Uncategorized Archive - Helene von Bismarck

17 May What choices will the next UK foreign secretary face?

Posted at 20:16h in Uncategorized

A conversation with Chatham House director Brownen Maddox, Olivia O'Sullivan, and Shashank Joshi (defence editor of The Economist) about the future of British foreign policy after the next general elections. I argued that a drastically changed geopolitical environment pushes UK and Europeans closer together....

09 May A critical friend: Helene von Bismarck on Britain and the World

Posted at 20:08h in Uncategorized

I spoke to Podcaster and former British diplomat Arthur Snell about my intellectual journey of discovering the United Kingdom from the outside, British and German blind spots, and why the last few years in UK politics contain a lesson for those of us who are...

15 Nov In Europe we can’t help laughing at David Cameron’s return – but we welcome it too

Posted at 11:54h in Uncategorized

In an incredible turn of events, David Cameron is back. The man who gambled his country's future to end a dispute in his party by calling the Brexit referendum is now in charge of Britain's foreign policy. Once you stop laughing at the irony of...

19 Jun Why did it take a murderous war on Ukraine for Germany to wake up to the threat from Russia?

Posted at 10:33h in Uncategorized

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered a public debate in Germany about the future of its security policy, and about its relations with Central and Eastern Europe. Historic arguments about the Second World War and the Cold War play an important role in this...

30 Mar For Hamburg, devastated by allied bombing, King Charles’ visit is so much more than a photo-op

Posted at 11:02h in Uncategorized

St Nikolai Church in Hamburg, built by an English architect, was destroyed during the so-called 'Operation Gomorrha', a series of allied air raids against Hamburg in 1943. For King Charles III to visit this memorial during his first state visit abroad is a very significant...

29 Aug Shutting down parliament is worse than a coup. It’s a mistake.

Posted at 13:34h in Uncategorized

Boris Johnson's decision to prorogue Parliament in the middle of a significant national crisis has provoked outrage at home and abroad. Leaving the consitutional implications aside, this article argues that Johnson made a significant strategic mistake with this decision. He may have hoped to bully...

04 Jul Brexit, Boris Johnson and the EU. (Channel 4 News)

Posted at 14:21h in Uncategorized

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]Interview with Matt Frei on Channel 4 News on 4 July 2019 about the Tory leadership contest, Boris Johnson, and Brexit.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][button target="_blank" hover_type="default" text="Details" link="https://www.channel4.com/news/german-historian-helene-von-bismarck-on-brexit-boris-johnson-and-the-eu"][/vc_column][/vc_row]...

10 Apr Das Klischee vom ewigen Störenfried

Posted at 13:58h in Uncategorized

Is the drama about Brexit just the culmination of a British EU-membership that has always been doomed to fail? This article for the Swiss Republik magazine argues that this is not the case. The frustrations about Brexit are no excuse for a selective reading of...

01 Apr Two countries in search of their role: a history of the Anglo-German Königswinter Conferences

Posted at 13:16h in Uncategorized

Since 1950, politicians, high-ranking officials, business people and influential journalists from Britain and Germany have met annually at theKönigswinter Conferences for a frank, informal and confidential exchange of views. This essay discusses the relevance of these conferences for the Anglo-German relationship. Published by Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft....

25 Feb Brexit Blitz spirit: Why does it always come back to the war?

Posted at 11:46h in Uncategorized

Interview with Channel 4 News about the popularity of World War 2 references in the Brexit debate. The use of inappropriate historical analogies is not just offensive to the EU27, it is also severely damaging to the quality of the inner-British debate about Brexit. No...