What image the Poles have about Germany and the Germans

In November 2005, the Polish Institute for Public Affairs conducted a representative opinion poll to find out what image the Poles have of their neighbouring country, Germany, and the Germans themselves. The poll addressed 1005 individuals aged over18. It was designed to trace developments after 1999,when a similar study had been conducted.

by Stephan Georg Raabe

The voters give the orange forces a last break

For the first time since the 2004 presidential elections, the parliamentary election of March 26, 2006, offered Ukrainian voters an opportunity to pass judgement on the policy of Viktor Yushchenko, the ,president of the revolution‘, as well as on the work of Mr Yekhanurov’s government.

by Ralf Wachsmuth †

On March 12, 2006, Colombia elected a new Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The elections themselves revolved around several issues. The people were as concerned about the high popularity of President Uribe and the fate of the Liberal Party, which was impaired by uribismo, as they were about the future development of the traditional two-party system, the growing strength of the Left, the transparency of the coming election campaign, and the elections themselves.

by Heinrich Meyer

Warum Chile vorerst zentralistisch bleibt

Chile is a centralist unitarian state. Its centre controls seventy percent of all public investments, and even on the party level, all key decisions are made by the top functionaries in Santiago. In fact, the gap between the metropolis and the remaining twelve regions is immense.

by Helmut Wittelsbürger, Julia Morgenstern

Differentiate Between Friend and Foe

The conception of the threat that Western industrial countries see in terrorism is dominated by their experiences with Islamic terrorism during the last few years. Attempts on the part of the West to understand this kind of terrorism are still very fleeting and inconsistent; there is a dispute over many definitions, and many explanatory patterns are ambivalent. Above all, many explanations are informed by enemy images whose rational ground obscures rather than illuminates.

by Helmut Reifeld