The European Councils of March 2007 and October 2014 have defined the major guidelines of the European climate policy for the 2010-2020 and 2020-2030 decades. These commitments have then been used as negotiation roadmaps for two major conferences on climate held under the United-Nations umbrella, in Copenhagen in 2009 and in Paris in December 2015. In both cases, the aim was, and still is, to reach a global agreement to take over the Kyoto Protocol. The first one was a failure for the European diplomacy and all hopes are now placed in the second, which may well be the last chance for the international climate talks.

Hot Energy Topic n° 5, Insight_E publication

Lead Author: Paul Deane (UCC)
Authoring Team: Ulrich Fahl (University of Stuttgart), Carole Mathieu (Ifri)
Reviewers: Kimon Keramidas (Enerdata)

This paper intends to take a step back from current developments in Ukraine in order to analyze the lessons Europeans ought to draw from the crisis that caught many by surprise. Whether the Ukrainian crisis really turns out to be a »game changer« in a structural sense remains to be seen, but it has made clear that Europeans should rethink a number of fundamental assumptions underlying European foreign policy.

The rise of civilian self-defense groups in various states across Mexico since 2011 bear witness to the powerlessness and corruption of state bodies confronted with the pervasiveness of organized crime. 

The Indian People’s Party (BJP) coming to power in the 2014 legislative elections raises many questions about the country’s governance.

Cyber technology challenges conventional mechanisms of deterrence and conflict management.

Automatic lethal weapon systems are under debate and certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are demanding their precautionary prohibition.

The increasing judicialization of external military action is encouraging military law to fall into line with common law.