Luca Siepmann

Penultimate seminar of my degree - and one of the highlights of my time at King’s. Insightful Q&A with @David_Cameron as part of a module on the PM. Glad to have asked a question about Tory modernisation myself. Thanks to @jackwbrown + @thestrandgroup, and Mr Cameron for coming.

Important debate in the House of Commons on 🇩🇪🇬🇧 relations. The phrase “Vorsprung durch Freundschaft” stuck with me, as MPs highlighted the #KensingtonTreaty as vital in an age of instability. Great to also hear strong support for people-to-people ties, including town twinnings.

Wir bewegen uns in eine Welt hinein, die Carl Schmitt als „Großraumordnung mit Interventionsverbot für raumfremde Mächte“ bezeichnet hat. Wer schnell verstehen will, was das bedeutet, wird hier von @brendanpsimms gut bedient. #Venezuela zeit.de/2023/49/carl-s…

The UK is coming back to Erasmus! 🥳 Welcome back! German universities, vocational schools and companies have missed you! Leave your recommendations for which German university UK students should study at in 2027! 👇

@hoyer_kat It was wonderful to hear you talk about Beyond the Wall again tonight! Cannot wait for Weimar!

Look what I found on a Thursday night in the middle of London: a schnitzel with my name on it. Wunderbar! 😋

Can't think of another example of a global power so demonstratively burning its assets and destroying its influence, in a single document

"Our partnership continues to adapt to new times. We now find ourselves at the forefront of a global transformation - the search for a way of living that is at once prosperous, humane and sustainable. Here, as elsewhere, Britain and Germany stand shoulder to shoulder – guided not only by technology and science, but by conscience." During last night’s State Banquet at Windsor Castle, The King spoke of the deep friendship between the United Kingdom and Germany and of their continued belief in democracy, freedom and the rule of law. Read His Majesty’s speech in full on royal.uk/Germany2025.

🇩🇪 🇬🇧 This evening, The King and Queen hosted a State Banquet at Windsor Castle, in honour of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ms. Büdenbender. Zu Ehren von Bundespräsident Steinmeier und Frau Büdenbender haben der König und die Königin heute Abend ein Staatsbankett auf Schloss Windsor veranstaltet.

Hopefully of interest to anyone studying bilateral (and minilateral) relations, public diplomacy, and those curious about what is arguably one of Europe’s most essential dyads: berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/… Thanks to the @LSEEI for featuring - and comments always welcome! 🙂

Quite different from my work today substantively + methodologically - but thrilled to share this article based on my undergrad thesis, now out at German Politics & Society 43(3) @berghahnbooks. I analyse how 🇬🇧🇩🇪 state visits portray historical memory + joint future action.

Haben Menschen früher rechter gedacht, als sie gewählt haben? Der Forscher Vicente Valentim sagt, dass wir eine Ursache für den Erfolg extrem rechter Parteien übersehen. trib.al/pU2KSHw

It’s a spooky time of year for recovering globalists. Thanks for the inspiration @USTradeRep @RealPNavarro . Disclaimer: This costume was made in India and tariffed accordingly.

Keine Annäherung – keine Normalisierung – keine Kompromisse mit der sog. AfD In Zeiten, in denen ehemalige Unions-Politiker eine „neue Umgangsweise“ mit der sog. AfD fordern – „nicht immer die Nazikeule schwingen“, Beschlüsse zulassen, „denen die AfD zustimmt“, und die „Stigmatisierung“ infrage stellen – gilt es, mit aller Schärfe dagegen aufzustehen. (vgl. @WELT: „An­nähe­rung – nicht immer die Nazikeule schwingen“ welt.de/politik/deutsc… oder @sternde hier: x.com/sternde/status…) Wer heute das Label „Rechtspopulist“ relativiert, öffnet morgen die Tür für eine Verschiebung des Koordinatensystems der Politik. Derzeit fährt die sog. AfD eine kalkulierte Strategie: Mainstreaming — sie gibt sich gemäßigt, um anschlussfähig zu erscheinen, und greift gleichzeitig darauf, dass die demokratische Mitte aus Ermüdung oder zaghaftem Realismus Zugeständnisse macht. Diese Strategie ist kein Fehler – sie ist Wunsch und Plan. Und wir sollten sie gerade deswegen mit aller Klarheit benennen und bekämpfen: Mainstreaming / Dediabolisation: Parteien wie der RN in Frankreich haben schon früh gemerkt, dass man durch strategische Mäßigung mehr Zustimmung erreicht, als durch radikale Rhetorik. Ähnliche Entwicklungen in Italien, den Niederlanden, Ungarn sowieso. Illiberal! Schleichende Demokratiezerstörung: Wie @PeterRNeumann und @rc_schneider in "Das Sterben der Demokratie" warnen: Demokratie stirbt nicht mit einem Paukenschlag, sondern durch graduelle Aushöhlung von Institutionen und Normen. Normalisierung ist kein Pragmatismus, sondern ein Fehler: Wer beginnt, mit der sog. AfD über Inhalte zu diskutieren, verschiebt automatisch die Grenze des Redbaren — und lässt autoritäre Impulse salonfähig werden. Kooperation = Legitimierung: Wer Beschlüsse mit der sog. AfD teilt oder duldet, erkauft sich kurzfristige Mehrheit und liefert längerfristig demokratischen Boden. Christdemokraten sollten stehen für eine wehrhafte Demokratie, für Distanz gegenüber Kräften, die Vielfalt, Toleranz und Grundrechte untergraben. Eine Partei, die an den Grundfesten unserer Ordnung rüttelt, darf niemals zu einem verhandelbaren Partner werden. Wer heute an der #Brandmauer sägt, mit dem Gedanken der #Minderheitsregierung spielt, betreibt morgen schon Abrissarbeiten an demokratischen Grundfesten. Keine Zusammenarbeit. Keine Duldung. Kein Verharmlosen. #CDU #Roedder

