Publication Series on Democarcy 14: After 1989 in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus, two aspects played and still play a key role in determining whether a political system exhibits merely a democratic façade or a truly democratic constitution: civil society and political culture, on the one hand, and the influence of ethnic conflicts, on the other. This publication illuminates the successes and failures, the instruments and institutions, and the concepts behind two decades of external democracy promotion.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen between 7 and 18 December will be extremely critical in determining the global actions to curb climate change in the future. This issue of Perspectives covers some of the key issues and implications of the negotiations as they are viewed from (Southern) Africa.
The current automotive crisis is not merely the result of an economic downturn, but has revealed structural flaws within the industry itself. This strategy paper analyzes the current crisis and outlines a vision of the “mobility products of the future”.
Eni, formerly the Italian state oil company, is undertaking a new multi-billion dollar investment in Congo in developing tar sands, oil palm for food and bio-diesel and gas-fuelled electricity. The study gives background information about the plans.
In the words of the Polish journalist and dissident, Adam Michnik, 1989 was Europe's annus mirabilis. The peaceful revolution of that year was a miracle effected by the people in central and eastern Europe.
Publication Series on Ecology 6: While the nations of the North have been polluting the atmosphere, the effects of climate change are mainly felt among the poorest levels of society in the nations of the South. These peoples are faced with the destruction of their living space, and their already tenuous rights to water, food, housing, and education are further threatened by climate change.
We are living in extraordinary times! Human-induced climate change is taking place at an unprecedented scale, and the world is caught up in a financial and economic crisis of historic proportions. We can overcome these crises only by undertaking major, joint international efforts.
The grave financial and economic crisis that broke into full view in the fall of 2008 has dominated headlines and politics. The imagery of a Green New Deal is important in that it suggests an ambitious approach predicated on the need for strong government action and a decisive break with old policies.
Publication Series on Ecology 5: The sustainable city of tomorrow faces not only ecological, but also major social challenges, and these are reasons enough to dedicate a conference and this associated compilation to urban development and urban lifestyles of the future.
The involvement of women in Afghanistan’s public life is decreasing. Attacks, vigilantism, and legal processes that contradict the basic principles of human and women’s rights are the order of the day. This book, based on interviews of male and female members of parliament, examines the realities of parliamentary work in Afghanistan.
