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"NATO needs to define its global purpose if it wishes to address global threats. What is the prospect of NATO going global and how will it affect NATO's future course? In the run-up to the NATO Summit in Riga in November 2006, a debate on both sides of the Atlantic has now evolved over NATO's global engagement that touches on the very foundations of NATO's original purpose and definition. Critically, the debate is no longer about wether NATO should go 'out of area or out of business' but whether the Alliance should enlarge on a global level from Vancouver to Tokyo and Wellington. In order to place this debate into the recent historical context of the Alliance, this article examines U.S.-European security relations since September 11 within the institutional framework of NATO and, subsequently, draws conclusions for the future role of the Alliance. As the transatlantic community faces security threats of inherently global nature such as internationally organized terrorism and crime, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, collapse or lack of state structures in certain regions, and ruptures in the stable supply of energy resources, NATO will have to define its role as a global security actor if it wishes to avoid becoming a mere service provider of security." (author's abstract)

Vor dem Hintergrund eines beobachtbaren forcierten Globalisierungsprozesses erörtert der Beitrag die politische Ausrichtung der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation (IAO) hinsichtlich der länderübergreifenden Arbeitsregulierung. Im ersten Schritt werden die Hauptaufgabe sowie die Grundstruktur der IAO dargestellt. Die IAO, gegründet 1919 im Rahmen des Völkerbundes, ist seit 1946 eine Sonderorganisation der UNO mit der Aufgabe, die soziale Gerechtigkeit zu fördern und durch Verbesserung der Arbeitsbedingungen und des Lebensstandards in den Mitgliedsländern wirtschaftliche und soziale Stabilität zu erreichen. Der zweite Schritt widmet sich sodann den aktuellen Problemfeldern, die es seitens der IAO in Anbetracht der Globalisierung zu behandeln gilt. So haben 2000 von den 175 Mitgliedsstaaten erst 63 Länder alle Vereinbarungen zu den Arbeitsbedingungen ratifiziert. Um eine verbesserte Anerkennung der Arbeitsregulierungspolitik zu erreichen, werden folgende Ziele verfolgt: (1) eine zunehmende integrierende Annäherung zwischen den Mitgliedsländern, (2) eine Ausweitung der Zivilgesellschaft, (3) ein neues Anforderungsprofil für die internationale Handelsschifffahrt sowie (4) ein neuer Umgang mit transnationalen Unternehmen. In einem Resümee stellt die Autorin fest, dass die auftretenden Probleme hinsichtlich der Partizipation von sozialen Gruppen bei der internationalen Regulierung der Arbeitspolitik auf die Vielzahl und Diskrepanz von sozialen Formen der Produktion, der institutionellen Strukturen und der Staatsformen zurück geht. (ICG2)

This article analyses the impact of new institutional structures in global health governance (GHG) on the realization of social rights in poor countries. Focusing on the example of global HIV/AIDS politics. The article argues that new governance modes increase the participation of civil society groups and affected communities, but also that they are frequently instrumentalized by powerful actors to pursue their particular interests. In fact, increasing resources are mobilized for the fight against poverty-related diseases. The article concludes that, as the experience of HIV/AIDS politics, the conflicts around the TRIPS Agreement and the development of Global Public-Private Partnerships GPPPs suggest, GHG is characterized by a combination of moral values and material interests that does not guarantee a comprehensive realization of social rights, but which allows some progress in the fight against poverty-related diseases - a step toward realization of social rights.

People tend to agree on the vital importance of peace, but there is no consensus on what peace is and even less so on how it can be accomplished and secured. International peace-building strategies privilege a concept of peace that stems from Western experiences of a centralised democratic state. A global approach to peace needs to include the experiences of the Global South and to focus on reducing various forms of violence rather than simply ending war.
Peace is a complex process that is influenced by social, economic, and polit­ical structures; a variety of actors; and a multitude of policies. Current post-war societies reveal a high degree of variation regarding post-war violence and changes to the political system.
A global approach to peace is required in order to include the diverse cultural and historical experiences of all regions across the globe. There is no shortcut to or way to replicate the state-centred Western development path.
An interregional comparison of violence patterns suggests that conflicts are closely related to processes of social change at the intersection of increasing globalisation and local, salient cultural and historical trajectories. The analysis of these conflicts is thus the necessary starting point for peace-building strategies.
Peace-building strategies must focus on violence reduction and non-violent conflict transformation. The termination of war is an essential first step but does not suffice. Although the specific arrangements to end collective violence are shaped by the incompatibilities and structures of conflicts, such agreements need to be open to future change.
External support for peace processes by the German government, the European Union, or the United Nations needs to take seriously the claims and interests of various local constituencies and the fact that peace processes are a form of contentious politics. Promoting peace is not about following a single globalised template but rather about searching for common ground in order to end violence and non-violently transform conflicts.