Three dimensions of the emerging postcommunist order are analysed: the institutional infrastructure of markets (especially "political capitalism"), the sphere of politics (especially the structural weakness of the postcommunist state), and the developmental dilemmas as a consequence of accelerated integration in the EU. Many roots of this problems are to find in the economic and political changes of the last communist decade. (Prokla / FUB)
In Germany there are unique political-party foundations the scope of which has been extended since the early 1960s to auxiliary activities in the realm of German developmental policies. The author explains the function of the foundations' activities within the developing states: local groups are supported in overcoming obstacles to democratization & in creating institutions for the rule of law as well as open economies, ie, social market systems. At the center of these activities, however, are programs for the training of political & social leaders, for the creation of social & cultural organizations & for building up self-help. Referring to the specific activities of the Christian-democratic Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the author gives details about the areas & successes of the foundations' developmental work. He concludes by presenting the broad spectrum of its partner organizations in Africa, Asia, & Latin America. Adapted from the source document.
The UN Secretary General in 1992 proposed an "Agenda for Peace" strategy of preventative diplomacy aimed at minimizing tension before it escalates into conflict, & timely handling of conflict to stem violence & address the underlying causes. This article examines the experiences with this program obtained during application in the Baltic states, especially in the conflict regarding citizenship in Estonia & Latvia. The international engagement in these nations is examined to determine the definition of success in this context, to identify prerequisites of success, & to discuss the limits of this concept & its relationship to constructive problem solving. The example of Estonia & Latvia indicates that this concept can function, although it is likely more effective at preventing spread of the conflict than in hindering internal escalation, & is least effective at resolving the underlying issue. Association of containment of the destructive potential of the conflict with the promotion of creative potential is most likely to succeed, but requires that the existence & developmental capacity of creative elements must be identified in concrete situations. L. Kehl
Analyzes the roots of the present crisis in Somalia (famine & violence), focusing on the social, political, & historical background of the society. Sketched are three developmental aspects: the traditional clan organization, with its elements of primary lineage & interclan marriages; the period of colonial politics, which undermined the established & sophisticated nature of traditional conflict resolution among clans & subgroups; & the military dictatorship of Mohamed Siyad Barre, during which time the introduction of a centralized state apparatus further dismantled traditional social order. It is concluded that the reestablishment of humane conditions depends on the stabilization of political entities that represent the population & adequately protect their rights. 19 References. Adapted from the source document.
Development policies of German authorities have undergone considerable changes since the end of the East-West conflict; so did the instruments of their realization. The realm of international development is hardly understood anymore to be the "Third World," but rather comprises the so-far "Second World," ie, the former socialist states. The Western world ever more is setting conditions for international assistance, eg, guarantees of democratization, privatization & market economies. At the same time, Western nations themselves have to tackle the challenges of globalization, ie, problems of economic structures in their own countries. Those new phenomena are calling for abolition of classical developmental policies & for implementation of "global structural policies," the features of which may at best be called vague, however. Adapted from the source document.
