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Ho-Ho-Ho and High-Stakes Diplomacy: December Highlights

Welcome to our December 2025 edition! As the year draws to a close, we take stock of the global forces shaping diplomacy, governance, and sustainable development — and consider the opportunities for cooperation and progress in the year ahead.

This month, we examine Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam and its potential to transform regional relations, Germany’s new space security strategy and its implications for deterrence and resilience, and the contrasting approaches of Columbia and Harvard under federal pressure. Our exclusive interview with Germany’s UN Ambassador Ricklef Beutin reflects on 80 years of multilateralism and the enduring relevance of the United Nations.

We also highlight global collaboration in practice, from the GMACC Conference 2025 in Namibia to the APEC summit in Gyeongju, and track developments such as President Javier Milei’s midterm momentum in Argentina. Plus, meet Laura Jasper of HCSS, pioneering strategic gaming for tomorrow’s security challenges.

As the year ends, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and we sincerely thank you for following our work throughout the year.

SHORT ARTICLE

What Ethiopia's New Hydroelectric Dam Means for Egypt
Africa’s largest dam could power Ethiopia’s future - or inflame Nile tensions. As climate change and regional politics collide, smart diplomacy may decide whether the GERD becomes a catalyst for cooperation or conflict.

Recommended Reading: Deterrence, Defense, and Resilience in Space

As space shifts from science frontier to strategic arena, Germany’s new space security strategy stakes a claim for deterrence, defense, and resilience — shaping how nations protect orbit and manage rising rivalry.

POLITICAL ANALYSIS

Universities Under Pressure: Diverging Strategies of Columbia and Harvard in the Trump Era

Facing unprecedented federal pressure, two universities chose starkly different paths — decisions that could reshape not only their funding, but the future of higher education in the United States.

Read it here!

INTERVIEW
80 Years of the United Nations
As the United Nations turns 80, Germany’s UN Ambassador Ricklef Beutin reflects on the organization’s legacy, its crises, and why multilateralism still matters for the decades ahead.

FROM OUR GALLERY

GMACC Conference 2025 Brings Global Partners Together in Windhoek

Strengthening global collaboration for sustainability 

From 24–27 November 2025, the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Namibia hosted the first Global Project for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (GMACC) Conference 2025 in Windhoek, bringing together partner organisations from the Global Project for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. Participants from Latin America, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Central Asia gathered for four days of exchange, peer learning and field-based experience.

Organised within the TH!NK Global Sustainability Network, the conference focused on cross-regional learning and the co-creation of practical climate and sustainability solutions. Highlights included regional perspectives, a keynote on peer learning, an interactive En-ROADS climate simulation, and thematic sessions on biodiversity conservation, climate-resilient food systems, circular economy innovation and advocacy. A full-day field visit in and around Windhoek complemented the discussions with hands-on insights.

SHORT ARTICLE

APEC summit – toward greater fragmentation in the Indo-Pacific?

The November 2025 APEC summit in Gyeongju highlighted waning enthusiasm for deep Asia-Pacific integration — while underscoring the forum’s enduring value as a venue for high-stakes bilateral diplomacy.
Read more here.

SHORT ARTICLE

Argentina: President Javier Milei is entering the second half of his term in office

After midterm gains in both chambers, Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza has momentum - but delivering results will matter more than fiscal discipline alone.

BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

HSS Kenia
💥 EAC coalitions 🤝 bring peace and stability 🌍 — or chaos ⚡. Your thoughts? 👇🏾

HSS Philippines
💻 Philippine prosecutors & police 🇵🇭 visited Germany 🇩🇪 to fight cybercrime ⚡ and boost collaboration 🤝

HSS Italy
👥 Winter School ⚖️: 30 scholars explore religion, democracy, ethics ✨ and public life 🌍.

WHO IS...?

Laura Jasper?

Laura Jasper, Programme Coordinator and Strategic Analyst at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), leads research on strategic undermining, shapes the multi-year PROGRESS framework for the Dutch Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, and pioneers the development of cutting-edge strategic gaming capabilities to anticipate tomorrow’s security challenges.
In case you are interested you can get in touch with Laura here or via LinkedIn here. 
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The articles in this newsletter reflect the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.