International Politics

This policy document reflects on some of the EU policy barriers and opportunities in the areas of participatory democracy, the urban environment and knowledge in the digital environment.

The former implementation of the reform agenda showed that the leading international actors in Bosnia-Herzegovina are able to push the country towards a sustainable reform course. The limited results of the EU-Initiative are grounded in the missing political volition to apply the conditionality consequently.

For transnational corporations and their national and international associations and lobby groups, the G20 process provides important opportunities to engage with the world’s most powerful governments on a regular basis, shape their discourse, and influence their decisions. Read more about the influence of the Business20 (B20) in the following study.

The annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the launch of a hybrid war against Ukraine was Russia’s answer to the revolution triggered by Euromaidan. In order to explain the differing reactions of individual Visegrad countries, the offices of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Prague and Warsaw asked their partner organisations to systematically analyse how these countries have dealt with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

More than sixty frontline activists, academics and project leaders from twenty countries explain how commoning is empowering people to challenge the deep pathologies of contemporary capitalism and invent powerful, participatory alternatives. A special series of essays explores the inner dynamics of commoning - its ethics, social practices and worldview - to explain why the building of new worlds starts from within.

Global economic integration proceeds in regional clusters, and here we encounter paradoxical patterns. Developing countries are drawn into comprehensive trade and investment deals with the industrialised North, while remaining loosely integrated within their own regional economic communities.

The recent establishment of the New (BRICS) Development Bank has raised hopes for new approaches in development finance, while fears emerged that social and environmental standards may being weakened. A new study looks at the experience and past performance of BRICS countries in development financing.

The G20 is to launch a Global Infrastructure Initiative at its November Summit in Brisbane. There is a "bulldozing" consensus between the G7, the G20 and the BRICS.

Taking a look upon the legacy of the World Cups in Brazil, South Africa and Germany this publication gives detailed information about the financial, political and social impact of the mega-event. 

This issue opens with an article by Yunus Sözen that evaluates the local elections which were held on 30 March. Our special dossier is on capital and capitalists in Turkey. We analyze the varieties of business groups from Gülen community to capitalists of the Kurdish region. Democracy section features an article on recent internet censorship efforts by the government.

This second issue of "Perspectives Asia" provides a forum for the voices of authors from various Asian countries to express their thoughts on possible development models for the region. How can we achieve prosperity for all, without doing long-term damage to nature or threatening the subsistence of entire populations?

Good news! counteracts the dominance of bad news in the media and provides numerous examples of positive change from all over the world. The focus is on people who are determined to put a stop to violence, oppression, gender inequality, poverty, and destruction of the environment.

This paper examines the ongoing land registration process in six indigenous villages in Cambodia’s northeast. It was prepared for presentation at the "Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty" in April 2013.

Africa is the world’s youngest continent, with people under the age of 35 constituting about 65 percent of the population. This edition of Perspectives sheds light on youth politics and youth in politics in the continent and asks: Are the youth a political force?

In the wake of the Arab Revolts, the political landscape of the region is changing, fast. In the Arab Gulf Region, one political actor, in particular, is becoming more visible, seemingly more engaged in navigating these uncertainties and in filling the gaps in this political scene: The state of Qatar.

The articles in this issue of Perspectives seek to reflect on the extent to which African legislatures have taken steps that mark their shift from being the “weakest link” of government to stronger, independent institutions. In essence, we ask – do African Parliaments really occupy the privileged position accorded to them in representational democracies?

Although there continues to be widespread popular support across the African continent for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its mandate to prosecute high-level individuals accused of perpetrating international crimes, strong anti-ICC sentiments are brewing among parts of Africa’s political elite and state actors. 

Publication Series on Ecology 26: Natural resources are back on the agenda. This paper underlines a new dimension of international relations and pleads for new approaches, called international resource politics, which can be used for ongoing debates concerning green economy and transition strategies.

Publication Series on Europe 7: The EU debt crisis has clearly shown that the monetary union cannot be upheld without coordinated fiscal and economic policies. However, there is an additional hold-up, as further «top-down» integration driven by the political elites runs into growing opposition. Thus the debt crisis may easily trigger a crisis of EU legitimacy.