It serves the constitutional state to constantly question the basic theories & dogma of constitutional rights. This article responds to Wolfgang Kahl's (2004) criticism of the court's tendency to specifically determine the protective domain of a right & differentiate it from its living domain. What Kahl calls a tradition of testing constitutional rights is actually a long but varied developmental history, which has an important place but does not replace the clarification found through currently normative development. Irrespective of any method of application & testing, the need to establish the normative content of a right exists, & complaints against interpretation methods do not preclude different results arising from the same method. The substance of rights has changed enormously during the last 50 years, fostering the success of the current constitution in comparison to that of the Weimar era. Additional criticism can be leveled where results are in contrast to normative points. It is the task of jurisprudence & practice to control power & secure citizens freedoms, & this requires a dogma & method that lay the groundwork for free handling of the state & application of rights under rational requirements. L. Kehl
Die Dissertation enthält Abhandlungen des Autors zur Entwicklungspolitik und Solidarität in der DDR im Zeitraum von 1968 bis 1990 bzw. 1994. Im Rahmen analytischer Rekonstruktionen werden die entwicklungsbezogene Bildungsarbeit der unabhängigen Dritte-Welt-Gruppen und die staatliche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit untersucht. Wichtige Grundlagen für die Abhandlungen sind bisher zur wissenschaftlichen und theoretischen Fundierung des Verständnisses von Entwicklungspolitik und Solidarität in der DDR nur in geringem Maße herangezogene Archivmaterialien der ehemaligen Staats- und Parteiapparate sowie aus kirchlichen Beständen. Die entwicklungsbezogene Bildung der unabhängigen Dritte-Welt-Gruppen wird auf ihre Korrespondenzen mit internationalen Entwicklungen seit 1968 und den staatlichen Rahmen in der DDR analysiert. Aufgezeigt wird, dass die unabhängigen Gruppen seit 1968 mit internationalen emanzipatorischen Bestrebungen in Kontakt standen und von den ökumenischen Verbindungen der Kirchen partizipierten. Konzepte der evangelischen Kirchen der 1970er Jahre von einem "verbesserlichen Sozialismus" (Heino Falcke) und der "Kirche als Lerngemeinschaft" unterstützten frühzeitig substantiell die politische Bildungsarbeit der Gruppen unter den repressiven Verhältnissen der DDR und förderten eigenständiges und selbstorganisiertes Engagement. Impulse aus der westeuropäischen Erwachsenenbildung (Ernst Lange) und der "Pädagogik der Unterdrückten" (Paulo Freire) lassen sich nachweisen. In den 1980er Jahren kam es zu einem Wechsel von einer auf kirchliche Strukturen ausgerichteten Arbeit hin zu einer politischen Arbeit, die auf Veränderungen in der Gesellschaft der DDR abzielte. Der Ansatz der entwicklungsbezogenen Bildung, durch Informations- und Bewusstseinsarbeit Verständnis für Veränderungen im Nord-Süd-Verhältnis, wie in der eigenen Gesellschaft zu fördern, erwies sich auch unter den Verhältnissen der DDR als motivierend. Rekonstruiert wird die Entstehung und Arbeitsweise des ostdeutschen entwicklungspolischen Netzwerkes INKOTA. Ihm wird eine intermediäre Funktion zwischen verschiedenen Akteuren zugeschrieben, die den gemäßigt widerständigen Charakter der Dritte-Welt-Gruppen in der Oppositionsbewegung der DDR mit prägte. In den Gruppen fand vielfältiges informelles Lernen und selbstorganisierter Kompetenzerwerb statt. Herausgearbeitet wird, dass diese Lernprozesse im zentralistischen System der DDR für die unabhängigen Gruppen einen hohen Stellenwert aufwiesen. Den in den Gruppen erworbenen Fähigkeiten kam in der friedlichen Wende 1989/1990 eine herausragende Bedeutung zu. Mit der politischen Einheit Deutschlands verloren diese Fähigkeiten schnell an Wirksamkeit. Die weit verstreut und halboffiziell in Kleinstauflagen erschienenen kirchlichen Veröffentlichen zur entwicklungsbezogenen Bildung werden erstmals in einer Bibliografie nach den Herausgebern zusammengefasst und systematisch geordnet. Damit wird eine Grundlage zur weiteren Erforschung entwicklungsbezogener bzw. politischer Bildungsarbeit im Rahmen der Oppositionsforschung der DDR gegeben. An den Beziehungen der DDR zu Mosambik und Äthiopien wird untersucht, wie zu ausgewählten Entwicklungsländern auf Grundlage der marxistisch-leninistischen Theorie der Außenpolitik bzw. der Außenhandelspolitik und wirtschaftlicher Engpässe die praktische Solidarität gestaltet wurden. Aufgezeigt wird, dass die eigenen ökonomischen Interessen teilweise in erheblichem Maße zum Schaden der befreundeten Entwicklungsländer durchsetzt wurden. Dieser Widerspruch sollte unter anderem durch eine hohe Geheimhaltung verdeckt werden. Die staatliche Informationspolitik zu entwicklungspolitischen Fragen erfolgte aus diesem Grund besonders restriktiv. An Hand von exemplarischen Analysen (Äthiopien: Unterstützung des Machtwechsels 1977, Kaffeeimport; Mosambik: Steinkohlebergbau, landwirtschaftliche Großprojekte, Vertragsarbeiter, Außenhandelsschulden, Solidaritätsleistungen) werden Entscheidungsprozesse des Partei- und Staatsapparates aufgezeigt. Die Ergebnisse entsprachen meist nicht den eigenen Ansprüchen wie den Kriterien solidarischer Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Gedruckte Version im Verlag erschienen: