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What concerns Belarusians?

The study of issues and fears in Belarusian regions

Almost a year since its beginning, the political crisis in Belarus is escalating problems that people in this country had been facing before it started. The Belarusian society is in depression. The challenges it is experiencing look unsurmountable and intertwined in a snarl knot. In an attempt to unravel it, this paper focuses on main issues that concern the Belarusian people and major differences between e.g. Minsk and the regions, as well as groups of population.

Conflict Weekly, Vol.2, No.27, 7 October 2021

An initiative by NIAS-IPRI and KAS-India Office

Anti-Bolsonaro protests in Brazil, UK-France fishing row, Talks with the TTP in Pakistan, and Anti-abortion law protests in the US

Reuters

Motives Behind the Soft-Line Approaches to the Myanmar Coup d’État

Analysing the Stance of China, India, and Russia

Following the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021, Western countries were quick to express their condemnation and discuss sanctions against the junta. However, countries in the region reacted more moderately, calling for dialogue with the regime. This article will seek to explain some of the reasons behind such a stance.

Parliaments in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Between Crisis Management, Civil Rights and Proportionality

Observations from Asia and the Pacific

This publication research project was a joint effort between KAS Head Office in Berlin and the Rule of Law Programme Asia entitled "Parliaments in the pandemic: between crisis, civic rights and proportionality".

Spotlight on Sudan: Roads to Economic Reform

October 2021

For this October edition of Spotlight on Sudan, Harry Cross examines the economic challenges faced by Sudan and reviews the current economic policies amidst a fragile democratic transition.

Kommunalwahlen in Georgien: Um Bürgermeister ging es nur nebenbei

In Georgien fand am 2. Oktober 2021 die erste Runde der Kommunalwahlen statt.

In größeren Städten wie Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Poti, Zugdidi, Telavi, Rustavi oder in der mittelalterlichen Hauptstadt Mtskheta u.a.m. wird die endgültige Entscheidung über die Bürgermeisterämter erst in einer Stichwahl am 30. Oktober fallen, weil keiner der Kandidaten am vergangenen Samstag mehr als 50 Prozent schon im ersten Wahlgang erreichen konnte. Diese Wahlen wurden von Faktoren beeinflusst, die wenig oder gar nichts mit lokalen Themen zu tun hatten. Zum einen galten diese Lokalwahlen als Referendum über die Legitimität der Parlamentswahlen von 2020. Diese merkwürdig anmutende Situation war dadurch entstanden, dass die Opposition die Gültigkeit der letzten Parlamentswahlen nicht anerkannt und monatelang das Parlament boykottiert hatte. In einer danach gemeinsam mit der EU ausgehandelten Vereinbarung Anfang dieses Jahres sollten die Ergebnisse der aktuellen Kommunalwahlen darüber entscheiden, ob die vorangegangenen Parlamentswahlen wiederholt werden müssten. Das wäre der Fall gewesen, wenn die Regierungspartei „Georgian Dream“ (im Folgenden: GD) am letzten Samstag weniger als 43 Prozent bekommen hätte. Sie kam auf 46,8 Prozent. Zum anderen überraschte der ehemalige Staatspräsident Mikheil Saakashvili mit einem vermeintlichen Coup. Dem im ukrainischen Exil lebenden Expräsidenten mit entzogener georgischer Staatsbürgerschaft, gegen den ein Haftbefehl vorliegt, gelang unmittelbar vor dem Wahltag die Einreise ins Land. Er bleibt eine zentrale Reizfigur des öffentlichen Diskurses, egal, ob er sich in einem georgischen Gefängnis befindet oder im Exil. Die nächsten vier Wochen bis zum notwendigen zweiten Wahlgang für die Bürgermeisterposten dürften spannend werden. Aber es stellt sich gleichzeitig die Frage, was der Expräsident, der nun schon seit über acht Jahren nicht mehr in Georgien war, tatsächlich noch bewirken kann. Für dessen einst so erfolgreiche Partei „United National Movement“ (im Folgenden: UNM) bleibt sein Wirken inklusive solcher „Coups“ eine ambivalente Angelegenheit.

Western Balkans’ cooperation with China

Between values and interests

China is also expanding its influence in the Western Balkans and promoting its political model of values. The motivation is driven by the Belt and Road Initiative. Economical activities create dependencies that can be used for political pressure. In addition, China managed to present itself as a close partner in the pandemic, while the EU was not perceived as a safety net. Confidence is decreasing. But China's involvement also reveals deficits. What follows?

Вплив чотирьох років державного фінансування на розбудову політичних партій в Україні

Одним із способів убезпечити партії від надмірного впливу на них олігархічних груп є здійснення державного фінансування їх діяльності. У 2015 році в Україні було прийнято відповідне законодавство. Мета цього дослідження – з’ясувати, як змінилися українські політичні партії упродовж 2016-2021 рр. після запровадження державного фінансування партій. У фокусі роботи 10 найбільш рейтингових політичних сил відповідно до результатів останніх соціологічних опитувань . У дослідженні проведено аналіз діяльності регіональних структур політичних партій. Зокрема, діяльності обласних організацій партій у 10 областях України: Харківській, Дніпропетровській, Одеській, Волинській, Черкаській, Чернівецькій, Луганській, Херсонській, Івано-Франківській, Львівській обл. Також проведено опитування представників обласних осередків партій й здійснено медіа-моніторинг активності осередків в соціальних мережах.

Michael Sohn, Reuters

Focussing on the Economy

The Opportunities and Challenges of Germany’s Africa Policy

No German head of government has made a stronger, more constructive, and more sustained commitment to our neighbouring continent than Angela Merkel. The next German government would do well to continue along this path and to place Africa even more firmly at the centre of its policies. The positive steps taken in recent years should be used as a springboard for taking our relations with African partners to a whole new level.

The ongoing debate on political parties

The law thereof and means of their representation in parliament

An article by Mr. Oraib Al-Rantawi about political parties in Jordan and the draft law issued by the Parties Committee of the Royal Committee to modernize the political system.

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Facts and Findings

Selected contributions to the series with international relevance

The series informs in a concentrated form about important positions of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung on current topics. The individual issues present key findings and recommendations, offer brief analyses, explain the Foundation's further plans and name KAS contact persons.

 

International Reports

Journal for international issues, foreign policy and development cooperation

International Reports (IR) is the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung's periodical on international politics. It offers political analyses by our experts in Berlin and from more than 100 offices across all regions of the world. Contributions by named authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial team.

EPP Party Barometer

The Situation of the European People's Party in the EU

The EPP Party Barometer illustrates the current situation of the EPP party family in the EU. On a non-regular basis, it provides a concise overview of current election results, polls from the member states and the composition of the party family.

Interviews

In our series "Interviews", talks and discussions are held with experts from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. on various topics.

kurzum

Concise, reduced to the essentials, but always highly topical. In our series "kurzum", our experts summarise an issue or problem on a maximum of two pages.

Country Reports

Short political reports of the KAS offices abroad

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.

Event Reports

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, its educational institutions, centres and foreign offices, offer several thousand events on various subjects each year. We provide up to date and exclusive reports on selected conferences, events and symposia at www.kas.de. In addition to a summary of the contents, you can also find additional material such as pictures, speeches, videos or audio clips.