The Prague Spring: Then and Now, 40 Years later

Early in 1968, the Czechoslovakian society awoke. The public, the media, and even the communist party itself felt an urgent desire for change and reform. Dissatisfied with things as they were, people pushed for freedom and openness. By then, the reins of power were held by a generation which had had enough of socialism in its material form as it existed in the ČSSR. Led by intellectuals, artists, and thinkers, everyone was looking for a new socialist way.

Editorial

Ausgabe 6/2008 der Auslandsinformationen der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

In Focus: The Rise of Indigenous Movements in Latin America

Im Fokus: Der Aufstieg indigener Bewegungen in Lateinamerika

Latin America is in turmoil. The question of how to deal with those people whom the Europeans first met there centuries ago has caught up with the region. There is talk of a political awakening among the indigenous nations.To be sure, there have been uprisings before, and even signs of a specific ‘Indio policy’.

Potential Stability

Poland after the End of the 4th Republic

The victory of the conservative Law and Order party and the power takeover by the Kaczyński twins after the parliamentary and presidential elections in Poland late in 2005 fired the starting gun for the so-called 4th republic. Its stated objective was to re-establish social and historic justice and to combat corruption, the communist cadre system, and a decaying society. In fact, all that the coalition government formed by the Law and Oder (PiS) party, the Self-defence party, and the League of Polish Families had to give the country were two years of instability, bickering among untrustworthy partners, and scandal.

Spain and its Trauma:

40 Years of ETA Terrorism

In 2008, Spain commemorates a sad anniversary. The ETA has been killing people for 40 years now. In 1968, the Basque terrorists committed their first murder, shooting dead a policeman in broad daylight. Since then, a total of 823 people lost their lives by this extreme-left underground organization.

State of Emergency in Armenia

Political Crisis after the Presidential Elections of February 2008

On February 19, 2008, nine candidates competed for the presidency of the Republic of Armenia. In this context, their election platforms and/or their affiliation to a political party played a subordinate role to Armenia’s voters.

The Strategic Importance of Missile Defence

Russia´s Objections and its Threat Situation

US plans to deploy strategic missile defence components in Poland and the Czech Republic are meeting with criticism not only in Russia but also within NATO and in Germany. The objects of this criticism are not only Russia’s warnings against a new arms race but also the possible impact of the plans on the negotiations about Iran’s nuclear programme. The latter argument was usually fielded in the political discourse to demonstrate the discrepancy between setting up a missile defence system and the policy of disarmament.

‚Ideology’ or ‚Unity’? Spain’s Future after the Parliamentary Elections of March 9, 2008

Die Zukunft Spaniens nach den Parlamentswahlen vom 9. März 2008

The winners of the elections held on March 9 of this year are Spain’s socialists led by José Rodríguez Zapatero. However, not only the PSOE, which has been ruling the country for four years, but also the non-socialist PP gained strength.

Editorial

Ausgabe 5/2008 der Auslandsinformationen der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

Elections in Sri Lanka’s ‘Liberated’ East: An Opportunity for a New Political Start?

When Batticaloa’s town councillors were elected in March 2008, Sri Lanka’s eastern province experienced the first democratic act in 14 years. Given that the province was controlled for many years by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Tamil guerrilla group, and that it was not before July 2007 that the region was recaptured by Sri Lanka’s military, the poll which is to be followed by nothing less than provincial elections in May 2008 attracted much attention.