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The Rebel Realist

Joschka Fischer

Has the project for European Union reached its end? Is further EU enlargement antagonistic to deeper integration? Should the global community of democracies assume greater responsibility for fixing the world’s problems? How can the Islamic world’s democratic deficit be closed? How dangerous is the threat of a nuclear Middle East? Is an independent EU defense capability compatible with NATO?

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RECENT COMMENTARIES FEATURED COMMENTARIES MOST READ COMMENTARIES
  • Europe’s Ukrainian Linchpin

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2010-02-02
    Frustrated by immobilism and corruption, Europe has turned away from Ukraine – a stance that could turn out to be a significant mistake. After all, Europe and Russia meet in Ukraine, and its fate will not only be a crucial factor in defining European security, but will also play a substantial role in future European-Russian relations.... read
    Comments: 5   Recommended: 0   Read: 2219
  • Ignoring Serbia

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-12-31
    Just before Christmas, Serbia’s government formally submitted its application for EU membership. The reaction in Europe was deafening silence - a silence that the EU simply cannot afford, given the potential of Serbia's membership bid to bring about a successful and permanent reorganization of the Balkans.... read
    Comments: 1   Recommended: 1   Read: 3280
  • What Next in Afghanistan?

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-11-27
    cartoon Those who are grappling with the Afghan riddle today should consider, first and foremost, the regional realities: can the West afford to withdraw? If not, we should stop discussing an “exit strategy” and get on with the business of attending to the neighborhood's many crises while stepping up out military presence and reconstruction efforts in the Hindu Kush.... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 2   Read: 4022
  • Twenty Years After the Wall

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-10-30
    Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 9, 1989, many revolutionary consequences of that night lie behind us. But the real era of upheaval lies ahead, as 400 years of eurocentrism draw to a close and the limits of our planet's capacity to sustain the demands we place on it are reached.... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 0   Read: 4355
  • The Fight for Middle Germany

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-10-01
    cartoon The secret of Angela Merkel’s election victory in Germany was to secure a majority for the center-right in order to pursue, more or less, a center-left policy agenda. While her new coalition will make some policy corrections that serve important constituencies and economic supporters, there will be no clear-cut change in policy direction.... read
    Comments: 1   Recommended: 0   Read: 4689
  • Quo Vadis, Iran?

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-08-26
    Iran is in the process of wasting the biggest historical opportunity the country has had since the revolution of 1979, and perhaps even in the last hundred years. This opportunity is called Barack Obama.... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 0   Read: 5452
  • The Middle East in Motion

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-06-19
    cartoon Great speeches are all too often underestimated as being mere words, when, in fact, they can have powerful consequences. This is obviously the case with President Barack Obama’s recent address to the Muslim world in Cairo, because – mere coincidence or excellent timing? – things in the Middle East have been in flux ever since.... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 0   Read: 6972
  • Germany’s Drift from Europe

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-05-29
    Ever since the beginning of the global meltdown last September, Germany's government has focused almost exclusively on national crisis management, rebuffing all attempts at a European approach. Add to this the tensions in Franco-German relations, the blocking of a common EU gas market, and close cooperation with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and the worries about Germany multiply. ... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 0   Read: 8689
  • Black Swan World

    Joschka Fischer Series: The Rebel Realist
    2009-04-30
    cartoon In today’s global economic crisis, the image of a black swan has become a symbol for the seemingly impossible that somehow occurs, turning the world upside down. There is another such crisis looming - climate change - and the solution to both should be linked.... read
    Comments: 0   Recommended: 0   Read: 8488
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AUTHOR INFO

Joschka Fischer, Germany’s Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor from 1998 to 2005, was a leader in the German Green Party for almost 20 years.