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Private vs. Public

Thoughts on Regulatory Matters Relating to Water Supply in Latin America

While the wave of public service privatisation in Latin America is waning, the underlying issue of regulation remains unresolved. The failure of many projects in the water sector after some initial successes shows that huge challenges remain, whether the water supply is in public or private hands. This is in part due to a failure to engage in a debate about a stable governance model for the region.

Rwanda as a Model?

On the State of Development in Rwanda and the Country’s Significance as a Role Model for Africa

Stemming the flow of migrants from Africa requires new initiatives to promote economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The challenge is to fight the causes of flight and open up prospects for the African youth in their own countries. Rwanda is seen as a prime example of successful development, in part due to large-scale international support. Is its development concept truly pioneering and transferable to other countries?

A New Era of Competition

The Growing Threat from Authoritarian Internationalism as a Global Challenge to Democracy

With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that democracies long failed to realize that a new era of competition was underway between autocratic and democratic states. Such competition is visible in a number of spheres, including geopolitics. But it is massive investments in their own autocratic forms of “soft power” that have enabled regimes in Russia and China to make dramatic inroads in challenging the integrity and prestige of the democratic systems of the West.

Between Aspiration and Reality

15 Years of the International Criminal Court (ICC)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created in 2002 as an instrument against atrocities “that have outraged the conscience of mankind”. More than 120 states have joined since then. The global criminal court continues, nonetheless, to struggle for acceptance. Influential stakeholders such as the USA, China and Russia have not joined the agreement to date, while others are already considering withdrawing from it. Now, where does the ICC stand 15 years after its founding?

Brexit Impact Assessment

On the Effects of Great Britain’s Withdrawal from the EU on European Foreign and Development Policy

Due to the unexpectedly close result in the British general elections on 8 June 2017 and the loss of the Conservative majority, the hard Brexit approach by Prime Minister Theresa May suddenly appears to no longer be set in stone. Whether the British position changes and how the withdrawal ultimately takes shape might have far-reaching consequences for European foreign and development policy, and the potential damage is considerable. This article offers an overview of the thorny issues in the Brexit negotiations and highlights opportunities for mitigating the expected negative effects.

Editorial

Democracy is not a matter of course, as a glance beyond our immediate horizon illustrates. To paraphrase Konrad Adenauer, democracy must be filled with life every day and, where necessary, defended vigorously, both internally and externally.

Finally on the Right Track?

In Latin America, the Desire for Greater Participation Is Swirling up the Party Systems

Excessive violence, rampant corruption and defective democracies still dominate Latin America’s image around the world. But the reality has, in fact, been somewhat different long since. Education, the internet and globalisation have produced a great deal of progress on the continent. Strong civil societies have developed, and they are calling upon their governments to provide answers to their problems. Politics is no longer the exclusive domain of the politicians. Citizens demand their say. Are the political parties ready for this? Can they reinvent themselves?

Ominous Alliances

On the Correlation between Weak Statehood, International Cocaine Trading and Islamist Terrorism in West Africa

The African continent is increasingly in the spotlight of Germany’s foreign and security policy, not purely due to the refugee and migration crisis. Weak states in West Africa in particular are proving to be a security problem in that they offer an almost ideal breeding ground for both organised crime and Islamist terrorism.

On the Emergence of an Arab Democracy

Social Divides and Political Compromises in Tunisia

Hopes for a life in freedom and dignity, which had materialised in the “Arab Spring”, have long since been shattered in many places. Tunisia is the only country that has succeeded in undergoing democratic change since 2011. Social divides have been dealt with in a spirit of dialogue and consensus. In order to embed democracy and the rule of law with lasting effect, however, the gap between elites and citizens as well as the regional imbalances of power and development need to be overcome.

The Art of Transition

Will the Democratic Transition Bring Genuine Change to Myanmar?

In 2010, after decades of enforced self-isolation under a dictatorship, the country formerly known as Burma set out on a slow journey of opening up, reaching its peak to date in November 2015 with the first democratic elections in a quarter of a century. The government formed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is finding it difficult to manage the unfamiliar tasks of running the country and measuring up to the people’s and the international public’s expectations as well as meeting the innumerable challenges of the multi-ethnic country of Myanmar.

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About this series

International Reports (IR) is the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung's periodical on international politics. It offers political analyses by our experts in Berlin and from more than 100 offices across all regions of the world. Contributions by named authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial team.

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Editor

Dr. Gerhard Wahlers

ISBN

0177-7521

Benjamin Gaul

Benjamin Gaul

Head of the Department International Reports and Communication

benjamin.gaul@kas.de +49 30 26996 3584

Dr. Sören Soika

Dr

Editor-in-Chief International Reports (Ai)

soeren.soika@kas.de +49 30 26996 3388

Rana Taskoparan

Rana Taskoparan

Referentin Kommunikation und Vermarktung

rana.taskoparan@kas.de +49 30 26 996 3623

Fabian Wagener

Fabian Wagener

Desk Officer for Multimedia

fabian.wagener@kas.de +49 30-26996-3943