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Short political reports of the KAS offices abroad

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IMAGO / APAimages

Turkey after the elections

May makes everything new?

In the run-off elections of the Turkish presidential elections on 28 May, incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won against challenger Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, after the People's Alliance led by his AK Party had already won the majority in the Turkish parliament. When the old, new president presented the cabinet for the 28th legislative term on 3 June, the selection of the appointed ministers caused a stir. The current country report takes a look at announced steps and planned projects of the new government, then introduces some of the members of the new cabinet and analyses tendencies and trends for the coming period.

Imago / AAP

Timor-Leste at a crossroads

Old challenges for a new government

On June 26, Timorese President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate José Ramos-Horta will come to Germany to meet with Chancellor Scholz and President Steinmeier. Ramos-Horta is traveling at a crucial time for Timor-Leste. The small country is the most stable democracy in Southeast Asia, but it is also facing an economic precipice. Additionally, it is increasingly at risk of being caught between the geopolitical fronts in the Indo-Pacific.

IMAGO / Le Pictorium

The Blue Helmet Mission in Mali is facing its end

Further aggravation of the security crisis in the Sahel

Mali has asked the U.N. Peacekeeping mission in the West African country to leave. The military government is focusing on its partnership with Russia to battle jihadists. While the army has regained some territory with the help of Russian mercenaries and Russian-made helicopters central Mali, a hotspot of violence, but is unable to keep territory.

UN Photo / Elma Okic

Indictment on the state of our world – UNHCR’s new global trends report

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organizations on a current topic. This time, the focus is on the new global trends report of the UNHCR.

On 14 June 2023, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) presented its new global trends report on main developments in 2022. With a new record of 108,4 million, last year saw the highest (measured) increase of people forcibly displaced in a single year compared to the end of 2021. Due to the fighting in Sudan, the UNHCR counted 110 million forcibly displaced persons by mid-June 2023 already.

Adobe Stock / Dzmitry

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Peace Agreement in Sight?

Under Western mediation, Armenia and Azerbaijan are moving closer to a historic peace treaty. But the road to an agreement remains rocky, the security situation fragile.

Washington, Brussels, Chișinău, Moscow - the variety of places where high-ranking representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met for diplomatic talks in recent weeks symbolizes the geopolitical importance, but also the explosive nature of the ongoing peace process. Weakened by its war of aggression in Ukraine, Russia's traditional influence as a "spoiler" of a sustainable peace between the two Caucasus republics is waning. For the West, and especially for the European Union, this opens up new opportunities to distinguish itself as a political and security stakeholder in the South Caucasus.

IMAGO / NurPhoto

What next for Sri Lanka?

In 2023, the country’s struggle for political and economic stability is far from over

The situation in Sri Lanka continues to remain volatile and precarious with Sri Lankans still facing economic hardships in 2023. In November 2022, the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, together with its partner, Rule of Law Programme Asia, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Singapore, hosted a closed-door hybrid workshop, under Chatham House rules, with four sessions to bring together distinguished speakers from Sri Lanka, Singapore and outside the region. While the main takeaways of the workshop have recently been published in a Special Report that examines the constitutional, legal and political dimensions of the ongoing crisis, this country report assesses the latest developments on the economic, political and social fronts in Sri Lanka from a current yet broader perspective.

Guvernul României

Changing of the guard in Romania

Ciucă leaves, Ciolacu comes

On 12 June 2023, the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă (PNL) resigned. Already on 15 June 2023, Marcel Ciolacu (PSD) was sworn in as the new Romanian Prime Minister with his new cabinet. The changing of the guard at the top of the government had been long agreed and could actually have proceeded smoothly, but was delayed by several weeks by massive teacher strikes and a very difficult collective bargaining process. The new government programme already gives an indication of how the governing parties are positioning themselves for the Romanian super-election year of 2024.

IMAGO / Xinhua

Malaysia five years after its democratic breakthrough

The recognizable dawn of a new Malaysia

On 9th May it has been exactly five years since Malaysia saw its first democratic change of government since independence in 1957 following its 14th national election in 2018. What followed were five turbulent years, as Malaysia has had five governing coalitions and five prime ministers since the beginning of 2018. The 15th national elections were held on 19th November 2022 and were won by long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. His now six-month-old governing coalition has not found it easy to satisfy the Malaysians' desire for both stability and genuine democratic change.

IMAGO / NurPhoto

Gubernatorial elections in Mexico

Clear results and no surprises

The last gubernatorial elections before the 2024 presidential election in the states of Coahuila and Estado de México confirmed the forecasts and polls before the election on 4 June. In Estado de México, the most populous state, MORENA candidate Delfina Gómez won by a wide margin, ending over 90 years of PRI rule. In Coahuila, however, the PRI candidate of the opposition coalition "Va por México", Manolo Jiménez, won as expected. With this event, the political focus and the corresponding speculation and debates are now also entirely on the presidential election due in June 2024 and thus on the succession to the incumbent president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO).

Flickr / President Of Ukraine

Sweden’s EU Presidency

Stable Navigation Through Crises.

Sweden assumed the EU presidency in the beginning of the year. The priorities of the presidency are unity and security, prosperity and the green transition, resilience and competitiveness, as well as democratic values and the rule of law.

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About this series

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.