2010 releases
[Left Rhetoric and the African National Congress]
A study by Arnold Wehmhoerner, FEPS Correspondent in Southern Africa | July 2010
Jacob Zuma was made presidential candidate by a sound majority of the ANC spearheaded by the SACP (South African Communist Party) and COSATU, the national trade union organisation. His supporters expect from him a policy more to the left and away from what they claim has been Mbeki’s overly liberal economic policies. After one year in power, has Zuma met the expectations of his supporters and what is the meaning of a policy more to the left in the South African context?
[EU Foreign Policy and Emerging India: Catherine Ashton in New Delhi]
Report by Klaus Voll, FEPS Correspondent in South Asia | July 2010
Important global, regional and bi-lateral issues require consultation with India, an emerging global player and a regional power in Asia. Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, met India’s top political leadership during her recent four-day visit to New Delhi. Ashton’s public speech in the India International Centre was entitled "EU-India Relations post-Lisbon: cooperation in a changing world". The full text of her speech can be found [here]
[After the Financial Crisis: A progressive agenda for Africa]
Written contributions from a round table conference held in Cape Town, South Africa | 10-13 May 2010
Prior to the conference a number of the expert participants were asked to make written contributions. The objective of these contributions was to provide speakers with an adequate intellectual platform from which the debate could proceed. Here is a selection of the contributions received.See inside for contributions relating to Sovereign Wealth Funds, climate change and social justice, Africa's negotiating position at the Copenhagen Summit, strategies for mitigating climate change, and the relationship between Africa and India in a multipolar world.
[US Af-Pak Policy: Relevance for India and the EU]
Report by Christian HANNEMANN & Klaus Julian VOLL from a round table discussion between Members of the European Parliament and leading Indian experts | 25 April 2010
As a precursor to a five-day visit from European Parliament Delegation to India for the EU-India Interparliamentary meeting, the National Maritime Foundation and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies initiated a substantive debate on an issue of equally great concern to the European Union and India. The cordial and frank exchange of views was shaped by genuine and well-informed interest from both sides. This round table discussion made an important contribution to a better understanding of Indian analyses of the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan among the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), while the Indian strategic community was able to gain an insight into the opportunities and constraints the EU sees for its engagement in the region.
[FIFA and Development: the South African Football World Cup, 2010]
An analysis by Arnold WEHMHOERNER, FEPS Correspondent in Southern Africa | April 2010
Granting the 2010 FIFA World Cup to South Africa brought with it promises of increased employment and investment, tourism opportunities and social benefits for South Africans. It was heralded as a symbolic triumph for the sport in Africa which would help to overcome the oft negative images of "Afro-pessimism". In this article, Arnold Wehmhoerner takes a closer look at the preparations for this mega-event, charting the business practices of FIFA and the decisions made regarding stadium facilities, local communities, merchandising and sponsorship deals. This emerges as a thought-provoking analysis of the relationship between sport and development.
[FEPS comments on SPD policy paper on Afghanistan]
Comments by Indian security experts in reaction to [draft policy paper] by Sigmar GABRIEL and Frank-Walter STEINMEIER | February 2010
In 2009, FEPS greatly increased its engagement with South Asia and more particularly India. At the end of November, this culminated in a conference held in Paris in collaboration with the Jean Jaurès Foundation. This conference drew on perspectives that are of great interest to policy formation in the EU, especially with regard to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East (or West Asia, as our Indian partners describe it). The situation in Afghanistan came in for significant analysis by the security experts on whose input FEPS and FJJ drew. The outcome of that conflict will have long term ramifications for the whole region and has the potential to impact upon relations between Pakistan and India.
As such, it is of vital importance for European policy-makers to take account of the perspectives of actors in South Asia. Thus, following the release of the draft policy paper of the German SPD ”Intensifying civil engagement and economic reconstruction – Strengthening the Afghan security forces: On the future and duration of Germany’s engagement in Afghanistan” by Sigmar Gabriel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, FEPS sent out a call for comments from a small selection of security experts in India. These represent the efforts by FEPS to bring fresh thinking and new perspectives to the formulation of policy in the European Union.
