In Depth
Death of a German Spy?
(09 February 2025, Language: English, Words: 1149) The death of an employee of the German embassy in Pakistan has led to more speculation in the German media than among Pakistani observers. In countries like Pakistan or Iran, people are hardly surprised by the ‘sudden’ death of a foreign diplomat. If the deceased was indeed an employee of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), even a cursory analysis of his social network reveals serious security deficiencies at the BND. The incident also raises various questions: Can the Pakistani secret service Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) take advantage of this? Does the BND still have any insight into security policy developments in Pakistan? One of the interesting institutions in Pakistan is the Strategic Plans Division Force (SPD Force), which is responsible for nuclear weapons and missiles. Here we show the pictures of more than thirty of its...
12,00 €
EU: Any vision for Africa?
(29 February 2024, Language: English, Words: 478) The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) welcomes visitors to its website with the words: ‘Welcome to the Ministry of Opportunities’. If you search for the BMBF's ideas on cooperation with Africa, you will find ‘The Africa Strategy of the BMBF’ on Google. This is characterised by the following: ‘Our cooperation activities are guided by what we have in common: German and African players in education, science and research were involved in drafting the ...’ - and that's where it ends, because the corresponding website cannot be accessed. In this respect, it was interesting to listen to the German ambassador in Brussels, Martin Kotthaus. He spoke to a large audience, many of them from African countries, about European and German ideas and visions for Africa. The venue for his lecture was...
8,50 €
Turkish intelligence agencies in troubled times
(22 September 2024, Language: English, Words: 936) The Turkish intelligence agencies have various interesting cover organisations and offices in Europe from which they operate. Sometimes these are lobby firms, cultural and language associations, but also think tanks and supposed research institutions. Sometimes they can simply be commercial companies that serve as a cover. In addition, there is a large reservoir of reliable contacts in the diaspora that are always available. An important component of Turkish foreign policy is a controversial think tank, represented in Brussels and Berlin, among other places. His links to the Turkish intelligence agency MIT and to political influence campaigns have become clear for some time.