European and International Cooperation

Celia Burgdorff, Anja Czymmeck

KAS Frankreich

80 years of D-Day

Looking backward and looking forward to French, European and Franco-German remembrance culture

8 May is a public holiday in France. It commemorates the day of the ceasefire of the Second World War and the surrender of Nazi Germany. France is already preparing for important anniversaries in the context of the Second World War, which will be commemorated this year and next year, and which will take on a new dimension in view of the war of aggression against Ukraine. France prepares with the government's organisational unit "Mission de la Liberation" to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June 2024. 150,000 Allied soldiers from the USA, Great Britain, Canada, France, Poland, New Zealand, and other countries landed in Normandy on this day in 1944 to liberate France from Nazi rule. It was the beginning of a gigantic military operation, "Operation Overlord", which heralded the end of the Second World War. 8 Mai 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the surrender.

The former warring parties still commemorate D-Day today. The celebrations to mark the major anniversaries have long since achieved the status of high-ranking political and diplomatic meetings. Although the battle of 6 June is one of many in the Second World War, there is no other that has so quickly attained the status of an epic. Nevertheless, the way in which the nations involved look back on this battle differs and the interpretation of the events of the Second World War has changed again and again over the years.

Today, two years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the topic of war is once again present in Europe after a long time and dominates political discourse in Germany and France. At the same time, there are hardly any contemporary witnesses left who can report on the Second World War. What does it mean to remember D-Day in this context? And what role do Germany and France play in the European politics of remembrance?

Advancing the Growing Global Prioritisation of Health in Climate Negotiations for Climate Resilient Health Systems in Africa

Climate Change in Africa: Impacts on Health and Food Security

Climate change poses significant health and food security risks in Africa due to its geographic location, reliance on climate-sensitive resources, and socio-economic vulnerabilities. Rising temperatures and rainfall patterns increase the prevalence of infectious diseases like malaria and diarrhoea, disproportionately affecting children and pregnant women. Without intervention, climate change could lead to an additional 250,000 deaths annually by 2030-2050, primarily in Africa."

Erick Omollo

Hans-Hartwig Blomeier, Maximilian Strobel

Impact of AI on Local News Models

Will AI Unlock Growth or be an Existential Threat?

Artificial Intelligence is disrupting the Local News industry. This new report by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung USA and Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, is looking at the role AI can play in the way customers will consume news in the future. How are local media already using artificial intelligence in the newsroom and on the business side?

Mexico ahead of the election

Problems and challenges

Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Mexico on June 2, 2024. Thousands of political offices will also be up for grabs at state and municipal level. Overall, these are the largest elections in the history of the world's largest Spanish-speaking country - and the stakes are correspondingly high. Claudia Sheinbaum (MORENA), the candidate chosen by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO for short) from the left-wing populist government camp, is currently leading relatively clearly in most published polls, while her rival Xóchitl Gálvez (PAN), who is running for a coalition of three opposition parties and civil society organizations, has made up some ground in recent weeks, but is not yet within striking distance. One thing is clear, however: Mexico will be ruled by a woman as head of state for the first time from October. There are hardly any other certainties, however, and internal security is under great pressure. Since the start of the election campaign, elected representatives and candidates have been murdered on the streets or attacked during campaign appearances. The local and national security forces are barely able to put a stop to the perfidious attacks by organized cartel criminals. While the nationwide election of almost 21,000 offices and the prospect of a female president actually symbolize Mexico's great progress as a democratic society, the country continues to struggle against considerable structural problems.

Gregor Jaecke, Dr. Christoph Wiedenroth

KAS / Dambisa Dube

South Africa before the elections

New hope at the Cape?

On May 29, 2024, elections will be held in South Africa for the national assembly and all provincial parliaments. After years of economic decline, the country is in urgent need of a new direction. Polls suggest that Nelson Mandela's party, the ANC, will fall short of an ab-solute majority at national level for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994 and will rely on coalition partners to form a government. At the same time, the South African party spectrum is becoming increasingly fragmented, which also means more competition to pro-vide better solutions to the country's numerous challenges. Against this backdrop, the con-stellation in which South Africa will be governed in the future is uncertain, as various sce-narios are conceivable following the outcome of the elections.

Job Announcement

Position: Driver/ Technical assistant

The Hanoi Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation is currently looking for a Driver/ Technical Assistant. We, a German Political Foundation, have been present in Vietnam for 30 years and are partner to over 10 prestigious Vietnamese organizations, institutes, universities, government and legislative bodies and other political stakeholders. We are engaged in judicial reform, economic development, foreign and security affairs.

May 7, 2024

Winfried Weck, Alejandro Marin

IMAGO / Xinhua

Elections in Panama: The new president is José Mulino

Realzando Metas party candidate wins with over 34 percent

On May 5, three million Panamanians were called upon to elect the next President and Vice-President, 71 deputies to the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional - AN), 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), 81 mayors, 701 representatives of the governing districts and 11 councils of Panama City, as well as their respective deputies, for the next five years. Eight candidates have been approved by the Tribunal Electoral (TE) to run for president and have been vying for voters' favor since February 3, 2024. In the end, José Raúl Mulino Quintero of the Realizando Metas party won 34.36 percent of the vote on May 5 and will take over the presidency of Panama on July 4 of this year.

May 6, 2024

Flickr / Goutam Roy / CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED

The Dynamics of India’s Election: Examining the Ascendancy and Election Agenda of the BJP

How the BJP has emerged as the dominant political force in India and its prospects for a likely third consecutive term in office

Over the past decade, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established itself as the dominant political force in India on the national level. This text explores how Modi’s party has gained this status and how the opposition seeks to challenge its primacy, as well as the points of friction that have evolved in this contest. As a third consecutive term for the BJP looks likely, the article also considers the perspectives for a continuation of Modi’s government.

Aniket Bhavthankar

May 6, 2024

Growth without Development

Reasons for Failures in the Albanian Economy

Growth without Development: Reasons for Failures in the Albanian Economy

May 3, 2024