International Reports 10/2009

People are Disillusioned with the Government, Disappointed with the Opposition

On December 6 of this year, Bolivia’s next parliament and president will be elected, with the incumbent, Evo Morales, aiming at re-election. The opposition will be fielding seven candidates, having failed to forge an alliance against Mr Morales and his party, the MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo). Traditional parties no longer play a part, and the population is divided.

by Susanne Käss

Together with another seven central and east European countries as well as Malta and Cyprus, the Czech Republic joined the EU on May 1, 2004. Five years later, there should be reason enough to celebrate: two decades ago, the communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia was ousted, giving the country a chance to turn to Europe and the West once again.

by Hubert Gehring, Laura Jung

Early in 2004, the US Congress passed a law designed to boost a new approach in donor aid. Its implementation was entrusted to the semi-governmental Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). It pays to take a look at the principles, intentions, and methodology of the new approach as well as at its process of implementation and the objections that have been raised so far.

by Gerald Hyman

The recent presidential election and its attendant circumstances appear to have put paid to the endeavours to democratize and reconstruct Afghanistan. Massive vote rigging, the resurgence of the Taliban, and the conflict between the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, and his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, are reviving the question of whether it makes sense for Germany to go on with its engagement in Afghanistan.

by Babak Khalatbari, Tanja Bauer

Versachlichung der Diskussion über die Scharia

There are too many non-Muslims who regard Islamic law as regressive and even threatening. The laws regulating the legal status of women and the family, inheritances, and criminal matters appear hardly reconcilable with Western ideas about human rights and the rule of law in a secular state. But do those who think that way really know the Sharia?

by Andreas Jacobs, Jan Woischnik