On the EDP wire, we post and discuss a range of issues that emanate from our research and that are important to us. Here you will find – in English or German – opinion pieces, book reviews, conference reports, and important announcements. Are you interested in becoming a guest contributor? Get in contact with us!

Most Recent EDP WIRE Posts

June 12, 2019 | EDP Wire | Jeff Bridoux

Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: “democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context

This EDP Wire contribution briefly summarizes the article “Shaking off the neoliberal shackles: democratic emergence” and the negotiation of democratic knowledge in the Middle East North Africa context” of the recent Democratization special issue “The negotiation of democracy promotion. Issues, parameters and consequences“, edited by EDP network members Annika E. Poppe, Julia Leininger and Jonas Wolff.

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June 6, 2019 | EDP Wire | Annika Elena Poppe, Julia Leininger, Jonas Wolff

Beyond contestation: conceptualizing negotiation in democracy promotion

This EDP Wire contribution briefly summarizes the second article “Beyond contestation: conceptualizing negotiation in democracy promotion” of the recent Democratization special issue “The negotiation of democracy promotion. Issues, parameters and consequences“, edited by EDP network members Annika E. Poppe, Julia Leininger and Jonas Wolff.

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June 4, 2019 | EDP Wire | Nora Berger-Kern

Symptom oder Einzelfall? Wie im Fall der Deutschen Umwelthilfe politische Kompetenzen überschritten werden

Die Affäre um manipulierte Abgaswerte, die die Autoindustrie seit 2014 ins Schwanken gebracht hat, wirkt bis in deutsche Verwaltungsgerichte: Wiederholt klagt die Umwelt- und Verbraucherschutzorganisation Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) auf die Einhaltung von Stickoxid-Grenzwerten, Fahrverbote werden angeordnet. Regierungs- und Oppositionsparteien fordern nun die Aberkennung der Gemeinnützigkeit und des Verbandsklagerechts sowie Streichungen von Fördermitteln des Vereins, der sich wiederholt in den Fokus der öffentlichen Debatte und Kritik gebracht hat.

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May 29, 2019 | EDP Wire | Annika Elena Poppe, Julia Leininger, Jonas Wolff

The negotiation of democracy promotion: Introducing a new perspective on dynamics of interaction in the promotion of democracy

Democracy is not simply a good that can be exported from one country to another. Democracy promotion, by definition, involves interaction between external actors and various kinds of “local actors”, “recipients” or “partners”. But the complex interplay between external and local actors is rarely studied in democracy promotion research. A new special issue of the journal Democratization, edited by EDP network members Annika E. Poppe, Julia Leininger and Jonas Wolff, contributes to filling this research gap by looking at negotiations in and of democracy promotion. This contribution to the EDP Wire briefly summarizes the introduction to the special issue.

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April 23, 2019 | EDP Wire | Prakash Bhattarai

The New Federal Structure in Nepal: Challenges and Opportunities for Quality Governance

This EDP Wire was written by Dr. Prakash Bhattarai, Director of the Centre for Social Change in Nepal and a former PRIF guest researcher by invitation of the EDP Network. In his article, he argues that if managed well, the new federal structure of Nepal as provisioned in the Constitution of 2015 has an immense potential to promote local democracy and equip citizens with fundamental rights but also finds that Nepal is practicing federalism in the midst of fear, mistrust, and dubious mind-sets of political elites without a clear vision of its future.

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March 21, 2019 | EDP Wire | Solveig Richter, Natasha Wunsch

How EU conditionality entrenches state capture in the Western Balkans

This EDP Wire was originally posted on blogs.lse.ac.uk. The article argues that the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans has fallen short of reproducing the transformative impact it had in Central and Eastern Europe. EDP member Solveig Richter and …

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March 8, 2019 | EDP Wire | Annika E. Poppe, Jonas Wolff

Gemeinnützigkeit in Deutschland: Karneval und Religion ja, Politik und Menschenrechte nein

In einem Aufsehen erregenden Urteil hat der Bundesfinanzhof die Entscheidung des Hessischen Finanzgerichts verworfen, das den Trägerverein des globalisierungskritischen Netzwerks Attac als gemeinnützig eingestuft hatte. Die Entscheidung hat weit über den Einzelfall hinaus Brisanz, insofern sie dem politischen Engagement zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen klare Grenzen setzt.

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February 19, 2019 | EDP Wire | Jonas Wolff

Democracy Promotion in the Americas

In this last piece of our EDP Wire Series, Jonas discusses the problems of the regional system of democracy promotion in the Americas. He argues that the region has one of the most advanced regimes of democracy and human rights protection world-wide, but that there are no regional actors that have sufficient credibility, capacity and political will to respond to the serious challenges to, and in part open crises of, democracy that can be observed in the region.

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February 12, 2019 | EDP Wire | Julia Leininger

Democracy Promotion in Africa

Julia discusses the various challenges that democracy promotion in Africa is faced with. She calls for more integrated approaches by donors and multilateral organizations, as well as a stronger recognition of and clear commitments to shared democratic norms between external democracy promoters and African societies.

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