Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

The Russian president standing behind a lectern — © picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com | Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool

Sabine Fischer

Yet Another Sham Election in Russia

The Upcoming Ballot for the Ninth State Duma

SWP Comment 2026/C 38, 14.09.2026, 8 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026C38

Frontal view of a Turkish-made drone. — © picture alliance / Anadolu | Goksel Yildirim

Nebahat Tanrıverdi Yaşar
Barış Alp Özden

Arms at the Frontier

What Turkey’s Africa Engagement Reveals about Its Defence-Industrial Model

SWP Comment 2026/C 37, 14.09.2026, 8 Pages

doi:10.18449/2026C37

Wladimir Putin (r.) und Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (l.) am 1. September 2026 am Rande des SCO-Plus-Gipfels in Bischkek, Kirgisistan. — © picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com | Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Russian Gov

Daria Isachenko

What If Turkey Is Not Balancing?

Turkish foreign policy invites a familiar question: Where does Ankara stand between East and West? Yet geopolitical position is an imperfect guide to what Turkey can do. The Black Sea shows why the distinction matters, writes Daria Isachenko.

Point of View, 11.09.2026

An ornate archway with columns — © picture alliance / Gilles Targat/Photo12 | Gilles Targat

Paweł Tokarski

Political Instability Meets Fiscal Limits: Is France the Euro’s Next Big Stress Test?

Caught in a vice of political gridlock, weak economic growth and rising borrowing costs, France is increasingly exposed to shifts in market sentiment. The implications extend far beyond Paris, posing a systemic risk to the broader monetary union, writes Paweł Tokarski.

Point of View, 10.09.2026

Two rockets cross the sky behind old apartment blocks. — © picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Vadim Belikov

Janis Kluge

Russian military spending soars, upending the Kremlin’s budget plans

At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin tried to dispel concerns about the state of Russia’s public finances. But the numbers tell a more troubling story for the Kremlin, adding to doubts about how long Russia can sustain the war, says Janis Kluge.

Point of View, 04.09.2026

Flag of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), based in Vienna, Austria. — © picture alliance / Tobias Steinmaurer / picturedesk | Tobias Steinmaurer

Keeping the Lights On: How the OSCE is navigating growing cybersecurity challenges

As geopolitical tensions shift into cyberspace, the OSCE faces mounting challenges. With Russia among its 57 members, the concept of consensus-based security is under strain. Alexandra Paulus and Nadja Douglas analyse if and how the OSCE can adapt to an increasingly contested cyber landscape.

SWP Podcast 2026/eP 03, 20.07.2026

Go to SWP Podcasts

In Focus

War in the Middle East

On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other groups launched a large-scale attack on Israel, marking a new phase in the conflict in the Middle East. The war spread across the region, Gaza was devastated. A ceasefire was announced in October 2025, but the latest escalation between Iran, Israel and the US has increased the likelihood of the conflict spreading further. What interests and options do the various parties have, and what approaches are there for sustainable conflict management?

Further publications

- Ole Adolphsen
- Matthias Duwe
- Marian Feist
- Christian Flachsland et al.
Dossier: Challenges and priorities for Germany’s climate diplomacy

in: Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne (eds.), Ariadne-Dossier, September 2026

doi:10.48485/pik.2026.29
- Ksenia Anisimova
- Miranda Böttcher
- Ratna Priya Bysani
- Valeria Zambianchi et al.
Varieties of decarbonization: Comparing state narratives of Germany, India, and Mexico

in: Energy Policy, Volume 220, 115598, January 2027

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115598

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.

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 dossier bundles SWP publications and media contributions on the war and its consequences.

Cybersecurity keyboard — © Moffett Towers

Cybersecurity and Digital Policy: The Role of the Digital in International Politics

Digital Foreign Policy, Cyber-Security, International Law & Human Rights, Regional Perspectives. The dossier seeks to offer orientation in this complex field and offers compilations of relevant publications by SWP authors in the respective fields.

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.

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.

View all

Research Areas

Find publications on a research area of your interest.

Research Areas

All Research Areas

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.