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The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine have posed major challenges - in different ways - to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) coun­tries as well as to the European Union (EU). At the same time, these international crises have revealed how little resilience there is in the narratives that are supposed to inform normative relations between the two regions: shared values, strategic part­nership, and dialogue at eye level. In fact, this rhetoric is based on wishful thinking and does less and less justice to the reality of mutual relations. Common ground is crumbling, and there is a lack of projects that give meaning and purpose to cooperation. Such projects would have a chance of success especially if divergent views were addressed and mutual expectations were openly negotiated. Instead of building on commonalities, future-oriented cooperation should rely more on complementarities - within the framework of varying formats. (author's abstract)

Die Covid-19-Pandemie und Russlands Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine haben die Staa­ten Lateinamerikas und der Karibik ebenso wie die Europäische Union - auf unterschiedliche Weise - vor große Herausforderungen gestellt. Zugleich offenbarten diese internationalen Krisen, wie wenig belastbar die Narrative sind, von denen die Bezie­hungen zwischen beiden Regionen normativ geprägt sein sollen: gemeinsame Werte, strategische Partnerschaft, Dialog auf Augenhöhe. Tatsächlich handelt es sich dabei um eine von Wunschdenken bestimmte Rhetorik, die der Wirklichkeit im wechsel­seitigen Verhältnis immer weniger gerecht wird. Die gemeinsame Grundlage bröckelt, und es fehlt an Projekten, die der Zusammenarbeit Sinn und Zweck ver­leihen. Solche Vorhaben hätten vor allem dann eine Chance auf Erfolg, wenn ab­weichende Sicht­weisen thematisiert und gegenseitige Erwartungen offen verhandelt würden. Anstatt von Gemeinsamkeiten auszugehen, sollte eine zukunftsträchtige Kooperation sich - im Rahmen variabler Formate - verstärkt auf Komplementari­täten stützen. (Autorenreferat)

African states are aspiring to strengthen their defence capabilities against the back­drop of ongoing instability in the continent. Turkey has lately added security and defence cooperation to its existing soft power instruments and laid the foundations for long-term strategic cooperation with African countries. Increasing drone sales are an important part of this cooperation, but they are not its only component. A mutually reinforcing policy design of arms exports, military training, and defence diplomacy allows the Turkish administration to build long-term and institutional bonds with African countries. Today, Turkey is one among many security providers that African states can choose from. Also, the European Union (EU), in its February summit with the African Union, committed to strengthening its role in addressing shared peace and security challenges in the continent. To achieve this goal, the EU and its member states should revisit potential cooperation areas with partners that are active in the continent and consider the benefits of potential cooperation with Ankara. (author's abstract)