Debate over labour-market reform raises questions about income security, flexibility and employment risks Germany’s long-standing “mini-job” model is once again under political scrutiny. Economists are warning that a rapid abolition of this special form of employment...
Politics
Comment: Mobile phone tracking for persons required to leave the country – promises of efficiency with unanswered questions
At first glance, the demand for mobile phone tracking and surveillance of persons required to leave the country who have gone into hiding seems pragmatic: if persons cannot be located, the police should use digital means to find them more quickly. Less effort, fewer...
Munich Security Conference – Security architecture under stress
The 62nd edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) once again demonstrated the security policy and operational significance of the meeting for Germany and its partners. Between February 13 and 15, 2026, global crisis dynamics, high-level diplomacy, and a...
Germany: More video surveillance in public spaces
Baden-Württemberg expands municipal scope for action The state parliament of Baden-Württemberg has passed an amendment to the state data protection law that makes it much easier for municipalities to use video surveillance in public spaces. The aim of the amendment is...
German economy lacks the necessary momentum
DIW, ifo Institute and IAB see a slight recovery, but no reason to sound the all-clear The economic barometer of the German Institute for Economic Research (https://www.diw.de) (DIW) rose slightly further in January to 94.8 points. By way of comparison, the figure was...
Two age verification systems receive positive ratings
KJM approves Widas ID's ‘cidaas ID validator’ and IN Groupe's overall concept ‘IN ID’ The Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (https://www.kjm-online.de/) (KJM) has rated the ‘cidaas ID validator’ from Widas ID (https://www.widas.de/) and the overall...
Shopping street in focus: BAO Zeil reveals the limits of political security strategies
Frankfurt's Zeil in focus: Police enforce zero tolerance in the city centre – but behind the operations lies a warning sign of years of political failure. Shoplifting, violence and drug-related incidents have turned the popular shopping street into a hotspot. With the...
Terrorism: Commentary: Consistent resistance to digital radicalisation is a security policy imperative
The available findings on the so-called ‘terror gram scene’ clearly show that this is not a marginal phenomenon, but an acute and dynamic threat to internal security. When Home Secretary Thomas Strobl states that the digital space must not be ‘a legal vacuum, a...
How teenagers become terrorists: World’s first criminological study on the German ‘terrorist scene’
The Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office, in cooperation with the public prosecutor's offices in Stuttgart and Munich, has conducted the first comprehensive criminological evaluation of investigation files on the so-called ‘terrorist scene’. The most...
Commentary: BERLIN – Known risks, familiar words, familiar failures
The power outage in Berlin since 3 January 2026 is extraordinary in its scale, but remarkably familiar in its causes and political consequences. Five damaged high-voltage cables, tens of thousands of households without electricity and heating, restrictions on mobile...
