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Germany's statistics on international trade in services are collected by the Deutsche Bundesbank in order to compile Germany's balance of payments statistics and serve as the basis for the research dataset SITS. Service transactions between German residents and non-residents that exceed €12,500 or its equivalent in another currency must be reported to the Deutsche Bundesbank. The reporting requirement applies to German firms including banks, as well as to individuals and public authorities. The research dataset provides detailed information for service transactions of firms engaged in cross-border service trade, such as the transaction value for services exports and imports, the type of exported and imported services (eg transport, R&D etc), partner country and sector classification of the resident firm. The research data are available from 2001 as a panel dataset with a monthly frequency.

The authors analyze international experience of microcredit development and made appropriate conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of microcredit organization. Microcredit organizations are self-sufficient and stable institutions which are regulated by bank and state legislation.

"In this article the author addresses the question of the ontology of power and rule-setting in the international monetary system. By distinguishing between two dimensions of monetary power - autonomy and influence - he offers an innovative approach towards power in the international monetary system. Within this context he examines and analyses different developments, outlining a diffusion of power among states as well as between states and non-state actors rather in the dimension of autonomy than in the dimension of influence. The author introduces the concept of leaderless diffusion, meaning that leadership in the system has been more scattered than relocated. He argues that a power shift has taken place from few very powerful states towards a growing number of autonomous actors, especially when it comes to rule-setting abilities within the monetary system. Furthermore, he outlines that on the level of governance, a distinction should be made between the individual state and the global system and thus offers an elaborated approach towards understanding monetary and economic power in the 21st century." (author's abstract)

The annual Conference of Parties (COP) of the Framework Convention on Climate Change takes place since the establishment of the Berlin Mandate in 1995. Since then the on-going climate change negotiations have produced little
progress in preventing the ultimate objective of the Framework Convention that is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
Mainly responsible are three overarching conflicts, which have overshadowed all effort for an effective agreement so far. While the first and second conflict is within the developing and within the developed countries, the third conflict is between developing and developed countries. The latter conflict debates the question of how much and by whom emissions should be reduced in the future. The discipline of international relations provides two theoretical perspectives to predict the success of this year´s climate change negotiations. Whereas Realism perceives power to be the main reference for explaining international cooperation, constructivism puts the recognition of material as well as ideational factors in the centre of observation. If applied on the different negotiation parties, the realist perspective provides a far more pessimistic outlook for a successful agreement than constructivism.

The main aim of this essay is to discuss how international large-scale assessments can be utilized for policy evaluation studies. The authors overview key findings from previous studies and propose the curriculum as an organizing concept in considering firstly, how educational opportunities are provided to students around the world, and secondly, the factors that influence how students use these opportunities. Thereafter, they discuss recent developments in the design of the international studies and methodological advances that allow for robust inferences about the causal mechanisms that cause the observed differences in student outcomes. Finally, the authors identify major challenges for future research including the demand for studies that utilize the trend design of modern studies, more focus on educational equity, and strengthening interdisciplinary and intersectoral collaborations. (DIPF/Orig.).

"This chapter deals with the challenge of policy definition, cooperation and coordination in a complex system of multi-level governance faced by decision-makers in international politics today, using the example of international climate governance. The practical, as well as the analytical challenge, of said system of multi-level governance lies in its dynamic structure, which includes the vertical (i.e. domestic and foreign; subnational, national, and international) and horizontal levels (structure of decision-making processes in international institutions) of international politics, the participation of non-state actors, and the inter-linkages and interdependencies between all policy fields and levels involved. More often than not, intentions and interests on the different levels are disparate and difficult to harmonize, which can result in less than ideal policy strategies, are likely to 'get lost' in the multi-level governance system. International climate governance and the difficulties with institutionalizing an all-encompassing climate protection strategy can be seen as an example of a policy field that is 'lost in multi-level governance.' This will be illustrated in the following chapter by analyzing five dimensions of climate governance and how they hamper successful climate governance-and thus climate protection-at the international level." (author's abstract)

The research dataset 'Statistics on international financial and capital transactions (SIFCT)' provides the microdata collected by the Deutsche Bundesbank for the compilation of the financial account, capital account and investment income of the German balance of payments statistics. The research dataset provides detailed information on capital transfers receivable and payable between residents and nonresidents, the acquisition and disposal of nonproduced, nonfinancial assets as well as transactions involving financial assets and liabilities and investment income. It is supplemented by the country of the counterparty and the sector classification of the resident firm. The research data are available from 2001 as a panel dataset with a monthly frequency.

"Center of attention in the chapter is EU trade. According to the author, this is arguably the EU's most highly centralized policy domain. It is for this reason that EU trade represents a significant case study for characterizing the EU as a global actor. This chapter examines EU trade policy with regard to its objectives, instruments, style and decision-making procedures. A variety of examples, including the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with developing countries, will be emphasized. The author comes to the conclusion that, concerning trade policy, the EU's actions bear more resemble to a great power than a civilian or normative power." (author's abstract)

The article discusses the politicisation of international politics and its effects on the legitimacy of international institutions. It is argued that a more complex understanding of the interplay of institutional and non-institutional practices of resistance is needed and that one has to draw from theories of international relations as well as from approaches from democratic heory to better understand the developments and its effects on the legitimacy of international institutions. The article proceeds by, first, reconstructing how research in IR has responded to the emergence of civil society critique, focusing in particular on the debate about inclusion through liberal governance mechanisms and the discussion of the regulatory power of counter-hegemonic actors in critical theories; it then turns to democratic theoretical approaches, in which the concept of "opposition" becomes a cipher for legitimate critique, yet the value of opposition and its form is determined very differently in different lines of thought. Finally, it is shown that the debate on the politicisation of international relations would particularly benefit from a republican understanding of politics, since the analytical focus and normative impetus lies in the relation between the visibly controversial nature of order and the creation of sites for opinion formation in civil society.

This paper looks at conceptual approaches to digital sovereignty from an international political economy perspective, focusing on the state level. We consider the implications of the rise of the data economy and analyze different economic policy approaches to restoring and preserving Europe's digital sovereignty from market liberal and industrial policy perspectives. We conclude that networked sovereignty can optimally be attained by supporting the emergence and success of homegrown technology companies in a globalized data economy. Digital sovereignty can best be achieved by policy makers using a mix of market liberal and more proactive industrial policy instruments. The liberal focus on framework conditions is useful in refocusing policy makers' efforts on deepening the EU single market, while the industrial policy approach can be a suitable way of funding pilot projects in early-stage technology areas in partnership with industry and setting rules for newly emerging markets. State action is also necessary to avoid monopolies.