Country Reports
New Dynamics in the Middle East
2011 – An eventful year for the Palestinian Territories
For the Palestinian Territories the year 2011 was first and foremost marked by the events of the so-called “Arab Spring”. Although there has been no overthrow of the political regime or even mass demonstrations in either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip for that matter, the “Arab Spring” had a significant impact. Neither would there have been the (so far unsuccessful) attempts of reuniting both territories nor would the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held hostage by the Islamist Hamas, have taken place, if it were not for the upheavals in Egypt. Felix Dane, Jörg Knocha, Dec. 14, 2011 more...
Syria and the Arab Spring
Current situation and future prospects of the Assad Regime
While Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans have overthrown their autocratic rulers, the issue of the political survival of Bashar al-Assad, whose regime represents one of the most repressive in the region, remains unsettled. This situation raises the question of how Assad could hold on to power in spite of overt political resistance that lasted over several months. What are similarities, but also differences between the case of Syria and other states of the Arab spring? Martin Beck, Simone Hüser, Nov. 28, 2011 more...
Elections in Egypt
(in German)
On November 28, voting begins in the first stage of Egypt's parliamentary elections. This election is considered by many to be the country’s most important elections in its history, as it is the first free election after the toppling of Hosni Mubarak’s 30-years-rule. But due to violent protests against the ruling military council, the volatile security conditions, the complicated electoral system and confusing political constellations, many Egyptians doubt that the elections will be a critical step towards democracy. Sahra Gemeinder, Andreas Jacobs, Nov. 28, 2011 more...
"Estonian energy policy"
An Overview
When it comes to energy policy, Estonia is a quite rare country in Europe and in the whole world. Estonia does not have high valued energy sources like oil, gas or even coal, but does have oil shale. This natural resource is mostly not even used because recourses with higher value are preferred. But since Estonia does not have anything else, the oil shale industry has been developed from 1940. But beside oil shale, other indicators are important to describe when describing the Estonian energy policy. Nov. 23, 2011 more...
EU CO-FUNDED PROJECT "PROMOTING PEOPLES' PARTICIPATION AND GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAMESE CITIES THROUGH ACVN" COMPLETED
From February 2009 to October 2011 the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in Vietnam in cooperation with the Association of Vietnamese Cities (ACVN) has implemented the project "Promoting people’s participation and governance in Vietnamese cities through the Association of Cities of Vietnam". Oct. 28, 2011 more...
Israeli Worries: Is the Arab Winter Approaching Now?
Israel also commemorates intensely the victims of the September 11 terror attacks of New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At the same time there are great worries regarding the last week, which was marked by increasing tensions with Turkey and which ended with a shock: the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo by a fanaticized mob. Sep. 11, 2011 more...
“Palestine 194”
In September the Palestinians want to become the 194th member state of the United Nations. A seemingly posi-tive event. The Israeli minister for foreign affairs, though, is worried that there will be an unprecedented bloodshed. Europe must stand united now to reach a common position re-garding the Palestinian venture. Jörg Knocha, Felix Dane, Sep. 6, 2011 more...
About this Serial
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is represented with its own office in around 70 countries on five continents. The foreign employees can give first-hand reports on current happenings and long-term developments in their respective countries. Their "country reports" offer visitors to the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung exclusive evaluations, background information and forecasts.
