Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

A big whale diving down — © picture alliance / Timo Dersch | Timo Dersch

UN High Seas Treaty: Who Controls Knowledge about the High Seas?

The new UN treaty for the protection of the high seas promises greater transparency and knowledge diversity. Yet political conflicts of interest threaten this promise. The EU and Germany should make targeted efforts to ensure that knowledge pluralism is safeguarded, argues Miranda Böttcher.

Point of View, 26.01.2026

Water rises around a farm — © picture alliance / dpa | David Carson / St. Louis Post-Di

Nadine Knapp

When Home Becomes Uninhabitable

Planned Relocations as a Global Challenge in the Era of Climate Change

SWP Research Paper 2026/RP 01, 22.01.2026, 34 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026RP01

People celebrating on the streets in a car — © picture alliance / Anadolu | Murtadha Al-Sudani

Reclaiming Iraqi Agency

Post-election Dynamics and Challenges

SWP Comment 2026/C 03, 20.01.2026, 8 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026C03

A cloud of smoke rises above the frozen sea. — © picture alliance / Cover Images | Isar Aerospace/Brady Kenniston/NASASpaceflight.com/Cover I

Juliana Süß

European Autonomy in Space

Space Systems as a Pillar of European Defence

SWP Comment 2026/C 02, 14.01.2026, 8 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026C02

A round table with people — © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Fernando Llano

Leona Tenkhoff
Lisa Voigt

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility and Its Role in International Forest Finance

SWP Comment 2026/C 01, 12.01.2026, 6 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026C01

Die Flaggen der EU, der Ukraine und der NATO während des Treffens der EU-Verteidigungsminister 2025 — © picture alliance / NurPhoto | Aleksander Kalka

Kai-Olaf Lang
Céline Marangé
Susan Stewart

Indispensable: Why Ukraine is becoming a fundamental part of the future European security architecture

Nearly four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the majority of European states see Ukraine inside and Russia outside the European security order. Susan Stewart, Céline Marangé and Kai-Olaf Lang explain why such an order is emerging and what might prevent it.

SWP Podcast 2025/eP 04, 18.11.2025

Go to SWP Podcasts

In Focus

War in the Middle East

On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other groups launched an attack on Israel, killing civilians and abducting around 250 people to the Gaza Strip. This marked a new phase in the Middle East conflict. Israel subsequently weakened the 'Axis of Resistance' militarily. In the Gaza Strip, tens of thousands were killed and livelihoods were destroyed. Since the Israeli attacks of 13 June 2025, Iran and Israel have been at war, and the USA participated in for the first time in military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. As a result, the military balance of power in the region has shifted significantly. There is a risk of an expansion of the war with far-reaching consequences. What are the interests and options of the various parties involved, and what approaches are there for achieving sustainable conflict management?

Further publications

Laura von Daniels

Positioning the Anti-Coercion Instrument in the Greenland Crisis

The Americas Research Division, Working Paper No 01/2026, January 2026, 7 pages
- Download (PDF) | 473 KB
- Miriam Kosmehl
- Simon Schlegel
- Susan Stewart
Charting Ukraine’s EU Path: Engaging with Member States

in: Bertelsmann Stiftung (ed.), Zentrum Liberale Moderne, Gütersloh, January 2026, 52 Pages

doi:10.11586/2026003

Dossiers

Windkraftanlagen am Braunkohletagebau Garzweiler. Im Hintergrund: das Kraftwerk Neurath, Nordrhein-Westfalen. — © picture alliance / imageBROKER | Stefan Ziese

Climate Policy and Politics

Climate change is considered by many states and non-state actors to be one of the most important global challenges of the 21st century. Greenhouse gas emissions must be drastically reduced, while adaptation measures are essential to limit the consequences, and affected regions must deal with loss and damage.

Worldmap with needles — © pogonici/Shutterstock.com

Forced Displacement and Migration

The dossier introduces the topics of International Migration Trends; Forced Displacement, Migration and Development; International Cooperation; European Migration and Refugee Policy; and National Migration and Refugee Policy, and pools publications by SWP authors.

A police officer from a special unit inspects a site after an airstrike by Russian forces in Lysychansk, Luhansk region, Ukraine. — © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Leo Correa

Russia's war against Ukraine and its consequences

Since February 24, 2022, Russia has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine - with repercussions on a global scale. A new dossier bundles publications and media contributions on the war and its consequences.

Straßburg, 25.04.2024: Ein großes Plakat an der Außenseite des EU-Parlaments in Straßburg weist auf die anstehenden EU-Wahlen hin. — © picture alliance / Panama Pictures | Dwi Anoraganingrum

European elections 2024 and the EU's next strategic agenda

From 6 to 9 June 2024, the citizens of the European Union will elect a new parliament. This dossier looks at how this will affect EU institutions, their political priorities and the European party landscape.

United Nations and Sustainable Development

Sustainable development aims to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The United Nations committed itself to this guiding principle in the early 1990s. How has global sustainability policy developed since then?

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Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

The German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) advises the German Bundestag and the German government as well as international organisations on questions concerning foreign and security policy.