Döring, Hans-Joachim: Es geht um unsere Existenz. Die Politik der DDR gegenüber der Dritten Welt am Beispiel von Mosambik und Äthiopien. - 2. Aufl. - Berlin: Links, 2001. - 353 S. - ISBN 978-3-86153-185-2 ; The dissertation contains discourses by the author on development policies and solidarity in the GDR from 1968-1990 and 1994 respectively. The development-related education of independent, Third World groups and the state development cooperation will be examined in the framework of analytic reconstructions. Up till now, important fundamentals for the discourse have been the scientific and theoretical foundations of the understanding of development polities and solidarity in the GDR. These were put together from scarce archive materials of the former state and party machine as well as from church documents. The development-related education of the independent Third World groups will be analyzed by their correspondences with international developments since 1968 and the state framework of the GDR. It shows that the independent groups were in contact with international emancipation attempts since 1968 and participated in the ecumenical connections of the church. Concepts of the evangelical churches in the 1970s of an "improvable socialism" (Heino Falcke) and the "church as a learning community" earlier substantially supported the political education of the groups under the repressive conditions of the GDR and demanded independent and self-organized commitments. Impetus from Western European adult education (Ernst Lange) and the "pedagogy of the repressed" (Paulo Freire) demonstrate this. In the 1980s there was a change from a work aimed at a ecclesiastical structure to a political work that targeted a change in the society of the GDR. The basic approach of education, which was development-related, promoted understanding through information and consciousness work for changes in the North-South relationship as one would do in his own society. This proved to be motivating even under the atmosphere of the GDR. The creation and the operating principles of the East German developmental policy network INKOTA was reconstructed. It was assigned an intermediary function between the different players that helped form the moderate resistive nature of the Third World groups in the counter movement of the GDR. A complex informal learning and self-organized acquisition of expertise took place in the groups. It was defined that the independent groups in the centralized system of the GDR highly valued this learning process. The abilities acquired in the group took on a prominent importance during the peaceful revolution between 1989/1990. However, with the political unity of Germany these accomplishments quickly lost their effectiveness. The widely dispersed and half-official ecclesiastic publications, which were printed in small runs on the development education were systematically organized into a bibliography and categorized according to their publisher. This laid the basis for further research on development related and political education in the framework of the opposition research given in the GRD. The relationship of the GDR to Mozambique and Ethiopia is being examined to see how they designed their solidarity to certain developing countries, which were chosen according to their foundations of Marxist-Lenin theory of foreign policies, foreign trade policies and economic bottle-necks. What was discovered was that their own economical interests were asserted usually at the expense of the developing countries they had befriended. This contradiction was kept hidden as a strict secret. The state information policies on questions involving development policies which followed as a result were especially restricted. By means of example analysis (In Ethiopia: supporting the change of power in 1977, coffee import; In Mozambique: anthracite, large agricultural projects, contract workers, trade schools, solidarity achievements) the decision-making processes of the party and state administrations were identified. The results did not correspond most of the time with their own demands, like with the solidarity of development cooperation criteria. Printed version available: Döring, Hans-Joachim: Es geht um unsere Existenz. Die Politik der DDR gegenüber der Dritten Welt am Beispiel von Mosambik und Äthiopien. - 2. Aufl. - Berlin: Links, 2001. - 353 S. - ISBN 978-3-86153-185-2
The economic success of the Newly Industrializing Countries in the Asian- Pacific region has been a much discussed topic in recent years. Singapore's economic development is just one good example of this 'success story'. Here we deal with the role of strong governmental policies in the process of restructuring Singapore's economy from an export processing platform for labour-intensive mass-production to a modem industrial economy and an advanced service-hub for the region. The dominant role of the state is the driving force behind Singapore's transformation into an advanced 'Information Society'. This article describes the implementation of several IT- plans by the government starting from the first 'Strategic IT Plan' in 1980 to the TT2000' masterplan of the mid-1990's to make Singapore an Intelligent Island for the next millennium. Problems resulting from these developmental policies are discussed in this context, especially those concerning the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and the continuous scarcity of local IT professionals.
