Cornelius Adebahr

Cornelius Adebahr

Dr Cornelius Adebahr is a political analyst and consultant living in Berlin, Germany. His work focuses on European foreign policy issues, transatlantic relations, and Iran. Since the end of 2000, he has been the owner of Wirtschaft am Wasserturm – Political Consultancy, Project Development, and Training. In addition, he is a non-resident fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels and an associate fellow of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), as well as a member of the Team Europe of the European Commission.

He was a lecturer at Georgetown University (2015-16), at Tehran University (2012-13) and at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at Erfurt University (2005-2011).  From 2009-2011, he was a fellow of the New Leadership Foundation (stiftung neue verantwortung) in Berlin, and in 2002/2003 of the Robert Bosch Foundation’s Post-Graduate Program in International Affairs.

Cornelius studied Political Science (International Relations), Philosophy, Public Law, and International Economics in Tübingen, Paris, and at the Free University Berlin, where he graduated in 2001 before receiving his PhD (Dr. rer. pol.) in 2008 with an analysis of the work of the EU Special Representatives. His analysis of the EU’s foreign policy towards Iran, with a particular focus on the nuclear negotiations (2003-2015), appeared with Routledge in 2017.

More about Cornelius can be found on his website.

Post Archive

05 April 2023
Cornelius Adebahr argues that the new strategy lacks a committed and engaging narrative at a time when the world looks increasingly dangerous. The speeches on the first…
18 October 2022
The emerging global divide may be geopolitical in nature, but its effects are felt widely, from companies closing to citizens collecting wood for the winter. Time for foreign…
07 December 2021
Cornelius Adebahr argues that Merkel's foreign policy inertia is symptomatic of a wider Western malaise. In hindsight, it is ironic – and symbolic – that the…
19 March 2021
It is no coincidence that democracies are looking for their role in an increasingly turbulent world. As old paradigms are shattered, governments should rely more on their citizens…
24 August 2020
As the United Nations celebrates its accomplishments over the past 75 years, a final showdown between the world powers will shape its future. The world is in turmoil. In the…
11 June 2020
Germany is emerging from the first phase of the pandemic with some scars, but broadly in good shape. That only makes the country’s upcoming six-month EU presidency more crucial:…
03 February 2020
Cornelius Adebahr calls for a more proactive EU. Teheran’s decision to abandon the uranium enrichment limits set in Iran nuclear deal put Europeans in a bind. They couldn’t leave…
12 November 2019
Cornelius Adebahr reflects on America’s political polarization and what it may mean for the future. Political and societal polarization in the United States is palpable. I visited…
25 March 2019
Faced with external and internal threats, Iran is resorting to old-style nationalism. This is not new per se, explains Cornelius Adebahr, but often overlooked in the wider debate…
15 January 2019
GP Columnist Cornelius Adebahr on India's embrace of the loosening of Western dominance. With political commentators in Europe busy stressing the critical…
19 June 2018
Earlier this year, Kosovo marked the tenth anniversary of its – self-declared, not UN-recognized – independence. It is thus Europe’s youngest country, which is also true in terms…
08 May 2018
Whatever the issue, the US president’s response is: me. Whether it is about Iran or North Korea, trade with China or Mexico – policy watchers have to understand that their…
29 September 2017
In the run-up to the nuclear deal's second anniversary, Cornelius Adebahr warns of the need for a rational approach to Iran. For over three decades, American policy towards…