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Books from Russia: Russia’s Foreign Policy

Between 2005 and 2007, some interesting works on the country’s foreign policy under Mr Putin’s presidency were published in Russia. However, critical analyses of Mr Putin’s foreign-policy decisions are rare.

Aschot Manutscharjan

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Editorial

Ohne die Aufarbeitung der totalitären Vergangenheit lässt sich die Zukunft nicht gestalten. Dies ist auch die Lehre aus den deutschen Erfahrungen. Eine wesentliche Voraussetzung für den Aufbau und die Stabilität demokratischer Gesellschaften in Europa ist die Aufarbeitung der kommunistischen Vergangenheit. Die Länder Südosteuropas und Russland, denen in dieser Ausgabe zwei Berichte gewidmet sind, weisen in diesem Bereich noch immer große Defizite auf. In einer Reihe von Ländern, einschließlich Deutschland, sind nach wie vor Parteien tätig, die in direkter Traditionslinie zu dieser Geschichte stehen. Deren Anhänger müssten sich in besonderem Maße dazu verpflichtet fühlen, sich mit dieser Geschichte auseinanderzusetzen.

Gerhard Wahlers

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Elections in Thailand: Power Struggle Between Thaksin and the Military

With the parliamentary elections of December 23, 2007, Thailand has returned to democracy fifteen months after the military coup. Prior to the poll, a new constitution was adopted which was backed by far more than half the population. However, it is by no means certain that the outcome of the parliamentary elections marks the beginning of a course towards establishing a stable democratic order.

Canan Atilgan

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Lustration – Addressing the Consequences of the Communist Regime in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is not doing well in overcoming its communist past. It was only one year ago that the most comprehensive law so far was launched to open the records, and none of the leading politicians of the communist era has yet been brought to book. There is hardly any coming to terms with the past, called ‘lustration’.

Dirk Förger, Christiana Christova

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Natural Gas as a Foreign Policy Weapon: The Turkish-Iranian Gas Crisis of January 2007

The discovery that natural gas can be instrumentalised in international politics was made a while ago, one example being the Turkish-Iranian gas crisis of January 2007 when, in breach of contract, Iran stopped its gas deliveries so that Turkey had to realise that it needed to tap other sources next to natural gas to secure its own power generation. And not only Turkey but Europe as a whole need to diversify their sources of gas supply.

Fahri Türk

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Opportunities and Risks of Budget Assistance: The Example of Mozambique

Within today’s development policy, budget assistance is regarded as the new and the best method. In the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, both donor and receiving countries refer to the necessity of pursuing self-responsible strategies to fight poverty and to budget assistance as a tool of development cooperation. It even is to be the first choice wherever the conditions prevailing in the partner countries permit it.

Ingo Scholz, Johannes Plagemann

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Theory and Practice of the Democracy Clause in the EU’s Relations with Third Countries: The Example of Mexico

In its foreign relations, the EU accords priority to promoting and consolidating democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in its partner countries. More than that, its partners must acknowledge these principles to be granted assistance and to benefit from trade liberalisation. At the time of the Cold War, it was difficult to communicate these values in European political cooperation without conflict.

Maria Zandt

January 31, 2008

International Reports

Auslandsinformationen - Register 2007

December 31, 2007

International Reports

Editorial

Die internationale Arbeit der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung beteiligt sich auf verschiedene Arten an der Debatte über das Verhältnis von Islam und Demokratie. Da unter den Muslimen eine große Meinungsvielfalt vorherrscht, richtet sich diese Arbeit in erster Linie an individuelle Muslime, deren Ideen mit den Zielen der Stiftung im Einklang stehen. Vor allem im asiatischen Bereich lassen sich dabei positive Entwicklungen beobachten. Die sechs Beiträge dieser Ausgabe geben einen Überblick über die Stiftungsarbeit in islamischen Ländern.

Gerhard Wahlers

December 31, 2007

International Reports

India – A Democracy Living with Islam

The Indian subcontinent is an important part of Asia which plays a considerable geopolitical role. One of the characteristics of the whole south Asian region is its cultural, ethnic, and religious heterogeneity; another is common unifying traditions. The countries in the region do indeed have two faces. On the one hand, they are successful in development; on the other, they are marked by great disparities, inequalities, and mass poverty. Contradictory forces are at work, which is reflected in, among other things, the growth of fundamentalist movements

Joerg Wolff

December 31, 2007

International Reports