Cornelius Adebahr is a nonresident fellow at Carnegie Europe. His research focuses on foreign and security policy, in particular regarding Iran and the Persian Gulf, on European and transatlantic affairs, and on citizens’ engagement.
Adebahr has been the owner of a political consultancy in Berlin since 2000. Among his clients are government institutions and foundations as well as not-for-profit associations and companies. In addition, he is an associate fellow at the Research Institute of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), a fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and a member of Team Europe, an experts’ network of the European Commission in Brussels.
Since 2005, he has taught as a lecturer at various international universities, including the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy in Erfurt, Tehran University in Iran, and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in the United States. He is the author of Europe and Iran: The Nuclear Deal and Beyond (Routledge 2017) and Learning and Change in European Foreign Policy: The Case of the EU Special Representatives (Nomos 2009)
Adebahr has been awarded academic and professional scholarships inter alia from German National Academic Foundation, Fulbright Commission, Robert Bosch Foundation, and Volkswagen Foundation. He is a frequent commentator for major German and international print, radio, and television media outlets, including the BBC, NPR, and POLITICO. He has also testified before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament and provided written evidence to the UK House of Lords.
To quell the revolt sparked by Mahsa Jina Amini’s death in 2022, Iran committed crimes against humanity, including gender persecution. EU governments must coordinate to advance judicial accountability of those responsible while protecting vulnerable groups and countering digital repression.
The demise of the Roman Empire holds lessons for the EU’s system of governance. To fulfill its purpose of unity, Europe needs to develop a vision of community built on the rule of law and encourage states to cooperate in devising sound policies.
The power Iran projects on the international scene masks a fragile regime that fears for its survival. The EU should comprehensively assess the challenges Tehran poses and adjust its policy accordingly.
By awarding Mahsa Amini and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement with the Sakharov prize, the European Parliament honored all those who have withstood the Iranian regime’s repression. But the EU should also take concrete steps to protect women and human rights defenders who have fled the country.
Iran’s regime is using digital repression to control the country’s citizens and further isolate them from the world. The EU should ensure safe online spaces for Iranian activists and tie its Iran policy into a comprehensive global strategy against digital authoritarianism.
The world is watching how Israel is responding militarily, as well as politically, to the October 7 attacks by Hamas. Israel should be mindful not to make the same mistakes the United States made post-9/11.
Technology will fundamentally change the way diplomacy is conducted still this decade. To make the most of AI tools, foreign policy experts will have to clearly define inputs and collaborate with tech experts.
The Islamic Republic no longer wants to work with Europe, but rather against it. Counterintuitively, the EU should still seek areas for potential cooperation in a hard-nosed, interest-driven way to create an opening into Iranian society.
The rules-based international order is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. To redesign the global system and convince publics around the world, governments must include citizens’ perspectives in the discussion.
Iran, hit hard by global warming, is ruled by a regime that thrives on regional instability and enmity with the West. By cooperating with Tehran on shared environmental challenges, the EU could help Iranian society and become a more relevant global player itself.