Scholar-Speaker-Advisor. Visiting Fellow and former CEO (2005-2020) Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Former UN Under-Secretary-General (2021-March 2024), SRSG for Sudan (2021-2023).https://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mujdhmdcac2oGood that German gvt. took visible steps to respond to the most likely Russia-linked attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport. Berlin's reaction took time so as to get the evidence right. Mainly diplomatic signaling, plus some hopefully effective masures against the shadow fleet and regime elite.02 Sep 2026 06:43 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mujdhmdcac2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mtjdf5hbhk2dWarum bedroht US-Präsident Trump den Oman? Was ist die gegenwärtige Strategie der Trump-Regierung im Krieg gegen Iran? Wie muss man die Politik des Oman verstehen? Und wie wirkt amerikanische Politik am Golf auf US-Verbündete in Ostasien? https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/trump-droht-oman-interview-mit-volker-perthes-swp-100.html20 Aug 2026 13:17 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjdf5hbhk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mpftrabp7s2xhttps://www.deutschlandfunk.de/interview-volker-perthes-swp-iran-usa-kriegsende-oder-permanenter-zustand-100.html29 Jun 2026 06:18 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpftrabp7s2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mp46zy543k2gMy take on the Iran-US MoU, whether Iran has been victorious, and why the conflict shows that the world is "multipolarizing", in an interview with Swiss weekly @woz.ch.web.brid.gy. The EU hasn't contributed to mediating an end to the conflict. Switzerland provided a hotel. https://www.woz.ch/2626/geopolitik-im-nahen-osten/und-wo-war-denn-die-eu/!76CGHHTE38KZ25 Jun 2026 10:13 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp46zy543k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mouwkzvkf22vI feel honoured - and look forward it. https://www.vr.se/english/applying-for-funding/decisions/2026-02-02-olof-palme-visiting-professorship.html22 Jun 2026 12:53 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mouwkzvkf22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3momrxprvfk2wNot the US-Iran deal is the problem, but the war of choice which it ended. I think it is important at this point to tell some of the recent critics of President Trump who previously supported his war on Iran to pause ... See my full post on https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7473630240183930880/19 Jun 2026 07:10 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3momrxprvfk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mnsamehrtc2kHier eine längeres Interview zur gescheiterten deutschen Sicherheitsrats-Kandidatur. Keine Katastrophe - die Generalversammlung hat sich für zwei andere sehr respektable Staaten entschieden. Aber es gibt viele Gründe und vieles, was Deutschland besser machen kann. https://www.cicero.de/aussenpolitik/deutschland-vereinte-nationen-un-sicherheitsrat?amp08 Jun 2026 17:50 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnsamehrtc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mmodtd74sk2tWhat do the Beijing meetings between President Xi and President Trump, followed by Xi‘s meeting with President Putin, tell us about the state of the world? Longer newspaper interview (in German) in Switzerland’s SonntagsZeitung and associated papers: https://www.derbund.ch/peking-gipfel-putin-und-xi-jinping-zeigen-machtverhaeltnis-67179068426325 May 2026 11:12 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmodtd74sk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mjm2g3efhk2dEin kurzes Fernsehinterview zur Lage im Sudan - und worum es eigentlich geht. https://www.zdf.de/video/magazine/phoenix-collection-phoenix-149-464/phoenix-krieg-im-sudan-es-geht-um-macht-und-ressourcen-10216 Apr 2026 09:02 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjm2g3efhk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mj7eaxmr2c2t„Drei selbsternannte Sieger, die alle verloren haben“: Interview zu den Gesprächen zwischen den USA und Iran in Islamabad und deren Erfolgsaussichten. Mit Originaltönen des Kollegen Christian Wagner in der Einleitung (Österreichischer Rundfunk): https://sound.orf.at/collection/3092/140966/wie-pakistan-zum-vermittler-wurde11 Apr 2026 07:54 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj7eaxmr2c2thttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mi4eoeu55s25As the war against Iran goes into its second month, we should expect it to get worse before it gets worse ... and before it then ends with no winner but at least three parties declaring victory. (More in my LinkedIn-post, where there is more space) https://www.linkedin.com/posts/volker-perthes_as-the-war-against-iran-goes-into-its-second-activity-7443595425946918913-aRR6?