🇬🇧🇩🇪 The President of Germany, accompanied by Frau Büdenbender, will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom, hosted by His Majesty The King, from Wednesday 3rd December to Friday 5th December.

Oxford’s new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities will be a home for culture and ideas as well as research.

Mein heutiger Leserbrief: gute #Bürokratie ist kein Bremsklotz, sondern ein Qualitätsmerkmal: schlank, digital, klar. Es braucht Gesetzgeber, die Mut haben, Überregulierung durch Vertrauen zu ersetzen. Wir Kommunalen sind bereit. Sind es die MdB auch? @PatrickBernau @faznet

Wenn nach den 🇷🇺 Drohnen über Polen & Rumänien nun 🇷🇺 Kampfflugzeuge in den estnischen Luftraum & die Sicherheitszone einer polnischen Bohrplattform eindringen, ist eines garantiert: wir erleben hier keine Versehen, sondern systematisches Austesten & Einschüchterung aus Moskau.

Believe it or not, I had an old school friend on today’s marches in London. He sent me some photos from the crowd. We went to middle school together and grew up on the same Eastern District council estate in Northampton. I asked him why he was there. He gave me two answers: 1.“The government doesn’t listen to us.” 2.“I want to feel proud of my country again.” He wore a Union Jack, not a St George’s Cross as he said that one had been hijacked by racists. He wasn’t there for Hopkins, Musk, or any of the professional ‘grifters’ as he put it. He was there to feel part of something bigger, though he admitted there were a lot of, in his words, “assholes” there. He’s an electrician. He’s smart. He’s not racist, but he’s not “PC” either. He’s not a fan of Keir Starmer but he also believes Farage would be a disaster. Oh yes, he’s a bundle of contradictions! But aren’t we all? I don’t know what ‘box’ we put him or the millions like him in. And I think pretending they’re all racists or fascists would be a massive mistake. Some were. But not all. This is about something bigger than immigration slogans or GDP numbers. For decades we’ve hollowed out our national life, underfunding and undermining the very institutions that once brought us together. Karl Polanyi, writing in The Great Transformation, argued that when markets are “disembodied” from society, when land, labour, and life itself are treated as commodities society pushes back. He called this the “double movement”: people seeking to protect themselves, to reclaim dignity and meaning when everything solid seems to melt into air. That’s what I saw in my friend’s photos. Not just anger, but a demand for belonging. We’ve replaced collective experience with atomisation. Without getting too nostalgic, programmes like the BBC’s Generation Game once pulled in millions every Saturday night, giving us something we could all talk about on Monday morning. Now we watch Netflix, Disney+, Prime, or Paramount, alone, in algorithmic silos. Football used to be affordable and rooted in community; now it’s millionaires playing for the profitability of billionaires. The NHS, the post office, the railways - all chipped away, run down, sold off or centralised, leaving people feeling powerless and disconnected. And don’t get me wrong: some kind of “Hovis Labour” nostalgia for the 1950s isn’t the answer. The country back then was often intolerant, grey, and deeply unequal. But what we’ve built since is a society that gives people little to hold in common, no collective story about who we are or what we’re for. I reckon that’s partly why my mate marched. Not because he wants to turn back the clock. But because he wants to feel pride again. Pride in a country that is inclusive, fair, and offers a role for everyone. Pride in a nation that has a respected place in the world, tackles grotesque inequality, and gives people something real to believe in. Polanyi warned that when democracies fail to provide a humane alternative, the backlash can turn authoritarian. This is how fascism grew in the 1930s, not because everyone became a true believer, but because millions felt abandoned and looked for strength, identity, and meaning wherever they could find it. If Labour and progressives don’t offer that story of renewal, if we don’t rebuild our national institutions, restore collective pride, and re-embed markets within society, the far right will do it for us, in their own image. And by then, it will be too late.

Lord Mandelson must now be the first public figure to have been forced out office for three different scandals across four different decades

Is there such thing as society? Or have we nothing to lose but our chains? Contribute to our upcoming issue on 'Solidarity and Solitude' here. Submissions due 29/9: oxfordpoliticalreview.com/2025/08/25/sub…

🚄 Paving the way for a direct 🇬🇧🇩🇪 rail link was endorsed as part of the Kensington Treaty last month. Today, German Transport Minister Schnieder & UK Transport Secretary Alexander signed a declaration of intent and established a taskforce to lay the foundations for this link.