The Youth Factor

Innovative Election Campaign Methods in the USA and their Transferability to Germany

The strategies chosen by the German parties are understandable when one considers the crucial voter groups in Germany. Even if a party were to use its limited funds entirely for addressing young people using online methods, it would not win the election in Germany even if it was successful in its efforts. Due to the demographic makeup of the USA, young people can tip the balance in the U.S. elections. Due to different demographics, this is not possible in Germany.

Uganda's Youth

Opportunities and Challenges in the Second Youngest Country in the World

Uganda has the second youngest population in the world after Niger: 78 per cent of its inhabitants are under 30 and 56 per cent under 18.1 With an average birth rate of 6.2 children per woman and a growth rate of 3.3 per cent, the Ugandan population is one of the fastest growing of the world. This demographic development entails challenges that need to be addressed Young people in Uganda have realised that it is their future that is at stake, and they want to have a hand in shaping this future.

Young People and Their Political Involvement

International Reports 5|2013

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Corporate Social Responsibility And Climate Protection in China

The Contribution Of Chinese Enterprises To Sustainable Development

The Chinese government is increasingly reliant upon the support of society in general and enterprises in particular in order to achieve significant reductions in emissions. In recent years, ever more multinational corporations engaged in China and Chinese enterprises have stepped up commitments in the fields of sustainable utilisation and climate protection. However, the distance between Beijing and locations in Western and Southern China impede functional supervision measures, resulting in a strong discrepancy between compulsory duties and their actual realisation.

Editorial

When societies have experienced periods of devastating violence, it is important that those responsible are convicted in a court of law. The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has been calling attention to the importance of addressing the past for decades. The International Criminal Court established on the initiative of the United Nations is the appropriate institution for this. The international community should also work towards all states submitting to the jurisdiction of the Court in The Hague.

International Crime Tribunal For The Former Yugoslawia And Coming To Terms With The Past In The Affected Countries

The break-up of Yugoslavia was characterised by bloody wars, which turned the former brother nations into bitter enemies. This is still affecting the democratic development in the majority of the Yugoslav successor states and the relationships between them. Twenty years after the ICTY was set up, the Tribunal is still playing an important role for the democratic development of the societies that have emerged from the former Yugoslavia and for shaping the relationships between them.

Presence and Future Of The Past

China Between Remembering And Forgetting

There are numerous cataclysmic phases in contemporary Chinese history that are in need of a critical reappraisal. “The Great Leap Forward” (1958-1961) and the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” (1966-1976) are just two examples of deep scars on the collective Chinese psyche. In 1981, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) detailed the framework for a party-politically approved interpretation of the past, which is still cemented in history books today. Beijing is also striving for the monopoly on the accepted historiography in international exchanges.

Processing the Past

International Reports 4|2013

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Silence Or Outrage

How South East Europe’s Media Deal With The Past

Coming to terms with a country’s political past is closely linked to the mass media, as they are the key to changing public opinion. It is only with their support that a general acceptance of democratic structures, not to mention a new perception of history, can be achieved. In South East Europe, this can be seen not only in the way the media deal with the Communist era, but also in their handling of the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. There is a need to improve both good quality reporting and critical self-reflection on the part of the media.

The Contribution of The Khmer Rouge Tribunal To Reconciliation, Remembrance And Memorialisation in Cambodia

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), better known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, attempt to deliver justice for victimised Cambodians and the society at large between 1975 and 1979. Despite the court’s endemic weaknesses, the simple fact that former senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge Regime stand accused of the most unimaginable atrocities is a miracle and an achievement in the fight against impunity for mass human rights violations.