Sicherheit und Frieden? Ein Blick von außen

Whether or not, and how, ‘security’ and ‘peace’ go together has always been an issue of discussion among peace researchers. The focus on peace instead of on (military) security was constitutive for early German ‘critical peace research’. The inception of S+F can be regarded as an attempt to bridge the divide between peace and security studies. In this regard, the title of the journal was programmatic. It served a useful purpose when, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, peace research (with important exceptions, of course) tended to move towards critical security studies combined with a reductionist understanding of peace as ‘comprehensive security’ and as a label on a tool box for civil conflict management (in the ‘new wars’). In this context, S+F reminded the community of the need to maintain the distinction between peace and security. The journal also offered the space for debating this distinction in terms of the different logics of peace and security.

Maximum Pressure, Minimum Deal: President Trump’s Trade War with a Rising China*

In the context of the American decline, President Trump’s trade war toward a rising China fits into the pattern of a declining hegemon, as predicted by hegemonic stability theory. Trump’s trade policy is driven by his view of trade as a zero-sum game, his fixation on the trade deficit, and his “maximum pressure” negotiation approach. The result - the “phase one” deal - seems to be a trade ceasefire rather than a lasting trade peace between the declining hegemon and its ascending challenger because it stands on a shaky foundation. This “phase one” deal does not address the structural problems in the US-Sino trade relation. Moreover, its goals are unrealistic, and it is built upon a dispute settlement that favors deal determination over rule-based conflict resolution.

Friedenslogik – ein heuristisches Projekt

The logic of peace approach is a heuristic project. It can be developed in two ways. The first one begins with concept-related reflections. In this perspective, the discrimination between peace and security becomes part of peace itself. Furthermore, the logic of peace is characterized by abstract parameters like sociality, symmetry, and averseness to violence. The second way starts with the analysis of the contemporary peace discourse. It adds a conflict-orientated perspective and generates a set of five questions and answers - for instance with regard to the defined problem and its causes. Both ways lead to the same end, but each of them deserves more elaboration.

Trump, Russia and Ukraine: The Road to Chaos

This article analyzes President Donald Trump’s diversion of US foreign policy towards Russia and Ukraine from its traditional path, often to serve his personal and political interests rather than US national interests. His personal ties with Russia’s President Putin and his suspicions about Ukraine’s leaders have undermined his support for Ukraine in resisting Russian actions in Crimea and the Donbas. Although Trump’s policies have been constrained by Congress and Government foreign policy professionals, his acquittal by the Senate in his impeachment trial and his dismissal or marginalization of experts, especially in the State Department, are increasingly freeing him from these constraints.

Migration, Border Security, and New Forms of Resistance in the Age of Trump*

The present article analyzes the responses to US border security policies and particularly US immigration policy by activists, migrants, and progressive actors during the Trump era. It explains new forms of popular resistance in the US and south of its border, as well as their effects in national politics, policies and geopolitics. This analysis focuses on migrant caravans and related protest movements. Finally, this article provides preliminary explanations of such phenomena that include considerations of geopolitics, philanthropy, and the plausible utilization of counterinsurgency tactics.