Fall 2009
Charting Germany's Course
With this issue, Global Edition begins a new chapter. Instead of our traditional quarterly format, we will be publishing six shorter issues a year and feature more original articles, reviews, and interviews on our newly revamped Web site. As Germans go to the polls in late September, it is hardly surprising that this edition focuses on the upcoming German federal elections. In particular, we examine the foreign policy issues at stake, posing five foreign policy questions to the SPD’s and CDU’s foreign-policy experts and the potential foreign ministers Jürgen Trittin (the Greens) and Guido Westerwelle (Free Democrats).
Politicians on German Foreign Policy 
European integration and enlargement, the mission in Afghanistan, climate change and the economic crisis, global terrorism and the Middle East peace process—all of these issues await the next German government. IP asked politicians who may soon be steering German foreign policy to outline their responses to these challenges.
Merkel’s Mire
Article by Robin Mishra
Merkel will almost certainly win another term as German chancellor. Yet despite her many small victories, she has yet to make her mark on the office—or on Germany—as Brandt, Adenauer, or Kohl did. Germany is still waiting for Merkel to present a vision for Germany and its role in the wider world.
“The Gravediggers of Zionism”
Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory obstruct Israeli-Palestinian peace and blemish Israel’s international image. Tel Aviv’s disconcerting unwillingness to take a hard-line against illegal settlements reflects the country’s political structure and psychological scars from the unsuccessful Gaza withdrawal in 2005.
Iran at a Crossroads
Article by Mehrdad Khonsari
The controversial re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran marks a major turning point in the country’s post-revolution history. For the first time in more than a century, a mass movement is being led not by clerics, but by Iranians with a secular, democratic agenda.
Understanding Hamas
Article by Henrik Meyer und Michael Bröning
Hamas is a central player in the Middle East conflict. The war in the Gaza Strip earlier this year underscored the difficulty that Western observers have grasping its complexity. All too often, Hamas is seen as a static, dogmatic, militant phenomenon. In fact, it is slowly transforming into a pragmatic actor that the West can engage with.
The Syrian Connection
Article by Ayman Abdel Nour
In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Syria found an array of powerful actors on its borders. The U.S. forces in Iraq are on one side, while the European Union projects its influence through Cyprus and, by extension, through Turkey. Israel and Lebanon are there, too. Syria finds itself in a position of unprecedented significance.
Invisible Enemies
Article by Henning Wegener
Digital technologies have revolutionized our world — and added a host of daunting security challenges. The stability and security of digital networks and our privacy face a momentous new scale of threats by attackers with enormous sophistication and power, yet these dangers receive scant attention.
