“Reform the IMF and World Bank!” Understandably, the G-20 in London will mainly focus on stabilising the global financial markets. But they must also not pass up the opportunity to steer the IMF and the World Bank on a green course to ensuring that public funds help overcome multiple crises and assist the poor and poorest populations.
High Food Prices – Who gets the Money? A maize shortage has led to an unprecedented price hike in Kenya; government has declared the food insecurity a national disaster. Many Kenyans attribute food price inflation to mismanagement and corruption. But to what extent does it result from actual scarcity? Do food crop producers - many of them small farmers - profit from high food prices? By Heike Höffler and Booker Owuor Ochieng
Can China Save Cambodia from the Global Economic Crisis? China has emerged as Cambodia’s leading investor and donor and an increasingly important trading partner. Will the close relationship with China help Cambodia weather the global financial crisis? Or can we expect the economic slowdown in China to spill over into the Cambodian economy?
The Failed War on Drugs in Mexico The Merida Initiative, a programme against the illicit trade in drugs headed by the USA and Mexico, is too focused on law enforcement. What is needed is structural reform of the police and judicial systems and more economic development. By Manuel Pérez Rocha
Poland and the Future of NATO NATO did not fail during the Cold War or after: It did safeguard the security to its member states. NATO can be successful in the future, too - provided it focuses on its primary tasks and resists the temptation to "do everything everywhere". By Prof. Roman Kuźniar
Poland in the Western Sphere By joining NATO - and, five years later, the European Union - Poland has fulfilled its strategic objectives, directing its internal development towards a state more secure, democratic, and affluent. By Maria Wągrowska
Climate Justice for Africa Africa speaks up on Climate Change is an appeal about the threat climate change poses to Africa. Immediate political action is needed. The film Hotspot Africa shows how severe the problems really are.
NATO for the 21st Century NATO alone cannot stretch far enough to tackle the challenges we face. It must also be able to connect better with others. And if NATO is to both stretch and connect, its members will need to supplement static territorial defence with societal resilience and - a particular challenge for Germany - to develop the expeditionary capabilities necessary to enable NATO to act effectively. By Daniel Hamilton
Schwarzenberg’s Mission to the Middle East The Czech EU Presidency was thrown right into the middle of the war in Gaza. And Czech politicians stumbled. Unlike the majority of their colleagues from Western Europe, who condemned Israel’s actions as disproportionate, the Czech prime and foreign ministers initially blamed Hamas for the conflict. By Jan Fingerland and Irena Kalousová
Women´s Perspectives: A Case Study of Systematic Land Registration in Cambodia The film by Nana Yuriko describes the experiences of 5 single women in the Joint Land Titling process in Cambodia. By giving voice to these women, the Heinrich Böll Foundation hopes to contribute to improvements in the recognition and registration of women's land rights in Cambodia. By Produced by the Cambodia Country Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation