Politics

2025/08/11

Electric Avenue: Systems, Sufficiency, and European Sovereignty

tl;dr: Europe’s agency hinges on becoming an Electrostate—electrified value chains, robust grids, high domestic electrification. Not more tech, but system design & sufficiency.

What an Electrostate Is

An Electrostate is not simply a country with many wind turbines and solar parks. It is a polity whose power rests on electrified value chains—from critical minerals and battery chemistry to power electronics, grids, software, and open standards—combined with high domestic electrification in mobility, heat, and industry.… Read more

2025/03/18

Sustainability, Security, and Strategic Autonomy

tl;dr: Sustainability is vital for Europe’s strategic autonomy, resilience, and geopolitical leadership, addressing climate change as a core security issue.

Climate change is no longer only an environmental issue—it is increasingly recognized as a central factor influencing international security. As global temperatures rise, competition over critical resources such as water, food, and land intensifies, leading to heightened risks of conflict and political instability. Natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, have triggered mass migrations, creating social tensions that can threaten regional and global stability.… Read more

2025/03/09

Europe in the Age of Great Power Politics

tl,dr: The world is shifting into Great Power Politics, with the U.S. retreating, Russia advancing, and China expanding its influence. Europe must step up or risk irrelevance.

Introduction: A New Global Order and the Challenge for Europe

The world is witnessing a profound geopolitical transformation. The unipolar moment that followed the Cold War—where the United States dictated global affairs with limited challenge—is giving way to a multipolar world, marked by shifting alliances and intensified great power competition.… Read more

2024/06/072024/12/09

Liberalism Today: A Plea for an Ecologically Oriented Liberalism

tl;dr: Liberalism must evolve to include Ivan Illich’s concept of conviviality, integrating ecological sustainability and social justice, emphasizing mutual dependence and ethical responsibility for today’s crises.

Liberalism, as a political philosophy and historical movement, strives for a free political, economic, and social order. Freedom, in turn, means the absence of constraints in making decisions between different options. In philosophy, political science, theology, and law, the term generally denotes a state of autonomy of a subject. In today’s times, given the pressing ecological and social challenges, there is a need for a realignment of liberalism towards an ecologically oriented model, in which the concept of conviviality by Ivan Illich plays a central role.… Read more

2022/04/222022/04/25

Regeneration as a New Economic Policy Paradigm

tl;dr: Regeneration is a forward-looking paradigm focused on increasing the evolutionary ability of social-ecological systems by including everyone and everything that matters for a viable society

In 2022, Earth Overshoot Day for North America came in March, for Europe mostly in May. The unsustainability of the dominant growth- and exploitation-oriented political-economic system is out in the open, for everyone to see. At the same time, we celebrate some anniversaries this year: 50 years of the first UN conference on the natural environment in Stockholm, 50 years since the publication of “Limits go Growth”, 35 years since the publication of “Our Common Future”, and 30 years since the Earth Summit in Rio.… Read more