Henning Hoff

Does the Decline of US Soft Power Matter? While European publics have a very unfavorable view of Trump’s America, the same is not necessarily true of the rest of the world.

In our @munsecconf.bsky.social special issue, Anne-Marie Slaughter asks if the decline of US soft power really matters.

ip-quarterly.com/en/does-decl...

“We Have to Go Back to the Idea of a Core Europe” Washington’s behavior on the global stage at the beginning of 2026 has increased doubts about the Trump administration’s reliability, MSC chairman Wolfgang Ischinger warns.

"It’s a slippery slope. A foreign policy only based on power and the pursuit of hardcore interests, while abandoning the values part, would be leading us in the wrong direction. The key question is: How can Europe work to restore a rules-based international order?"

ip-quarterly.com/en/we-have-g...

"The Trump administration doesn’t treat Russia—an authoritarian state with lots of repression—in a fundamentally different manner than the Trump administration deals with Ukraine when they negotiate. The distinction is beginning to disappear, which makes the world a less safe place for democracy."/4

Wolfgang Ischinger:

"I think it’s important that the European Union and the Europeans at large speak out clearly regarding their adherence, support, and defense of the accepted principles of international law. The idea of being a value-based community is extremely essential." .../3

In a few hours, @munsecconf.bsky.social chairman Wolfgang Ischinger will open MSC 2026.

When we interviewed him for the @ipq.bsky.social Special Issue, his emphasis on the importance of upholding international law and of differentiating between democratic and autocratic states stuck in my mind. ../

ALI: Artificial lack-of-intelligence

China or North Korea more like. He could learn a thing or two there about dealing with the Donald. On top of everything else he got the UK a rather lousy trade deal…

Welcome to Count Deregula's castle

I wouldn’t put it past him. Is Ecuador the right choice, though?

There is a certain irony in that the US and now also the UK government are behaving just like WikILeaks did back in the day…

Special Issue | MSC 2026 In a (second) special issue published on the occasion of the Munich Security Conference 2026 we focus on European security in the era of the "Trump Doctrine."

At the @munsecconf.bsky.social? Pick up a copy of our special issue at Bayerischer Hof or the press center.

ip-quarterly.com/en/special-i...

IPQ Special Issue MSC 2026: "The Trump Doctrine" This issue of Internationale Politik Quarterly (IPQ) reflects on the state of the transatlantic relationship in the era of the "Trump Doctrine.“

Recommended reading: @ipq.bsky.social reflects on the state of the transatlantic relationship in the era of the “Trump Doctrine” and offers views and thoughts on Europe's way forward.
@munsecconf.bsky.social
securityconference.org/en/marketpla...

The EU as NATO’s Enabler Brussels has started contributing considerably to the overall strengthening of what has long been an elusive concept: NATO’s European pillar.

From our special @munsecconf.bsky.social issue: Patrick Keller on how Europe is building significant military capability within the framework of NATO defense planning—thanks to the EU.

ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-natos-...

German Intelligence Toughens Up Both the foreign and the domestic German secret intelligence agencies are changing.

New #BerlinCable

ip-quarterly.com/en/german-in...

for all of you heading to #MSC2026, here's a little primer on how (not) to talk about European security
@ipq.bsky.social

Strategically, this really should be the British-German hour.

Our @ipq.bsky.social MSC Special is truly special in the sense also that you can read it as a stylishly designed printed edition, too.

@munsecconf.bsky.social has put it up—with many thanks to @andreasblock.bsky.social & team for the great cooperation!

securityconference.org/assets/01_Bi...

The EU as NATO’s Enabler Brussels has started contributing considerably to the overall strengthening of what has long been an elusive concept: NATO’s European pillar.

You can argue that it’s already happening, see Patrick Keller’s article in our brand-new special MSC issue ip-quarterly.com/en/eu-natos-...

And we’re live — @munsecconf.bsky.social starts in 4 days.

Great contributions by @leslievinjamuri.bsky.social Anne-Marie Slaughter @james-rogers.bsky.social @jpuglierin.bsky.social @claudmajor.bsky.social Patrick Keller @nicolange.bsky.social @joerglau.bsky.social Sophie Eisentraut & columnists

Nuclear Arms Control Era Comes to End Amid Global Rush for New Weapons

The end of arms control: With the expiration of New Start and Trump's failure to deliver a successor treaty he has promised since term one, the US and Russia have no legal limits on nuclear arsenals for the first time in 54 years. @sangernyt.bsky.social William Broad www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/u...

Oh, oh…

What would an ICE agent want to be doing around a polling location in November? Other than casting his/her vote?

Germany’s New European Policy Puts Effectiveness before Unity German policy on Europe is changing fundamentally. The worse the global crises become, the more Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pushing for quick decisions—if necessary, even against Germany's closest pa...

The worse the global crises become, the more Friedrich Merz is pushing for quick decisions—if necessary, even against Germany's closest partner, France, @andreasrinke.bsky.social writes in a new piece.

ip-quarterly.com/en/germanys-...

Got mail… #MSC2026

lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · 49m I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated. Quote lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · Jan 25 Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post

“We Have to Go Back to the Idea of a Core Europe” Washington’s behavior on the global stage at the beginning of 2026 has increased doubts about the Trump administration’s reliability, MSC chairman Wolfgang Ischinger warns.

MSC Chair Wolfgang Ischinger would like to send a signal from this year’s @munsecconf.bsky.social that Europe, which includes the UK, is “alive and kicking.” The blue EU hoody he famously wore in 2019 may make a reappearance. #MSC26

Read the whole interview here:

ip-quarterly.com/en/we-have-g...

- the European “need to start doing things,” for instance creating a comprehensive, consolidated European defense sector
- return to the idea of a “core Europe” which is willing to go ahead, including in foreign policy; this would get Moscow’s (and Washington’s) attention, possibly even Beijing’s

- for Putin a “humiliating” lesson: the US has accomplished what Russia failed to achieve in close to four years (decapitating a neighboring state) in just 90 minutes; elimination of Maduro “probably helps to deter Russia”
- “extremely important” Europeans make clear they’re “value-based community”

- an “effective and lasting” ceasefire in Ukraine requires strong US-backed deterrence, Washington needs “to be a credible and a leading partner”
- US/Venezuela of little consequence for China/Taiwan, question for Xi not legality but “What if we fail?” (Beijing hasn’t fought a war in generations) …