1990s? Thorsten Benner: Liberal democracy means separation of powers, rule of law, minority rights, and a permanent contest of interest groups. All this presupposes political elites… -
Interview 03 Apr 2017
Für viele ein attraktives Paket
BT: Herr Benner, was hat den globalen Siegeszug der liberalen Demokratie, an den man in den 90er Jahren glaubte, gestoppt? Thorsten Benner: Liberale Demokratie heißt Gewaltenteilung, Rechtsstaat und Minderheitenrechte, Dauerwettstreit der Interessengruppen. All das setzt politische Eliten voraus,… -
Commentary 02 Mar 2017
‘Control’ Is the New Core of Germany’s Refugee Policy
On March 2 and 3, German Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to Egypt and Tunisia. Concerns about migration and refugees will top the agenda of her talks with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. As she prepares for crucial elections this September, for… -
Commentary 17 Nov 2016
Germany Can Protect the Liberal Order
As U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Berlin for a farewell visit on Wednesday, German policymakers were scrambling to develop a road map for dealing with the presidency of his successor, Donald Trump. Last week, in a congratulatory note to the president-elect, German Chancellor Angela Merkel… -
Commentary 15 Nov 2016
Facing Up to Authoritarian Influence-Peddling
While the US was debating Russian hacking and leaks ahead of its elections, EU leaders met last month to discuss Moscow’s efforts to influence European liberal democracies through misinformation and propaganda. “We don’t have the tools to look at this centrally,” one senior EU diplomat complained,… -
Commentary 09 Nov 2016
Wir brauchen eine Abwehrstrategie
Autoritäre Staaten nutzen die selbstverantworteten Schwächen offener Gesellschaften aus. Namentlich unsere allzu willfährigen Dienstleister bieten eine willkommene Angriffsfläche, dazu gehören Dienstleister aus der Finanzwirtschaft, Lobbyfirmen und Anwaltskanzleien. Die Hackerangriffe auf das… -
Commentary 27 Sep 2016
Germany’s Right-Wing Challenge
In recent years, Germany has emerged as Europe’s preeminent power not only because of the strength of its economy but also because of the extraordinary stability of its political system. Chancellor Angela Merkel is the embodiment of this stability: for most of the past decade, she has been able to… -
Commentary 17 Sep 2016
The End of German Populist Exceptionalism
With this Sunday’s elections in Berlin, the right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is expected to enter the tenth regional parliament in Germany. While the AfD is drawing voters from all mainstream parties, the bleeding from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is the… -
Commentary 28 Oct 2015
Die naive China-Politik beenden
Vor zehn Jahren forderte Robert Zoellick, damals stellvertretender amerikanischer Außenminister, China auf, zu einem „verantwortlichen Teilhaber“ („responsible stakeholder“) zu werden: Denn Chinas Führer hätten entschieden, dass ihr Erfolg davon abhängt, mit der modernen Welt vernetzt zu sein. Über… -
Commentary 22 Sep 2015
Beyond the “Responsible Stakeholder” Illusion
Exactly 10 years ago today, Robert Zoellick, US Deputy Secretary of State at the time, urged China to become a “responsible stakeholder.” He argued that “China has a responsibility to strengthen the international system that has enabled its success.” From Zoellick’s perspective, China’s “national…