In the Throes of "the People"

The Populist Challenge to South African Courts by: Dan Mafora

This paper interrogates the populist attacks on the courts, considers the effects of such attacks and seeks to provide potential strategies for warding off those attacks and safeguarding the courts' institutional integrity.

Innovation as a strategy for development and cooperation in Central Europe

Participants of the workshop on the innovation potential of Central Europe sought answers to the questions of how the region can benefit from promoting innovation.

The workshop on the innovation potential of Central Europe is part of a series of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung workshops aimed at exploring the role of Central European countries for the future of the European Union. Organised in 2021 and 2022, this series of workshops will be concluded with a final conference on 30 May 2022 in Vienna.

Conflict Weekly, Vol.3, No.6, 11 May 2022

An initiative by NIAS-IPRI and KAS-India Office

Intensifying political crisis in Sri Lanka, Communal tensions in Ethiopia, and 75 days of Ukraine war

Wahljahr in Brasilien: zwischen Polarisierung und fehlenden Alternativen

Brasilien steht in einem Superwahljahr und alles scheint auf das Duell zwischen Lula und Bolsonaro hinauszulaufen. Lula führt die Umfragen an, doch der Abstand zwischen den beiden ist geschmolzen. Es fehlen noch sechs Monate bis zu den großen Entscheidungen im Präsidentschaftswahlkampf und im Ringen um Abgeordnetenmandate, aber schon jetzt war das erste Quartal des Jahres von unerwarteten Wendungen in der Nominierung der Kandidaten, Parteiwechseln und Konsolidierungsversuchen eines „dritten Weges“ geprägt. Darüber hinaus wird deutlich, dass die Parteien in ihren Wahlkämpfen vor allem auch auf die Stimmen der Jungwähler setzen, die ein Fünftel der wahlberechtigten Bevölkerung ausmachen. Ferner werden die Betreiber von Onlineplattformen und Messengerdiensten nun stärker in der Bekämpfung von Fake News miteinbezogen. Die Umfragen zu den Spitzenkandidaten scheinen deutlich, doch Überraschungen sind nicht ausgeschlossen.

Census 2021: Reflecting the multiethnic and multi-religious character of the society

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation together with the Institute for Political Research - Skopje and the internet portal Religija.mk, conducted a new public opinion poll within the project "Republic of North Macedonia as a multi-confessional society".

Japan – ASEAN Study

Japan's Role for Southeast Asia Amidst the Great Power Competition and its Implications for the EU-Japan Partnership

Southeast Asia in focus: In no other region is the economic, political and military rise of China so striking and so powerful; in no other region does Beijing question the rules-based international order (especially in the South China Sea) so aggressively. Adaptation strategies to the rise of Beijing and the growing conflict with the former Pacific superpower differ from country to country. Amid a (fear and/or perceived) declining US engagement in the region, Southeast Asia invariably needs to seek alternatives.

Sedition in India- Origins, Challenges and Reputational Costs

- by Eklavya Vasudev

Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises sedition is a contentious provision. The debates around it are manifold and range from questions to its present utility, an ambiguous definitions clause and its increasing invocation by the government in derogation of its interpretation by the Supreme Court. In a recent plea filed by the Editors Guild of India, the constitutionality of the provision has been challenged in the Supreme Court which has led to renewed debate about its current place in the Indian legal system.

The Displaced

Disrupted Trade, Labour, and Politics in the Mekong River Basin

The ‘Mother of Waters’ is heavily troubled. There is an immediate need to reset the institutional rules that are either too outdated, lack regulatory teeth, or fail to substantially address both old and emerging concerns. If governments fail to do this, a unique ecosystem will die, in effect destroying the lives of millions of people. The volume, published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung’s (KAS) Regional Economic Programme Asia (SOPAS), contains country-specific papers or case studies on trade, labour, and China’s growing political influence in the Greater Mekong Region. Topics include (1) labour migration and displacement in the Mekong River basin, (2) the impact of pandemics on economic and social patterns, (3) interregional trade and growing competitiveness, and (4) geopolitical issues resulting from coercive water and energy politics, among others. The chapters also provide discussions on how each state’s respective national framework attempts to address these issues.

Unternehmerische Sorgfaltspflichten in globalen Lieferketten

Unternehmensperspektiven aus Asien zum deutschen Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz

Ab 1. Januar 2023 tritt das deutsche Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG) in Kraft, das Unternehmen zur aktiven Überwachung der Einhaltung von Menschenrechten in ihren Lieferketten verpflichtet. Eine von der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Auftrag gegebene Studie beschäftigt sich damit, was sich mit dem Gesetz für deutsche Unternehmen verändert, die in Asien tätig sind. Welche Herausforderungen sehen sie, wie wurden menschenrechtliche Sorgfaltspflichten von Unternehmen bisher umgesetzt?

Creating a European Municipality: Integrity Policy for Zero Corruption

Integrity Handbook of the Municipality of Aerodrom

The name of the project "Creating a European Municipality: Integrity Policy for Zero Corruption" defines its content as the construction of a system for the anti-corruption measures that determine the integrity policy of the Municipality of Aerodrom.