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Hybrid Power Projection by Authoritarian Small States

The UAE´s Strategic Engagement in East Africa from 2011 Onwards

An academic analysis of the UAE'S strategic investment in Sudan, South Sudan and Somaliland since 2011 by author Laurence N. Jost. Ninth volume of the research and policy paper series "Security Dialogue for East Africa: Insights & Perspectives".

September 22, 2025
Single title

Russia's Hybrid War: The Northern Front

Tracking Russia’s Hybrid Warfare

Northern Europe is not at peace. The battle is real and far more dangerous than the public has grasped. In this war, there are no frontlines. Attack vectors shift daily, probing weaknesses, exploiting vulnerabilities, and seizing opportunities. The weapon of choice is what we in the West call hybrid warfare, targeting our institutions, our infrastructure, our alliances, and our minds. Resilience is necessary, but not sufficient, to win this hybrid war. This book shows how countries on the northern flank are strengthening national capabilities and deepening crossborder cooperation to detect, disrupt, and respond to hybrid threats—offering a blueprint for hybrid deterrence.

Ieva Bērziņa, Patrik Oksanen, Minna Ålander, Karen-Anna Eggen, Aleksander Olech, Bjarni Bragi Kjartansson, Adam Roževič, Jeanette Serritzlev, Marek Kohv, Frank Umbach
September 22, 2025
Single title
Adobe Stock / Serghei

Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova – a decisive election, not only for Chişinău

The election on 28 September is crucial for the European Union, too.

Alongside President Maia Sandu, the government and the parliamentary majority of the PAS (Party of Action and Solidarity) have been regarded as reliable and surprisingly resilient partners for the European Union in the Black Sea region over the past three years. The party founded by Maia Sandu has been governing without coalition partners since 2021. However, a repeat of its previous election success with just under 53 per cent of the vote is currently considered unlikely. The presidential election in autumn 2024 also showed that Russia's illegitimate influence – whether through vote buying or massive disinformation campaigns – can potentially be decisive in elections. For this reason, the support from Brussels and many European capitals for the PAS in the election campaign is unprecedented. This is because a democratic and pro-European Republic of Moldova is now considered by the EU to be an important building block for its own security interests in Eastern Europe.

Brigitta Triebel
September 19, 2025
Country reports

Update Belarus about Zapad 2025

Newsletter of 16th september about Zapad 2025

Top news in the period under review: • After the final play held within the framework of the Zapad 2025 exercise in the 227th combined-arms training area on September 16, Chief of the International Military Cooperation Department, Aide for International Military Cooperation to Lukashenka’s Defense Minister Valery Revenko reported on a complex of measures Belarus had taken to enable the transparency of Zapad 2025. He also stated that Belarus demanded that Poland clarify its military activity and a response was received. Revenko saw in the Polish response to the Belarusian request an opportunity for a constructive conversation. The Chief of the General Staff - First Deputy MoD Pavel Muraveyko noted that the active phase of Zapad-2025 is ending. At the same time, the maneuvers will end when all units return to their deployment locations.

Gabriele Baumann
September 19, 2025
Single title
IMAGO / SNA

Between nuclear threats and diplomatic initiatives: The Zapad 2025 military exercise in Belarus

Even after the military exercises, the country remains a Russian staging area

The active phase of the Russian-Belarusian military exercise Zapad 2025, held from September 12 to 16, 2025, ended—just as expected—without major incidents. However, in recent weeks, the threat to countries bordering Belarus has reached a new level. On September 10, at least 19 Russian drones, mostly flying over Belarus, penetrated deep into NATO member Poland. According to security experts, Russia likely intended to test NATO’s defensive response. In reaction, NATO announced Operation "Eastern Sentry" to strengthen defense along its eastern flank. Although only 8,000 troops (including just 2,000 Russian soldiers) were deployed in Belarus this time, with an estimated 30,000 more stationed in Russia, the exercise brought back grim memories of Zapad 2021, after which Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Back then, however, 200,000 troops participated in the drills. This year’s joint exercises were meant to demonstrate just how closely Belarus and Russia now cooperate militarily. It was also a show of force aimed at the West, with Russian leader Putin maintaining a firm grip on his junior partner, Lukashenko.

