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Adobe Stock / butenkow

The Art of Crisis Management

The Pandemic Agreement – An Opportunity for Health for all

The pandemic agreement responds to global coordination deficits during the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to improve preparedness for future pandemics by promoting cooperation without jeopardizing national sovereignty. However, national dissatisfaction could have a negative impact on the negotiations. Fears that national sovereignty or the protection of human rights could be undermined by the pandemic agreement or the World Health Organization (WHO) are unfounded, as national legislative and decision-making processes will remain crucial. Concluding the negotiations by May 2024 is the declared goal, although there are still some points of contention. The realistic concern is that the WHO will end up with insufficient powers and resources and will not produce an effective framework for preventing and responding to future pandemics, rather than becoming a "global health police" with far-reaching powers of intervention. The pandemic agreement should be seen as an opportunity to positively transform lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic into clear and transparent rules to defend against future pandemics.

Lukas Lingenthal, Dr. Anja Maria Rittner
November 10, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / CHROMORANGE

Local elections in Bulgaria

GERB Strongest force, but with losses

Local elections were held in Bulgaria on 29 October and 5 November. The influential on the local level EPP party GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) suffered losses, but was able to maintain its positions in many places. Its main opponent, the PP-DB coalition ("We Continue the Change" and "Democratic Bulgaria"), in which the left-liberal PP took part in local elections for the first time, received the most votes for the city council in the capital Sofia and will also provide the mayor, but lost votes compared to the parliamentary elections in April 2023.

Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes, Borislaw Wankow
November 8, 2023
Country Reports
wikimedia / Gary Todd from Xinzheng CC0

Minimizing the Human Factor

Mongolia's search for the "perfect system"

Is there a "perfect system of government"? How should it be designed to prevent corruption and illegitimate political influence? Can the human factor be eliminated through sophisticated checks and balances? Can a free press and an independent judiciary be replaced by an optimized electoral system and a balanced composition of parliament? Mongolia is trying to answer these questions by once again adapting the election and party laws and amending the constitution. Thirty-three years after the peaceful democratic revolution, the fine-tuning of the Mongolian system of government has still not been completed.

Viktor Frank
November 6, 2023
Country Reports
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.

Der lange Weg zur Inklusion in Namibia

Inklusion weltweit – Aktueller Stand aus Namibia

Nach der letzten nationalen Datenerhebung der Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) aus dem Jahre 2016 machen Menschen mit Behinderungen rund 5 Prozent der Gesamtbevölkerung in Namibia aus. Der tatsächliche Anteil dürfte jedoch weitaus höher sein. Diese Annahme fußt auf den Mangel an verfügbaren aktuellen Daten, Stigmatisierung, Diskriminierung und kulturellen Vorurteilen, mit denen Menschen mit Behinderungen (PwD: People with Disabilities) in Namibia noch immer konfrontiert sind. Der Schwerpunkt dieses Berichts aus der Reihe „Länderbericht mal anders“ liegt darin, die fortschrittlichen Bemühungen von diversen Interessengruppen in Zusammenarbeit der KAS Namibia-Angola sowie die wichtigsten nationalen Institutionen im Behindertensektor in Namibia vorzustellen.

Natalie Russmann
November 6, 2023
Country reports with a difference
IMAGO / Agencia EFE

A nation loses its patience

Controversial mining contract in Panama triggers mass protests across the country

In recent months, Panama has been involved in a controversial debate about a controversial mining contract with far-reaching implications. The contract, which was approved by the Panamanian Congress on October 20, grants Minería Panama, a subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals from Canada, the right to operate the largest open pit copper mine in Central America for a period of 20 years. This mine covers approximately 12,000 hectares in Donoso, Colón province. The agreement promises significant economic benefits for Panama and ensures that at least USD 375 million in license fees will be paid annually. President Laurentino Cortizo emphasized at the approval of the contract on 24 October: 'We have made the right decision, not the easiest one. Nevertheless, nationwide protests broke out, reflecting public dissatisfaction with both the agreement itself and current government policy.

Winfried Weck, Alejandro Marin
November 6, 2023
Country Reports
The public domain of the Government of Montenegro

Montenegro’s 44th government sworn in

Comprehensive reform agenda in difficult times

After several months of negotiations, Milojko Spajić, Chairman of the Europe Now movement, was elected as the new Prime Minister of Montenegro. A total of 46 parliamentarians voted in favour of the 36-year-old shooting star - more than ever before in an election of a prime minister in Montenegro. With his 19 ministers, Prime Minister Spajić must now tackle many challenges quickly.

Jakov Devčić
November 3, 2023
Country Reports
Imago / ABACAPRESS

France and the war in the Middle East

A country in worry

Since October 7th, when the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel, it has also been felt in France how much this war affects and concerns society. After another fatal knife attack by an IS supporter on a teacher at a school in Arras, northern France, France imposed the highest terror alert level and 7,000 soldiers were mobilized across the country. There have now been numerous bomb threats against airports, schools and tourist sites such as the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre, and the French executive warned against an “import” of the conflict in the Middle East to Europe and France. In addition, pro-Palestinian demonstrations took place in many French cities. After Hamas's attack on Israel, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin sent telegrams to the prefects of all departments demanding that pro-Palestinian demonstrations be banned. He also called for the organizers of these gatherings and the “troublemakers” to be systematically arrested. The police prefecture of Paris had also tried to ban planned demonstrations in the capital. However, a demonstration took place on the 19th of October, although the administrative court decided just before that “respect for freedom of demonstration and freedom of expression, which have the character of fundamental freedoms (...) is reconciled with the constitutional requirement of maintaining public order. On October 28, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Paris despite the ban on “demonstrations in support of Palestine”. There were 21 arrests and around 1,400 fines issued by law enforcement.

Anja Czymmeck, Nele Katharina Wissmann, Dimitri Mauchien
October 31, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Ukraine and Israel: International Crises in the Election Campaign of a War-Weary USA

An Analysis One Year Ahead of the Election in November 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden calls it an "inflection point in history": The wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Hamas and Israel challenge American foreign policy - at a time when many Americans prefer to focus on their own country. This tension is shaping the upcoming election campaign.

Paul Linnarz, Jan Bösche
October 30, 2023
Country Reports
Pixabay / almathias

"Global Gateway" slowly gathers momentum

The Global Gateway Forum on October 25 and 26 in Brussels brought together high-level representatives from over 40 countries.

The meeting gave the EU the opportunity to publicly promote the Global Gateway infrastructure strategy, which was launched at the end of 2021, and to announce concrete project completions.

Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Jonas Nitschke, Louis Bout
October 30, 2023
Country Reports
Adobe / HTGanzo

Regional elections in South Tyrol

People's Party loses - formation of government difficult

In South Tyrol, too, the days of absolute majorities are over: The South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP), the collective party of the German-speaking South Tyroleans, which has ruled continuously since 1948, suffered heavy losses in the regional elections on October 22, 2023: It lost more than 22,000 votes compared to the ballot five years ago, slumping from a previous 41.9 to 34.5 percent. In the future, it will have 13 deputies (two fewer than before) in the 35-seat provincial parliament in Bolzano. Against this background, the formation of a coalition, which must also include representatives of the Italian and Ladin language groups due to the principle of "ethnic proportional representation" enshrined in the autonomy statute, does not appear to be very easy.

Dr. Nino Galetti, Ulrich Mayer
October 25, 2023
Country Reports
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The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is a political foundation. Our offices abroad are in charge of over 200 projects in more than 120 countries. The country reports offer current analyses, exclusive evaluations, background information and forecasts - provided by our international staff.

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.