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The Failure of the So-Called United Nations

The United Nations emerged in 1945 from the conviction that the catastrophes of the first half of the twentieth century could not be prevented merely through a balance of power, but required a legally bound international order. This hope drew on ideas developed by Immanuel Kant, who in Perpetual Peace (1795) argued that a federation of states, governed by shared rules and republican constitutions, could make lasting peace possible. In the twentieth century, this line of thou

Deliberately Anti-Jewish

Some television segments are not simply misguided; they are revealing. They expose not just poor taste, but an underlying attitude. The segment aired on The Stefan Raab Show on January 27 belongs to this category. What was broadcast was not an unthinking provocation, but a deliberately staged piece that drew on anti-Jewish imagery and narratives—and did so knowingly, in order to generate attention. Hatred of Jews on German TV A Television Segment as a Conscious Transgression

Security in an Era of Strategic Upheaval

The international order is not merely in a phase of instability. The term Zeitenwende , frequently cited in Germany, refers to a transformed security-policy reality: military capabilities and alliance commitments constitute central categories of the capacity to act politically (Schmoll, 2025). Against this backdrop, I argue that current geopolitical developments, particularly with regard to Greenland and the Arctic region, are not marginal issues. From my perspective as a Nor

Instead of a Blog Post

An excerpt from my book Hatred of Jews-A Failure of Holocaust Education? on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27. On January 27, we commemorate the victims of the Holocaust worldwide. This day not only recalls the unprecedented crimes of National Socialism, but also our responsibility to pass on knowledge, protect historical truth, and empower people to recognize and confront hatred of Jews and exclusion. On this occasion, I am making an exc

When Words Become Dangerous – between Grundgesetz and History.

Debates about free speech in Germany often flare up where history, law, and present-day politics collide. A recent ruling by the Higher Administrative Court of Münster has done exactly that, reopening the question of what kinds of political speech a democratic state must tolerate—even when that speech targets the very existence of another state. The case touches on more than legal technicalities; it forces Germany to confront the tension between constitutional principles and

What a Coloring Book Reveals About the Power of Educational Materials

In this post, I take a closer look at how seemingly harmless educational materials—even a playful children’s coloring book—can solidify simplified political narratives and shape perceptions long before critical thinking develops. Drawing on my long-standing research, I explain why German school textbooks may not express open hostility, yet still present limited and often distorted views of Jews, Judaism, and Israel. And I outline what needs to change so that education becomes

A New Course in German Remembrance Policy - finally.

Sometimes you only realize in retrospect that you had almost grown accustomed to a political imbalance. That was exactly the feeling I had when I read the new memorial site program presented by Minister of State for Culture, Weimer (CDU). One senses in it a clarity that German remembrance policy had increasingly lost in recent years. Since the cabinet decision was issued in November 2025 , it has become clearer than ever how strongly Weimer’s approach differs from the previou

Hatred of Jews: The Collapse of Rousseau’s Social Contract

Rousseau believed that a just society rests on a shared moral bond: the contrat social . But what happens when hatred turns citizens into enemies? The global rise of hatred of Jews shows that the social contract can die not with a revolution, but with indifference. When the Political “We” Disintegrates Few ideas have shaped modern political thought as profoundly as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s vision of the contrat social . Written in 1762, Du contrat social ou Principes du droit

Love Knows no Distance

In this blog post, I explore the link between emotion and politics, and offer a personal reflection through the headline: Love knows no distance. A well-known German author and journalist recently released a new book in which he laments: “Nowadays, we can’t even go to the supermarket without being bombarded with emotions—because people love food there.” He’s referring to a popular German supermarket advertisement. “And influencers on the internet are nothing more than peo