Volker Perthes

Always fun to unpack the first copies of a new book …

'A nonstarter' – Volker Perthes on the Board of Peace German diplomat Volker Perthes thinks a Board of Peace as originally conceived could work for Gaza. But he has set little hope on the new version, a global, all-purpose board "organized like a private...

p.dw.com/p/57GP3

„Europa muss Trump deutlich machen: Bis hierhin und nicht weiter!“ Venezuela, Grönland, Ukraine, Sudan, Iran: Weltweit steht das Völkerrecht unter Druck. Ein Gespräch mit Volker Perthes über das Ringen um internationale Ordnung, den richtigen Umgang mit Donald Trumps...

Longer interview in Internationale Politik (in German). We speak about Greenland (the interview was recorded before the latest tariff threats from President Trump), about Sudan, Iran, the EU, and international law.

internationalepolitik.de/de/europa-mu...

Iraqi-Kurdisch outlet GulanMedia interviewed me on global and regional order. Among my (certainly debatable) points: Kurdistan Regional Government could play a more constructive role in Iraq. Institutionalised decentralisation could strenghten Syria, not weaken it. www.gulanmedia.com/en/story/353...

Don’t Let Geopolitics Ruin Syria’s Transition Outside actors must put the country’s needs above their narrow interests.

Om this day last year, 8 Dec 2024, the house of Asad fell like a house of cards. Congratulations to the Syrian people!
Today, challenges abound, but so do opportunities. My argument, in this @foreignaffairs.com article, is still valid:

www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/dont-l...

Athens Policy Dialogues Opens With High-Level Debate on Gaza’s Next Day - tovima.com To Vima’s two-day Athens Policy Dialogues convened prominent international figures for a discussion on the Gaza peace plan, shifting regional power dynamics, and the conditions needed for stability th...

This is an almost correct account of a rather deep discussion in Athens, 4 Dec 2025, organized by Delphi Economic Forum, ToVima, and The Council on Greece in Global Affairs. Some details of what I and others said were apparently lost or misunderstood in translation.

www.tovima.com/politics/ath...

Brutale RSF im Sudan will mit einseitiger Waffenruhe Image aufpolieren und kämpft trotzdem weiter Die im Sudan kämpfende RSF-Miliz hat eine einseitige humanitäre Waffenruhe ausgerufen. Sie hält sich aber selbst nicht dran, beobachtet Politologe Perthes.

Um den Krieg im Sudan zu beenden, müssen die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate und Ägypten ihre Unterstützung einstellen, sagt @perthes.bsky.social im Dlf-Interview. Er glaubt nicht an ein schnelles Ende des Krieges. www.deutschlandfunk.de/interview-mi...

YouTube video by InIIS InIIS InSIGHTS, "The War in Sudan" with Volker Perthes

We have a new #InIIS_InSIGHTS episode out, this time with Volker Perthes (@perthes.bsky.social) on recent #military developments in the civil #war in #Sudan, the rebel occupation of and massacres in Al-Fasher, the role of #diplomacy & his own #UN experiences.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3f9...

Longer article on the “ignored war” in Sudan in Süddeutsche Zeitung (22.11.2025): the meaning of RSF conquering al-Fashir; the “military component”, their war, and their backers; the RSF narrative and its historical background; and what it needs to end the war.

www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/geschi...

Sudan: Die Geschichte eines Krieges, der einfach nicht enden will Die Katastrophe im Sudan wird in Europa wenig wahrgenommen. Über Geschichte und Ursachen eines der brutalsten Konflikte der Gegenwart.

»Bislang und in absoluten Zahlen hat er die größte humanitäre Katastrophe des 21. Jahrhunderts ausgelöst.« Ein Gastbeitrag von @perthes.bsky.social über den Krieg im Sudan (Paywall): www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/geschi...

YouTube video by phoenix phoenix tagesgespräch mit Prof. Volker Perthes zum Bürgerkrieg im Sudan am 11.11.25

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAxs...

Konflikt im Sudan - Früherer UN-Beauftragter beklagt schwere Menschenrechtsverstöße

Radio interview on Sudan this morning n Germany‘s „Deutschlandfunk“. Fighting will not stop as long as the RSF (as well as the Army) receive enough material support from outside to continue their war.

www.deutschlandfunk.de/gibt-es-ausw...

Today‘s interview on Sudan in Germany‘s Süddeutsche Zeitung. One side is a murderous militia. The other expels the head of the World Food Program in Sudan when aid is more needed than anytime. This, and why the international community is not there, and who helps, and what needs to be done …

We need to see the challenges of the Gaza ceasefire and ”peace plan”, but make it work nonetheless. Don’t expect everybody just being compliant and cooperative after two years of war.
My interview in Aargauer Zeitung and some other Swiss papers:

YouTube video by stars - for Leaders of the Next Generation Complexity is Destiny – Orientation in Times of No Direction with Volker PERTHES

Thanks to stars - for Leaders of the Next Generation for inviting me to a quick half hour on international challenges and uncertainties.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_bp...