Gabriele Baumann
September 18, 2025
Country reports
IMAGO / Martin Bertrand

Case Studies on How to Deal with Right-Wing Populist Parties in Europe

Between Exclusion, Co-optation and Toleration

This publication explores the diverse strategies of different EPP parties in responding to right-wing populist and far-right actors. Covering ten national case studies, it shows that such parties vary in ideology, radicalisation, and readiness to cooperate with mainstream politics. The analysis demonstrates that neither consistent exclusion nor unconditional inclusion ensures success. Instead, effective approaches depend on context, require clear red lines on democracy, rule of law and Europe, and should combine principled distancing from extremist actors with credible engagement of their voter bases. The study proposes a threefold typology: (1) authoritarian, (2) nationalist, and (3) moderate right-wing populist and conservative parties; and highlights best-practice examples from Spain, Greece and Finland. Ultimately, it calls for a differentiated and resilient strategy that enables centre-right parties to confront the challenges posed by right-wing populism in Europe.

Sebastian Enskat, M.A.
September 18, 2025
Single title

Conference “Abraham Shields” in Sderot

5 Years of Abraham Accords.

On 8 September, the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation and the Coalition for Regional Security organized the "Abraham Shields" conference in Sderot.

Dr. Michael Rimmel, Pascal Franz
September 18, 2025
Single title

The International Arena in Couter-Terrorism & Diplomacy

KAS at the ICT World Summit 2025 at Reichman University in Herzliya

On 17 September, the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation invited five ambassadors to address the international dimension of terrorism and the role of diplomacy at the 2025 World Summit of the ICT at Reichman University.

Dr. Michael Rimmel, Felix Neumann
September 18, 2025
Single title
© Vuk Valcic, Zuma Press, Imago

“Every penny of international development is spent in our national interest.”

An Interview with Sir Andrew Mitchell

For this issue of International Reports, Canan Atilgan, Head of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s Office for the United Kingdom and Ireland, spoke with Sir Andrew Mitchell about development cooperation in times of populist attacks and tight budgets, the strengths and setbacks of British development cooperation, and how to reconcile morality and national interests.

Dr. Canan Atilgan
September 17, 2025
International Reports
IMAGO / Catholicpressphoto

100 Days of Pope Leo XIV.

Insights into the New Pontificate

On May 18, 2025, Pope Leo XIV was inaugurated into his office with a solemn service at St. Peter’s Square in Rome. By August 26, the first hundred days of the new pontificate had passed. Believers, as well as observers of the Catholic Church, are asking themselves in which direction the first US-American to occupy the Chair of Peter will lead.

Alexander Mathias Görlach, Marian Wendt
September 17, 2025
Country reports

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Facts and Findings

Selected contributions to the series with international relevance

The series informs in a concentrated form about important positions of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung on current topics. The individual issues present key findings and recommendations, offer brief analyses, explain the Foundation's further plans and name KAS contact persons.  

International Reports

Journal for international issues, foreign policy and development cooperation

International Reports (IR) is the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung's periodical on international politics. It offers political analyses by our experts in Berlin and from more than 100 offices across all regions of the world. Contributions by named authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial team.

EPP Party Barometer

The Situation of the European People's Party in the EU

The EPP Party Barometer illustrates the current situation of the EPP party family in the EU. On a non-regular basis, it provides a concise overview of current election results, polls from the member states and the composition of the party family.

Interviews

In our series "Interviews", talks and discussions are held with experts from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. on various topics.

kurzum

Concise, reduced to the essentials, but always highly topical. In our series "kurzum", our experts summarise an issue or problem on a maximum of two pages.

Country Reports

Short political reports of the KAS offices abroad

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is a political foundation. Our offices abroad are in charge of over 200 projects in more than 120 countries. The country reports offer current analyses, exclusive evaluations, background information and forecasts - provided by our international staff.

Event Reports

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, its educational institutions, centres and foreign offices, offer several thousand events on various subjects each year. We provide up to date and exclusive reports on selected conferences, events and symposia at www.kas.de. In addition to a summary of the contents, you can also find additional material such as pictures, speeches, videos or audio clips.