BY
Tobias Schneider
Theresa Lütkefend

Our research found that there have been at least 336 chemical weapons attacks over the course of the Syrian civil war – significantly more than has commonly been known. Around 98 percent of these attacks can be attributed to the Assad regime, with the Islamic State group responsible for the rest. Approximately 90 percent of all confirmed attacks occurred after the infamous “red line” incident of August 2013.

Global Futures is a podcast about global politics and how rising powers like China and India are transforming it. We discuss foreign policy, economics, war and peace, and how the world is changing with experts from across the world.

Forced migration is one of the critical issues of our time. 1 in 110 people in the world is currently displaced because of conflict, violence or persecution, or natural and environmental disasters. More common among those who are already vulnerable, forced migration also often creates tensions in the countries or regions that host such migrants.

By ALEXANDER GAUS

From Syria to South Sudan, from Mali to Myanmar: a growing number of protracted conflicts and unresolved crises, and the millions of refugees they have produced, have sparked renewed debate about the need to invest more in conflict prevention, stabilization, and peacebuilding. Many are looking to Europe and Germany in particular to step up and lead the way. Yet while Germany has slowly come around to the idea of playing a more active role in matters of peace and security policy, many questions about the “how” remain.

As the Islamic State of Iraq swept through central and northern Iraq in 2014, Iraqi forces crumbled and state control collapsed. A range of local, sub-state, and hybrid security forces mobilized to fill the gap, helping Iraqi Security Forces retake and hold territory. Although an immediate solution to the existential threat posed by ISIL, this mass mobilization and devolution of power to local and sub-state forces has left Iraq's security landscape fragmented. The sheer number of groups as well as weak command and control have undermined rule of law and governance.