European debate over Iran today focuses too narrowly on the nuclear question & President Ahmadinejad's irresponsible claims about Israel & the Holocaust, challenging the ability of EU states to find common answers to foreign policy questions. Europe's long term interests in Iran cannot be ignored, particularly in the energy policy realm. Iran's developmental status, size, & energy reserves make them well suited as a strategic partner for Europe & Germany in the Middle East while offering Iran a more rapid & secure market for gas & needed investment. The atomic controversy will likely be more easily put aside if Iran can be convinced that Europe is sincerely interested in a stable, enduring, & partnered relationship & accepts it as a serious regional power. Such projects advance mutual interests & help maintain good political & cooperative relationships, & do not preclude approval of smart sanctions. Ahmadinejad's radical rhetoric is unlikely to be sufficient for the long term, when any such project would be complete. L. Reed
The production, trade and consumption of agricultural commodities are in a constant state of flux. This is exemplified by the cashew industry, where the restructuring of production and processing has entailed a variety of organisational and geographical shifts over the past few decades, both between continents and within countries. This dissertation explores these processes by asking: How did the geography and organisation of the cashew industries in India and Ivory Coast evolve, and how can the restructuring be explained? I focus on the intersection of institutions and economic actors to achieve two goals. First, the study illuminates the institutional drivers of value chain restructuring within particular places. Acknowledging that value chains do not exist in a vacuum but remain embedded in geographically specific institutional settings, this study places a particular focus on the role of institutions at the state and sub-state level in shaping the geography and organisational structure of global production and trade. Second, this study develops general propositions about the relationship between the strategic behaviour of value chain actors and pressures arising from their institutional environment. For this purpose, I use an 'institutionally enriched global value chain approach' which links the agency of economic actors with pressures exerted by their institutional environment. Out of the interplay between firm strategies and institutional pressures, it is argued, emerge the drivers and developmental prospects associated with the globalisation of local economic activities.
The European Parliament (EP) adopted the first comprehensive political report on the relationship of the EU & the UN in 2004. Though multilateralism is the foundation of the EU's foreign policy, to date it has largely played a reactionary role with respect to UN, well below its economic, political, & contributory significance. The ongoing reform processes in the EU & the UN offer a chance to restructure the relationship politically, coherently, & strategically at a much higher level, but also challenge the EU to establish & name a single voice for UN representation. This can be achieved through a constitution that enables a stronger & more transparent political presence in the UN, improved cooperation among EU member states, a leading role in the concrete implementation of UN resolutions, development of a programmatic concept for a comprehensive partnership with the UN beyond developmental & humanitarian aid, active engagement for UN reform, & a strong EU parliament. Active support of the UN & a multilateral world order is an important step to a better world. 1 Figure. L. Reed
"Since 2008, the term 'resilience' has been used in the concept papers of the OECD-DAC and by several other development actors that deal with problems concerning the development-security nexus. In particular, the concept was recently discussed and applied in discussions on possible developmental responses to so-called 'fragile states' or 'fragile situations'. Going beyond the problem of 'fragility', the term 'resilience' offers a radical perspective on the development-security nexus itself. It represents the expansion of development policy into a truly global enterprise, linked with global and cross-acting threats; it highlights interconnectedness and, at the same time, the separate threats and responsibilities of all. Moreover, the concept expresses a specific post-liberal rationality. 'Resilience', in this sense, can be seen as the overcoming of the liberal contradiction between security and freedom, which dissolves the autonomy of individuals in the necessity of continuous threat-driven adaptation. In turn, 'resilience' could become a positive sounding description of what is actually a post-liberal safety phenomenon. It could become a substitute for the possibility of freedom in the global context." (author's abstract)
