If They Just Weren\u27t So Rich!

The deadliest war on earth-as it is called-in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will only end when the country\u27s richness fades or is kept under surveillance. Human rights and peace might have a chance if Congo\u27s lucrative diamond, gold or coltan mines were under shared control by non-profit agencies or international organizations with the intention to spread the mines\u27 benefits and wealth among the Congolese people. Wishful thinking? Most likely it is, but what other alternative is there? The country\u27s extraordinary wealth in natural resources is the main reason for the immense corruption, the extermination of entire villages, the constant ethnic cleansing from all sides and the rape of women, men and children regardless of their age. This multilevel conflict has been ongoing for decades if not centuries and is very complex as Adam Hochschild described in his article

Iran: Who is Quicker - the Hacker or the Twitter?

For a moment we believed that we had entered into a new era of democratic movement. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google—chat have given proof that regardless where people live, what background they have, what system they adhere to or what religion they practice: they want to share the injustice and violence that happens to them with the world. They seek awareness, help and support and moreover they look for an end to the unfair and violent treatment. So have thousands of people in Iran—and still they do. They use what is the most widely available, quickest and the cheapest way to communicate in order to bypass censorship and propaganda and to transport their messages through digital technologies. Fifty years ago they would have used radio, and two hundred years ago they used print media, as described by Darrell West in his article

Glocal Governance

This open access book develops a conceptual framework for glocal governance as a multi-stakeholder local governance approach based on global human rights norms and democratic principles. It discusses glocal governance as part of an ongoing global transformation process that began in the 1990s, when democracy and individualizing responsibilities for governance became the dominant political system worldwide, and continues through today’s dawn of a New Cold War between those countries which have democratized and those which haven’t. This book will intrigue practitioners and scholars alike who are interested in the concepts of glocality and glocalism, local-global connectivity, and the implementation and dissemination of global norms and concepts such as human rights and democracy, at the local and community level as well as among civil society and private enterprises. The author argues that global norms have now become universal benchmarks which private, political, and civil actors use to assess day-to-day situations and market developments, and to make their decisions accordingly. This book will appeal to students, practitioners, and scholars of the social sciences and humanities who are interested in governance, human rights, public diplomacy and international relations; and in conceptualizing mechanisms for governing and enforcing political decisions locally, on the basis of global universal principles, international norms, and laws

Transitional Justice and the Quality of Democracy

Transitional Justice is a long-term process which seeks to address severe human rights abuses of the past through measures such as trials, commissions of inquiry, memorials, apologies, reforms of the legal or security sector, school textbook reforms, and reconciliation projects. These measures are usually applied by governments, but can also be initiated by civil society groups, such as victim groups, or the international community, for example the European Union or the UNHCR. Transitional justice measures are seen as catalysts for coming to terms with the past and establishing new, stable, and often democratic societies. As such, the measures are linked to the performance and efficacy of democratic institutions in the context of their accountability and responsiveness, transparency, and level of citizen participation. Thus, transitional justice is a process that aims to reconcile divided and conflict-torn societies by re-establishing (democratic) institutions. These measures can be catalysts to leverage institutional performance

The War Goes On - No Reconciliation at This Stage

The victorious Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaska has been quite bold to pass a reconciliation note after he declared the thirty year war over. Can he be taken seriously

Aktiv zu Hause einfordern und weltweit verteidigen: Überblick über die Situation der Pressefreiheit

In den vergangenen zehn Jahren wurden weltweit 787 Journalist_innen und Medienmitarbeiter_innen in Folge der Ausübung ihres Berufes getötet. Dabei ist seit einigen Jahren eine Zunahme der Gewalt zu beobachten. Doch nicht alle Bedrohungen für die Pressefreiheit sind so leicht zu objektivieren wie die Zahlen getöteter und inhaftierter Journalist_innen. Der Artikel arbeitet die ungleich komplexeren zeitgenössischen Bedrohungen der Pressefreiheit aus der Sicht der Menschenrechtsorganisation „Reporter ohne Grenzen“ heraus und beschreibt, wie die Organisation in ihrer praktischen Arbeit auf diese Probleme reagiert. Dabei wird sowohl auf Probleme in langjährigen Demokratien wie Deutschland als auch auf Probleme in Diktaturen, autoritär regierten und zerfallenden Staaten eingegangen: ausufernde Massenüberwachung, Zensur und Selbstzensur, Straflosigkeit bei Verbrechen gegen Journalist_innen, Medienkonzentration, neue Gewaltakteure, und die Verantwortung privater Plattformen. English:Christian Mihr: Actively Demanded at Home and Defended World Wide: An Overview of Freedom of the PressDuring the past ten years 787 journalists and media employees have been killed in the pursuance of their professions. Thereby, an increase of violence has been noted in recent years. However, not all threats towards freedom of the press are as easily objectified as the number of killed and imprisoned journalists. The article deals with the distinctly more complex contemporary threats towards freedom of the press and describes, from the perspective of the human rights organization “Reporters Without Borders”, how that organization responds to these problems in its practical work. Thereby, issues identified in longstanding democracies like Germany as well as problems found in dictatorships, authoritarian and deteriorating states are addressed: escalating mass surveillance, censorship, self-censorship, impunity for crimes against journalists, media concentration, new agents of violence and the responsibility of private platforms.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Curse or Blessing for Democracy in Eurasia?

This chapter sets the stage for the debates addressed in this volume’s special section on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its effects on democratization or autocratization processes in recipient countries and societies since its establishment in 2013. After providing a brief overview of the expansion of the BRI and Chinese influence in Eurasia, it subsequently reviews core assumptions and preliminary findings on the implications of the BRI for the political regime type in countries across Eurasia that receive BRI investments. Furthermore, it gives an outlook on the contributions to the special section and outlines questions for future research on the political effects of the BRI