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Since 2014, Russian involvement in Africa has grown significantly. African leaders have been receptive to these overtures as a result of increasing concerns about growing Chinese dominance, retrenchment of the United States (US) and their interest in diversifying trading and security partners. Russia cultivates these relationships by relying on the legacy of the Soviet Union's support for anti-colonial and liberation movements, and focuses on strengthening diplomatic, military and economic collaborations. This analysis shows that:• Overall, Russia's strategy in Africa appears to involve a mix of arms sales, political support to authoritarian leaders and security collaborations – in exchange for mining rights, business opportunities and diplomatic support for Russia's foreign policy preferences. The offers of military assistance and political support, especially for authoritarian leaders, have opened doors to Russian firms and strengthened diplomatic relationships. The support of African allies has been especially important to Russia at the United Nations (UN), where African countries account for a quarter of all votes in the General Assembly.• Russian trade and investment in Africa has grown significantly, particularly in north Africa. Yet, Russia remains a minor economic player on the continent in comparison to China, India or the US. Russia's support for smaller states, especially those that have been internationally shunned, gives Moscow significant influence in those countries.• As of autumn 2019, Russia had concluded military cooperation agreements with 21 African countries and is negotiating the establishment of military bases in a number of states. It is also providing counter-terrorism training. Russia is currently the largest supplier of arms to the continent.• Russia is increasing efforts to influence elections. Its strategy focuses on shoring up authoritarian strongmen in unstable yet resource-rich states thus bolstering these regimes' ability to persist. These priorities are in stark contrast to popular opinion on the continent, which favours democracy.• Russia remains a relatively minor economic and political player on the continent, and European Union (EU) and US concerns that Russian expansion in Africa draws the continent into a broader geopolitical struggle between great powers are overstated.• Germany and the EU should counter Russian assistance to authoritarian leaders by bolstering support for good governance and civil society strengthening initiatives.

Als eine der weltweit am stärksten globalisierten Volkswirtschaften steht Deutschland vor der Herausforderung, sich in einem umkämpften internationalen Marktumfeld zu positionieren, das geprägt ist von aggressiven Subventionsstrategien sowie einem globalen Wettlauf um die Kontrolle von Schlüsseltechnologien wie hochentwickelten Chips und fragilen Lieferketten für kritische Komponenten. Hinzu kommen die aufgrund des russischen Angriffskriegs gegen die Ukraine gestiegenen Energiepreise, die die deutsche Industrie zusätzlich belasten. Zugleich durchläuft Deutschlands Industriewirtschaft einen grundlegenden Wandel von hochpräziser Fertigung zu systembasierten industriellen Produkten. Im Zuge dieses Wandels wird der Zugang zu digitalen Spitzentechnologien zu einer wichtigen Grundlage für die künftige industrielle Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Landes. Dennoch tut sich Deutschland schwer damit, in schnell wachsenden Märkten wie denen für Cloud- und Edge-Infrastrukturen Wert zu schöpfen. Außerdem ist das Land Risiken ausgesetzt, die sich aus seiner Exposition gegenüber nicht vertrauenswürdigen Technologieanbietern sowie möglichen geopolitischen Spannungen in fragilen Hardware-Lieferketten ergeben.

The introduction of choice in public services has become a major issue in the British public debate since the early 2000s. This article exposes the arguments & ideas exchanged, & then examines the various processes of the dissemination of those discussions outside the field of public policy. This approach underlines the "scientific activism" of some multipositioned researchers. It highlights the politicization of the choice in a context of rivalries around the legitimate definition of "progressivism." These ideas are supposed to make the emergence of a "personalized welfare state" complete. The challenge is also to show what the analysis of these ideas reveals of the beliefs & social representations of the entrepreneurs of choice. Adapted from the source document.

We verify the predictions of the theoretical literature on the relationship between political competition and economic performance, holding that, when the predominance of an ideological dimension creates a political rent, the party exploiting it selects lower quality politicians whose policy choices worsen economic performance. We examine the sample of 15 Italian Regions from 1980 to 2002 that exploits the institutional reforms of 1995 as an exogenous shock to pre-existing rents. We find evidence that higher political competition improves economic performance, through the choice of more efficiency-oriented policies. Adapted from the source document.

This book reveals the impacts of occupational licensing on the economies of the United States and several EU countries. Kleiner provides a thorough examination of the costs and benefits of occupational licensing (OL). He offers an explanation for the growth of OL, defines the winners and losers in terms of earnings and the quality of services provided by licensees, compares the differing labor market and price impacts of OL in the United States and Europe, provides evidence on the overall net impacts of OL for society, and offers policy alternatives to OL. ; https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1034/thumbnail.jpg

AS INTEGRATED EUROPE WILL NOT TURN INTO A FEDERAL STATE, RIGHTS OF CITIZENSHIP, INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL CITIZENSHIP, REMAIN NATIONALLY BASED. THE ARTICLE EXPLORES SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS FOR SOCIAL POLICY, AT BOTH EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL LEVEL. FOR EMPIRICAL REFERENCE, IT RECONSTRUCTS THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION ON WORKPLACE REPRESENTATION, IN PARTICULAR ITS MOVEMENT IN TWO DECADES FROM COMPANY TO LABOR LAW, FROM HARMONIZATION TO CO-ORDINATION OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS, FROM LEGAL PRESCRIPTION TO VOLUNTARISTIC BARGAINING THE SHADOW OF THE MARKET, AND FROM A PROJECT OF INTEGRATED EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS TO THE PROTECTION OF THE INTEGRITY OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS. THE ARTICLE SHOWS THAT NATIONAL FRAGMENTATION OF PUBLIC POWER IN AN INTEGRATED ECONOMY, HOWEVER INTERNATIONALLY CO-ORDINATED, EXPOSES ADVANCED NATIONAL VERSIONS OF INDUSTRIAL CITIZENSHIP TO ECONOMIC COMPETITION. WHILE THEREBY PRESSURING NATIONAL SYSTEMS TO LOWER THEIR STANDARDS, IT EVEN FALLS SHORT OF AFFORDING NON-NATIONALS EQUAL RIGHTS IN NATIONAL SYSTEMS.