The Ukraine crisis has highlighted the limitations of Germany’s ‘more active’ foreign policy approach

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced earlier this year that Germany would be pursuing a more active approach to foreign policy issues. Julia Himmrich writes that while this was an important break from the country’s reluctance to become involved in foreign conflicts since the end of the Second World War, the on-going Ukraine crisis has revealed the difficulties in putting such an approach into practice. She notes that there have been substantial divisions within Germany over the country’s policy on Ukraine and Russia, including within the governing grand coalition

How should academics interact with policy makers? Lessons onbuilding a long-term advocacy strategy

What can academics learn from how civil society organisations and NGOs approach policy impact? Julia Himmrich argues that academics have a lot to gain from embracing the practices of longterm advocacy. Advocacy is about establishing relationships and creating a community of experts both in and outside of government who can give informed input on policies. Being more aware of the political aspects of research can help academics understand and re-evaluate their own arguments about the impact of research

What price autonomy? Brexit’s effect on Britain’s soft power, trade deals and European security

How would a Brexit affect the foreign policy of the UK – and the EU? Experts from the UK and other EU member states discussed this question at an LSE Commission session chaired by Spyros Economides and Mareike Kleine, which focussed on the debates surrounding sovereignty, diplomacy, Nato, security and trade. The participants agreed that the apparently greater autonomy the UK would enjoy in fact risks shrinking the UK’s soft power and reducing its ability to negotiate favourable trade agreements. Spyros Economides and Julia Himmrich report

Germany’s recognition of Kosovo as an independent state in 2008.

In February 2008, Kosovo declared independence. It was a highly controversial move that divided international opinion. While the United States and many EU members quickly recognised the new state, many other countries, including Russia and China and several EU members, did not. Even today, Kosovo remains a contested state. Although Germany recognised Kosovo quickly, it nevertheless expressed concerns over the failed international efforts to reach an agreement. This thesis analyses Germany’s decision to recognise Kosovo as independent despite the multilateral disagreement. It traces the position of Germany on Kosovo from the early 1990s until recognition in 2008. It pays particular attention to the final months of negotiations, when Germany represented the EU in the ‘Troika talks’ that also involved the US and Russia. In 2008 Germany was less committed to a Kosovan state than its close allies in the Quint – a five state group that also included the United States, Britain, France and Italy. Domestically the coalition parties had different approaches towards the status question. Also the international division on the status in the EU and the United Nations Security Council were a significant obstacle for the German leadership to accept a unilateral declaration of independence. The acceptance of this international divide came when domestic actors were persuaded that the Troika negotiations had exhausted all possibilities for a resolution. From a theoretical standpoint, Germany’s decision to recognise is examined in regards to its Civilian Power identity and specifically to intervention and multilateralism. It is argued that Germany recognised Kosovo due to its long-standing involvement in the intervention in the conflict and due to concerns that an unresolved status would bring greater instability to the Western Balkans. Germany’s recognition was therefore built on a rationale of conflict management and expectations of an increasing role of the European Union in this process

Cu2ZnSiS4

Single crystals of Cu2ZnSiS4, dicopper(I) zinc silicon tetrasulfide, have been prepared via high-temperature solid-state synthesis. Cu2ZnSiS4 was found to have the wurtz-stannite structure type, like that of Li2CdGeS4, Li2CdSnS4, and Cu2CdSiS4. Each sulfur anion is tetra­hedrally coordinated by two Cu cations, one Si cation, and one Zn cation, forming a three-dimensional honeycomb structure. When viewed along the c axis, the atoms are aligned in rows in which each cation alternates with the sulfur anions

Study of polycrystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 films by Raman scattering

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) is a p-type semiconductor that has been seen as a possible low-cost replacement for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 in thin film solar cells. So far compound has presented difficulties in its growth, mainly, because of the formation of secondary phases like ZnS, CuxSnSx+1, SnxSy, Cu2−xS and MoS2. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), which is mostly used for phase identification cannot resolve some of these phases from the kesterite/stannite CZTS and thus the use of a complementary technique is needed. Raman scattering analysis can help distinguishing these phases not only laterally but also in depth. Knowing the absorption coefficient and using different excitation wavelengths in Raman scattering analysis, one is capable of profiling the different phases present in multi-phase CZTS thin films. This work describes in a concise form the methods used to grow chalcogenide compounds, such as, CZTS, CuxSnSx+1, SnxSy and cubic ZnS based on the sulphurization of stacked metallic precursors. The results of the films’ characterization by XRD, electron backscatter diffraction and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy techniques are presented for the CZTS phase. The limitation of XRD to identify some of the possible phases that can remain after the sulphurization process are investigated. The results of the Raman analysis of the phases formed in this growth method and the advantage of using this technique in identifying them are presented. Using different excitation wavelengths it is also analysed the CZTS film in depth showing that this technique can be used as non destructive methods to detect secondary phases

Book review: Changing norms though actions: the evolution of sovereignty

"Changing Norms Though Actions: The Evolution of Sovereignty." Jennifer M. Ramos. Oxford University Press. March 2013. --- This book seeks to examine the manner in which sovereignty, a bedrock norm of international relations since the seventeenth century, has evolved in response to changing conceptions of the responsibilities of government. Jennifer M. Ramos looks specifically at what happens to sovereignty when states choose to bypass traditional norms of non-intervention on behalf of other competing norms, such as those regarding counterterrorism, human rights, or weapons of mass destruction A great strength of the book is that it sets out clearly the debate and background to the issues around sovereignty and international intervention, finds Julia Himmrich

Book review: Bosnia’s million bones: solving the world’s greatest forensic puzzle by Christian Jennings

What it would be like to be tasked with finding, exhuming from dozens of mass graves, and then identifying the body-parts of an estimated 8,100 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in eastern Bosnia? In 1999 one DNA laboratory, run by the International Commission on Missing Persons in Sarajevo, decided to try and solve “the world’s greatest forensic puzzle’. In this book Christian Jennings aims to describe how this was done, and how these new forensic techniques are now being used identify the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami. Julia Himmrich finds that although this book may disappoint academics, it does deliver some informed insights on different aspects of the conflict for new readers

Book Review: Policy analysis in Germany

"Policy Analysis in Germany." Sonja Blum and Klaus Schubert (eds.). Policy Press. July 2013. --- This book aims to outline the development of policy analysis activities in Germany, identify its role in academic education and research, and examine its styles and methods. The authors focus on the role of policy analysis for governments and parliaments, for parties, social partners, and interest groups. Julia Himmrich finds that the volume grapples with the question of the role academics play in policy analysis by raising issues around independence, academic rigour, methodology, and political interest