During the M23 conflict in 2012-2013 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United Nations (UN) took the diplomatic initiative (by initiating the Addis Ababa agreement) and the military initiative (by launching a coordinated counter-offensive with the Congolese army). Since the resurgence of this conflict in 2022, the United Nations, which still has more than 10,000 peacekeepers deployed in eastern DRC, no longer plays any role. 

This report analyzes the prospects of the Caspian Sea region — and its key actors except for Russia and Iran — becoming an important energy hub serving the needs of the European Union (EU). 

At a pivotal moment for the EU, several of its member states are experiencing domestic political and economic crises. Is this hindering collective EU action in response to the challenges posed by Russia, China, and Trump’s administration?

After a legislative session in the opposition, the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) looks set to win the snap elections in February 2025. It is very likely that the country’s future chancellor will be Friedrich Merz. 

The political crisis brewing in Georgia is of an existential nature for the country. What is at stake is Georgia's future as a democratic and sovereign European nation (EU).

One month before the early Federal Elections in Germany, which will take place on February 23, 2025, after the "Traffic light coalition" imploded on November 6, 2024, the political landscape in Germany appears to be relatively stable despite the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In October 2024, the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated a thaw in relations between the two Asian powers. Has India's high level of economic dependence on China played an important role in bringing about this diplomatic shift?

In this collective analysis, the research team of the Center for Asian Studies presents a synthetic and non-exhaustive assessment of the relations taking shape between the United States under the Trump II administration and some of the main players in the Indo-Pacific.