Das Schlagwort der Globalisierung erfasst vielfältige Prozesse. Ein Phänomen ist die Entgrenzung der staatlichen Ordnungsaufgaben sowie der Institutionen und Regeln des sozialen Zusammenlebens. In diesem Zusammenhang stellt sich die Frage, wie das Gemeinwohl, verstanden als das "gemeinsame Gut" einer Gesellschaft, bestimmt und international verwirklicht werden kann.

by Gerhard Wahlers

Proposed by the chairmen of all Kremlin-friendly political parties, Dmitri Medvedev will probably be the winner of the Russian presidential elections which are scheduled for March 2, 2008.

by Marc Oprach

Energy security is increasingly becoming a central factor in foreign policy. Because energy consumption is growing and extraction is declining, the world faces an energy shortage which will make Europe more dependent on supplies from abroad. In this context, Russia still plays a specialrole as one of Europe’s energy suppliers.

by Heinrich Schwabecher

Brazil’s energy sector seems to be in the ascendant. People talk about the end of dependence on crude-oil imports, about Brazilian-American cooperation in the field of biofuels, about a strategic partnership agreement with the EU, and even about coming to terms with Bolivia which only two years ago nationalised its natural-gas reserves and took away Brazil’s gas fields on Bolivian soil.

by Henning Suhr

Events in the Year Preceding the Elections, Election Preparations, Election Results, Outlook

The judicial crisis that began in March 2007 marked the beginning of the political downfall of General Pervez Musharraf. Before he was deposed by Mr Musharraf, chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had made himself the advocate of the politically powerless.

by Babak Khalatbari

Overseas Chinese between Discrimination and Success in Business

The western world views China's rise to world power status with anxiety and euphoria in equal measure: Cheap wages, armies of refugees from the country who are eager to work, low social standards, and an authoritarian government are among the reasons quoted.

by Jochen Kleining