Asset Publisher

Further publications

Asset Publisher

Adobe Stock / PX Media

Senegal in election mood

A path with hurdles

With a delay of one month, the presidential election in Senegal will now take place on 24 March 2024. The original date (25.02.2024) was annulled by decree by President Macky Sall just a few hours before the start of the election campaign. This brings not only a nerve-wracking process to a temporary end, but also one of the most serious domestic political crises the country has experienced in a long time. Amidst all the discussions about the election date, only one thing remained the same, namely the list of possible successors of Macky Sall. In its decision, the Constitutional Council stipulated that all originally validated candidates can stand for election. This report explains which are the most promising candidates and what political programme they stand for.

adobe stock / VectorMine

AI methods for specific challenges in education

Enabling effective support and challenge

The education system must succeed in strengthening the basic skills of a heterogeneous student body. Adaptive learning systems offer individual support through customized tasks and can support teachers in this challenge. However, they have hardly been used in Germany to date. Successful use requires close integration with classroom teaching and teacher training. In addition, the successful development of adaptive educational media requires a coordinated effort from politics, science and industry.

Portugal faces difficult formation of government

Results of the early parliamentary elections in Portugal

Change of power in Portugal: the centre-right electoral alliance Aliança Democrática (AD) wins by a small margin ahead of the Socialists, who have not only lost their absolute majority after losing a third of their seats but are now only the second strongest force in the Assembleia da República. The weakness of the Socialists directly benefited the right-wing populist Chega party, which quadrupled its result compared to the 2024 elections. Neither the right-wing nor the left-wing camp can unite a majority. The most likely option at present is the formation of a minority government under PSD leader Luis Montenegro.

IMAGO / Panama Pictures

France ahead of the European elections

Right-wing populists on the rise

On 9 March, President Macron's ruling Renaissance party officially launched its European election campaign. The election campaign kicked off under the impression of the current polls, which show significant gains for the right-wing populists in France. The question is whether this trend can still be reversed by the election date on 9 June 2024. Three months before the European elections, the French are particularly concerned about purchasing power and rising food prices. At 55% and 52% respectively, these two issues dominate the concerns of the French and will therefore be decisive for the 2024 European elections. This set of issues also includes the topic of agriculture, which has gained significant momentum with the farmers' protests at the beginning of 2024. Immigration and security are in third and fifth place respectively, which is likely to play into the hands of right-wing populist parties in particular. The war in Ukraine, which only concerned 18% of French people at the end of 2023, appears to have returned to the focus of the French population as a result of the Ukraine aid conference in Paris and the public disputes about France's involvement. In February 2024, 23% of respondents described the war in Ukraine as a key challenge and as significant for their own voting decision in the European elections.

KAS

Title: Digitalization as an opportunity for development

Status of the digitalization of the Mongolian administration

Volker Wissing, German Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV), visited Mongolia in early March 2024. It is noteworthy that Mr. Wissing is the first minister to prioritize digital over transport in his name. Although BMDV is not responsible for digitalization in Mongolia, the minister's trip presents an excellent opportunity to explore the topic of Mongolian administrative digitalization. Readers can decide for themselves whether the German administration has become "more digital and consistently citizen-oriented" since the government coalition took office.

EdvanKun

Volksabstimmung zwingt die Regierung zum Ausbau des Schweizer Sozialstaats -

Die 13. Monatsrente wird kommen

Die Schweizer Wählerinnen und Wähler haben am vergangenen Sonntag, den 03. März, über zwei Volksinitiativen abgestimmt. Dabei hat das linke Lager mit ihrer Vorlage für eine 13. AHV-Rente einen bemerkenswert Sieg eingefahren und 58,2% der Ja-Stimmen erhalten. Die Vorlage der Jungfreisinnigen (FDP) über eine Koppelung des Renteneintrittsalters an die durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung wurde dagegen mit 74,7% der Stimmen abgeschmettert. Die klaren Wahlergebnisse zwingen die Regierung nun zum schnellen Handeln, da die Frage nach der Finanzierung der 13. Monatsrente nicht geklärt ist.

KAS Genf

Ministerialerklärung in der Verlängerung

Ergebnisse und Einschätzungen der 13. Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO)

Die "Genfer Depesche" geht auf Vorgänge in den Genfer multilateralen Organisationen zu einem aktuellen Thema ein. Dieses Mal steht die 13. Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) im Fokus, die vom 26. Februar bis zum 01. März in Abu Dhabi, in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, stattfand.

IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

Biden and Trump: Unpopular and Unavoidable

The Trend of the U.S. Primaries Continues on “Super Tuesday”

The “Super Tuesday” of the U.S. primary elections is over: Party members and supporters in 16 states and one territory decided on their parties’ candidates for the presidential election. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump still have a good chance of becoming their parties’ candidates. But both have to deal with criticism from within the party - and poor poll ratings.

bluedesign stock.adobe.com

The (in)visibility of (forced) prostitution in the criminal justice system

Is a Prohibition to buy sex a solution?

A penalised ban on buying sex is the subject of controversial debate. In principle, it is not the task of (criminal) law to enforce moral standards of behaviour or to protect people from the consequences of the life decisions they make on their own responsibility. Does this apply to prostitution? The analysis addresses whether prostitution and human trafficking can be curbed with the help of a sex purchase ban based on the "Nordic model".

Grispb, stock.adobe.com

Cyber Actors: North Korea

How cyber operations support the state system

In recent years, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has increasingly instrumentalized cyber and increasingly instrumentalized the cyber and information space to implement its state policy agenda and is exploiting the entire spectrum of possible operational targets: sabotage and disruption, signaling, political espionage, economic espionage, foreign currency procurement and propaganda.