Globalisation and Transformation

The Geneva Refugee Convention turned 70. Hardly anyone feels like celebrating in view of the many violations internationally, but the occasion offers the opportunity to strongly support the Convention’s principles in face of all hostilities, because it stands for nothing less than the protection of refugees.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral bank for infrastructure financing and plans to become the leading global institution for financing infrastructure projects. This article shows why the bank must intensify its efforts to inform the public in a timely manner about the environmental and social risks of its projects.

As well as in 2008, the very necessary, unavoidable actions of central banks now in the Covid-19 crisis have massive side effects: cheap money is fostering asset price inflation, fueling inequalities. At the same time, central banks are still disregarding climate risk in the way they treat fossil assets as collateral.

The EU has traditionally been timid about its use of sanctions in foreign policy. Will this change with the current EU leadership’s plans to speak “the language of power”?

As part of a larger geopolitical region, the Wider Black Sea requires greater commitment from the EU in the areas of security, renewable energy, and connectivity. Turkey and Russia are the key competitors for influence and resources in the region.

The financial industry also sees the climate crisis as a threat to future speculation profits. Industry giants like BlackRock are calling for an end to fossil fuels and siding with the environmental movement.

The Corona crisis demonstrated in fast motion the dilemma into which market-state-thinking leads. This is where commons come into play, i.e. what people do and are able to do with each other in a self-determined, self-organised, needs-oriented manner and without any marketing interest.

For the highly indebted developing countries, the corona pandemic accelerates the debt crisis. An interview with Barbara Unmüßig from the Board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation about the latest developments.

The OSCE was designed to promote a culture of cooperative security in Europe. But in recent years military tensions between Russia and the West have flared up again. Can the OSCE help to defuse these tensions and restore confidence in the Euro-Atlantic area?

The new consensus in international development circles focuses on private financing as a solution to pressing sustainability issues. Does this contribute to achieving the goals of sustainable development?