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAE8-bWgBDL8-5HKJslC8_TlYMP9j8exl2GE28 Mar 2026 09:58 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi4eoeu55s25https://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mgw3pj5jmc2yEurope is a collective force multiplier - and all its member states on their own are too small for a multi-polarizing world. At least if they want to play an effective role in shaping it. A comment (in German) for Security.Table https://table.media/forum/tableforum-neue-sicherheits-strategie/strategien-fuer-eine-multipolarisierte-welt-europa-staerken-mit-partnern-gestalten13 Mar 2026 04:36 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgw3pj5jmc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mgmeclmfvs2fWarum das Regime im Iran zwar überschätzt wurde, aber relativ resilient ist. Welche Szenarien es für die innere Entwicklung im Iran gibt. Was das für die Region heißt und was Europa vielleicht tun kann. Interview in der TAZ. https://taz.de/Nahostexperte-ueber-Iran/!6160624/09 Mar 2026 07:44 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgmeclmfvs2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mg5djyyy3k2wKurzes Interview gestern im Österreichischen Rundfunk zum Iran-Krieg. Ich poste es hier, obwohl der Sender mich mal wieder zum „Nahostexperten“ erklärt. https://sound.orf.at/collection/3092/136041/krieg-weitet-sich-auf-libanon-aus03 Mar 2026 08:20 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg5djyyy3k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mfj7uc2k2222I won‘t post all reviews of my new book on the multi-polarisation of the world. But here is an early and very substantive one, in German (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 23 Feb 2026):23 Feb 2026 08:21 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfj7uc2k2222https://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mfefpb2mmc2jReview in English on the Multipolarisation of the World: “Rather than forecasting catastrophe, he [Perthes] focuses on how multipolarity actually works … shifts incentives, reshapes alliances, and makes outcomes messier but not necessarily more random.” https://www.new-books-in-german.com/recommendations/the-multipolarisation-of-the-world/21 Feb 2026 10:22 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfefpb2mmc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mfbwupbpzk2ahttps://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/usa-da-hat-die-trump-regierung-recht/100201134.html20 Feb 2026 10:51 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfbwupbpzk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3meycxo53ns2x„Live“ in Berlin: 26 February 2026 https://www.urania.de/event/die-multipolarisierung-der-welt/16 Feb 2026 15:01 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3meycxo53ns2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mekxpawgks2tUnfortunately, the likelihood of the war in Sudan ending soon is low. But there could be an opening for a temporary ceasefire. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/sudan/how-war-sudan-could-end11 Feb 2026 07:35 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mekxpawgks2thttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mebaw2uwg222Always fun to unpack the first copies of a new book …07 Feb 2026 10:53 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mebaw2uwg222https://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3md632jnilc2gp.dw.com/p/57GP3 https://p.dw.com/p/57GP324 Jan 2026 11:05 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3md632jnilc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mcra2ftrps2qLonger interview in Internationale Politik (in German). We speak about Greenland (the interview was recorded before the latest tariff threats from President Trump), about Sudan, Iran, the EU, and international law. https://internationalepolitik.de/de/europa-muss-trump-deutlich-machen-bis-hierhin-und-nicht-weiter19 Jan 2026 08:30 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcra2ftrps2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3mc5o2nwyhs2jIraqi-Kurdisch outlet GulanMedia interviewed me on global and regional order. Among my (certainly debatable) points: Kurdistan Regional Government could play a more constructive role in Iraq. Institutionalised decentralisation could strenghten Syria, not weaken it. https://www.gulanmedia.com/en/story/353581/after-the-old-order,-what-comes-next?-a-conversation-with-volker-perthes-on-power,-fragmentation,-and-the-future-of-the-middle-east11 Jan 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3mc5o2nwyhs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/perthes.bsky.social/post/3m7hhwgs6jc22Om this day last year, 8 Dec 2024, the house of Asad fell like a house of cards. Congratulations to the Syrian people! Today, challenges abound, but so do opportunities. My argument, in this @foreignaffairs.com article, is still valid: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/syria/dont-let-geopolitics-ruin-syrias-transition08 Dec 2025 07:09 +0000at://did:plc:j7icfmd3s5khjwx77ypangct/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7hhwgs6jc22