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In this new ETH podcast on how to mediate conflicts CSS’ Simon Mason and Kaltuma Hassan Noorow talk about their mediation experiences in Kenya and Switzerland.

Strategic Trends 2019: The CSS has published its annual analysis of major developments in world affairs. The four topics covered this year include trade policy as geopolitics, the shift between the West and non-Western states in the field of defense technologies, Russia's footprint in the Arab world, and Russia's Euro-Asia strategy.

NATO is prioritizing conventional military capabilities to deter Russian encroachment on the alliance. Western planners and strategists view the war in Ukraine as a key benchmark that defines future capability requirements. As a result, various adaptive processes are underway within national armed forces.

The conflict in and around Ukraine seems to be immune to political settlement. The lack of political will of the parties and technical challenges have led to a stalemate in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, signed under international pressure. Unpacking the complexity of the Minsk Process allows for a better understanding of the challenges and modest results achieved so far.