Intl. Politics - Heinrich Böll Foundation

International Politics

Photo: b00nj. Licence: Creative Commons BY-SA-NC 2.0. Original: Flickr

Introduction

International Politics

After the end of the cold war foreign and security policies have been subject to rapid change. This development has been further accelerated after September 11. Traditional security policies such as deterrence and containment have been replaced by risk prevention, crisis intervention, and preemptive policy measures.

Increasingly questions of foreign, security, and developmental policy have become intertwined.
The debates surrounding the war on Iraq have brought to the surface tensions between the USA and Europe – as well as within Europe itself. Against this background we would like to continue the debates on the future of transatlantic relations - and this against the background of new security policy risks, crisis prevention, and preemptive policies.

Concerning EU and European policy our focus is mainly on the following areas: Democracy and participation in the European Union; ecology and sustainable development; EU enlargement; a common European foreign and security policy; and the future of work and of social policy.

Foreign Affairs and Security

Serdiukov’s Downfall, Putin’s Illness and the Consolidation of the System

December 12, 2012 - Rumours spread after Minister of Defence Serdiukov's sudden fall from grace: Was not only the fight against corruption the reason? Should Putin be suffering from an illness that might explain why he started consolidating his power? Jens Siegert more»

Qatar’s Shifting Regional Role

- November 26, 2012 - Qatar must be regarded as an established regional and international actor. It played a key role in supporting the Arab Spring movements and it is now hosting the UN climate summit COP18. Salman Shaikh gives an overview of Qatars ambitions and priorities. Salman Shaikh more»

Special

Nahost-Konflikt

- Weltweit ist die Erleichterung über die vereinbarte Waffenruhe zwischen Israel und der Hamas groß. Doch was waren die Ursachen für die Eskalation der Gewalt, was sind die Interessen Israels und der Hamas in diesem Konflikt und wie denken die Menschen auf beiden Seiten? mehr»

Clinton Misses Another Opportunity to Arrest Bosnia’s Downward Spiral

- November 21, 2012 - It was the second visit of Hillary Clinton in Bosnia and Herzegovina without any positive outcome. Unfortunately, the situation will surely deteriorate further and chances for helping the country to become a really functioning and democratic state will grow smaller Kurt Bassuener more»

Resource Governance

Photo: ShellyS (photo is under the creative commons licence Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)

Research Project

From Money to Metals

Despite the current financial "crisis" investors are pouring money into mining companies and projects, with potentially negative consequences for thousands of communities around the world. Launched in 2008, and now available as a regularly-updated data base, "From Money to Metals" is a vital resource to discover who is funding what, and where, in one of the most potentially destructive of all global industries. By Nostromo Research, 2009. more»

Dossier

Log, Stock and Barrel - Financial Institutions in the Resource Sector

- Financial institutions play a major role in the exploitation and trade of natural resources. Over the years activists and organisations worldwide have used a variety of strategies to address these issues. The objective of the dossier Log, Stock and Barrel - Financial Institutions in the Resource Sector is to collect information on financial institutions, their role in the resource sector, and put together mechanisms, tools and strategies to address policy issues.

Dossier Resource Governance

To Have and Have Not - Resource Governance in the 21st Century

- Transparent, sustainable, fair, and just governance of natural resources is a key for peace and sustainable development worldwide. “To Have and Have Not – Resource Governance in the 21st Century” is an international civil society Memorandum. more»

After spring comes? Recent development investments into the MENA region

- October 31, 2012 - In the wake of the Arab Spring, G8 countries and other nations have pledged major sums to stabilize the region. These financial and economic support packages could also fail to stabilize the region. Successfully managing the wide range of risks involved in the region requires addressing vulnerabilities directly in order to turn what will be a low-carbon and resource-constrained future from a risk into an opportunity. Sabrina Schulz more»

Dossier

Seasons of Change: Climate, Energy and Resource Politics in the MENA Region

- In the midst of turbulent times in the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar is hosting the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha from November 26 to December 7, 2012. This trilingual webdossier presents analysis and perspectives on how climate change, resource and energy politics relate to political and social change. more»

World Trade

Interview

Resource Governance: "China's quota system is transparent"

January 4, 2011 - China is the world leader in exports of rare earths, which are mainly used for the production of hi-tech products. The Heinrich Böll Foundation talked with Dr. Zha Daojiong, a professor at the School of International Studies of Peking University, about the important raw materials and the role of China.
more»

Heinrich Böll Stiftung India with partners at the Asia Europe People’s Forum

- December 7, 2010 - During the official Asia Europe Meeting in Brussels in October, our office in Delhi joined organizing the Asia Europe People’s Forum. This civil society forum strives to advance people’s voice in shaping Asia Europe relations and questions the neo-liberal ASEM agenda on grounds of citizen’s rights, economic, social, political and environmental justice. A report By Shalini Yog more»

Seoul: The 4th G20 summit takes place in the capital of South Korea.

The G20 Summit in Seoul - A turning point?

- November 10, 2010 - The G20 Seoul summit is discussing the most important issues of the global economy. This article presents the dynamic among G20 members on exchange rates, institutional reform, and global rebalancing. Sandro Gianella more»

Europe and Transatlantic

The Crisis as Opportunity for Greater Sustainability and Distributive Justice

December 10, 2012 - The debt and financial crisis in Europe has accentuated three major areas in need of reform: national debt, the stability of the financial system, and the unbalanced distribution of incomes and wealth. There are instruments of reform that could work effectively for all three areas. Simon Wolf more»

The Story of the "Hungarian Orange"

- November 23, 2012 - Berlin-based Hungarian artist Artúr van Balen has travelled to Hungary to join the opposition protests in Budapest on the 23rd of October. With the help of around 15 artists and activists van Balen created the "Hungarian Orange", a 5 meter long, 3.5 meter high inflatable lemon, which they brought to the protests. But not everyone was amused by the playful object. Artúr van Balen more»

Clinton Misses Another Opportunity to Arrest Bosnia’s Downward Spiral

Report

Conference: Europe’s Common Future

- November 7, 2012 - During the three years of Europe’s crisis many supposedly rock-solid certainties about the European Union have been shaken up. Today, even dedicated Europeans do have to admit that, in its present shape, the EU may be one of the casualties of the crisis. At our conference Europe’s Common Future such concerns about a possibly disastrous failure of the Eurozone were palpable. Torsten Arndt more»

Opposition in Hungary: Left-of-centre Co-operation - the Risky Imperative?

- October 29, 2012 - As expected, the 56th anniversary of the hungarian revolution occasioned a symbolic battle between the Prime Minister and his left-of-centre opposition, with both sides seeking to present themselves as the true heirs of 1956. Whereas Orbán and Fidesz clearly won the battle of numbers, the show was stolen by Gordon Bajnai, the former Prime Minister. Kristóf Szombati more»

13.12.	Arrival City – Potenziale und Sprengkraft - Eine Buchpräsentation mit Doug Saunders Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin
13.12.	Rebellen, Ranger und Ressourcen - Wie Kongos Wildhüter den Virunga-Nationalpark vor Krieg und Erdöl-Konzernen schützen - Podiumsdiskussion Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin

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