Experte Volker Perthes sieht „Chance, dass Syrien sich stabilisiert“ Politikwissenschaftler Volker Perthes über die Herausforderungen bei Syriens Wiederaufbau und wie wichtig die Inklusion auch von Minderheiten für das Gelingen ist.

Syria holds indirect parliamentary elections this week. Despite a lot of domestic and external challenges, the country has a real chance to stabilize and take off again. Longer interview in Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau:

www.fr.de/politik/expe...

Danke! Wichtigste Frühstückslektüre heute Morgen. Und ein wichtiger Beitrag zu Rationalität und Humanität in der Debatte.

Podcast: Israels Siedlungspläne: Friedensprozess gezielt blockiert? Israels neue Siedlungspläne im Westjordanland sorgen international für Kritik. Politologe Volker Perthes sieht darin eine bewusste Blockade für die Gründung eines Palästinenserstaats.

Radio Interview (in German) on the political and geopolitical nature of Israel’s cabinet decision to build the “E1” settlement in the West Bank:

www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:...

Sudan: Diese Hungersnot hat die Welt vergessen Seit April 2023 herrscht Bürgerkrieg im Sudan. Millionen leiden unter Hunger. Besonders dramatisch ist die Situation in Darfur.

Rather unusual article in Germany’s main tabloid on hunger in Sudan.
And some quotes from me on the human-made nature of the hunger catastrophe, hunger as a weapon, and the rather symbolic nature of airdrops (in Sudan as well as Gaza).
www.bild.de/politik/ausl...

فولكر بيرتس لـ"المجلة": السودان مهدد بالتفتت والجمود... وتفكك الدولة حرب السودان ليست "حرب بالوكالة"، وإيران مُنيت بهزيمة استراتيجية كبيرة، وعلى الرغم من صعوبة إطلاق أحكام مسبقة على خطوات الرئيس ترمب التالية، يبدو جليا أن رؤيته ليست شرق أوسطية. إنها رؤية أميركية

www.majalla.com/node/326464/...

Volker Perthes: fragmentation and stalemate awaits Sudan In a wide-ranging interview, the German scholar and former UN envoy offers a sobering assessment of the conflict's trajectory.

Here is a rather long interview (print and video) I gave to Al Majalla on Sudan as well as on developments in the Middle East. It was recorded before the so-called “12 days war” between Israel and Iran, but only published on 12 July.

en.majalla.com/node/326421/...

Wegweiser für die Weltbühne Unabhängig forschen, praxisorientiert denken, transparent kommunizieren: Was wissen
schaft­liche Außenpolitikberatung ist, was sie kann und wofür sie gebraucht wird.

Was macht gute wissenschaftliche Beratung für die Außenpolitik aus? Talkshowauftritte sicher nicht, Unabhängigkeit und Relevanz schon. Und dass Politik den Rat erhält, den sie braucht, nicht den, den sie sich wünscht.
Mein Essay in internationalepolitik.de
internationalepolitik.de/de/wegweiser...

Virtual, imagined reality now shaping real politics more than physical reality. It’s no longer important whether Iran’s nuclear program was “totally obliterated” or just “set back” for a few months. We don’t know. But as long as all agree it is “severely damaged”, all can maintain the ceasefire.

„Wir machen einen Crashkurs in Realpolitik“ Volker Perthes über den US-Angriff auf Irans Atomanlagen, europäische Diplomatie und die Erosion des Völkerrechts.

Some thoughts on Iran, the forgetfulness of policy-makers who phantasize about regime change, and the advantages of diplomacy. In a German-language interview with IPG Journal:

www.ipg-journal.de/interviews/a...

The discussion about regime change in Iran which we heard over the past week is so much an expression of refusing to learn from recent history. Remember Iraq in 2003, and the civil war that ensued? Yes, Iranians may again stand up against the regime. But not while being bombed.

It seems we find ourselves in a spiral of insanity. Of course further escalation between Iran, Israel and the US can still be stopped. This would need a heroic decision from Iran not to seek retaliation, and from Washington to call it a victory and move to diplomacy again.

Some thoughts on the current war between Israel and Iran. And why there would be a good opportunity to end it today. On my ⁦‪@LinkedIn‬⁩ account:

Nach Angriff Israels auf Iran: droht Flächenbrand in Nahost?

Interview with DLF-Kultur (in German, from minute 4.50) on Israel’s attack on Iran and Iran’s reaction. Israel attacked because it could: because Iran is weak & to prevent a US-Iran deal. Not a “pre-emptive” strike. No need for any side to escalate.

www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/nach-angriff...

When Germany's Chancellor criticizes Israel publicly and its Commissioner for fighting antisemitism (rightly) says: "starving the Palestinians ... has nothing to do with safeguarding Israel’s right to exist", Israel's government has definitely driven its country into isolation. EU more aligned now.

Good that the EU eventually decided to lift economic sanctions on #Syria. Could have been done months earlier. It is a shame that the EU only followed the Trump administration rather than going ahead. This is about the EU’s neighborhood, and its strategic autonomy.