Events have been unfolding rapidly since the beginning of the year: following the US intervention in Venezuela, which violated international law, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly laid claim to Greenland. What does this mean for the principles of a rules-based world order and transatlantic relations?
On the institute's Blog and in the media, PRIF Researchers assess the current developments and their consequences.
Jonas Wolff, together with Annika Oettler and Stefan Peters, focuses on the situation in Venezuela on the PRIF Blog: They show how and under what conditions democratic development would now be possible (first published in the IPG Journal). Following on from this, Jonas Wolff and Solveig Richter discuss what Germany and the EU can do to support democratic change in the country.
In addition, PRIF Researchers examine the consequences of the US action for the rules-based international order – and possible responses from Germany and the EU. On the PRIF Blog, Thilo Marauhn assesses the US government's action in Venezuela from the perspective of international law. He explains why a clear position on the part of the German government is essential, not least for the status of international law. Against this backdrop, Nicole Deitelhoff argues in her column “Die Welt im Blick” in Der Tagesspiegel (paywall) that the German government should insist on the validity of international law not only vis-à-vis the US, but also vis-à-vis all other states.
Furthermore, in view of the US threats against Greenland, Patrick Flamm calls on the EU to take responsibility for its Danish allies and for Greenland's self-determination. And on the occasion of Donald Trump's visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Stefan Kroll gives his assessment of informal talks as a way of building trust in an interview with WDR.