Neueste Publikationen

Beyond the wage channel: climate-smart public works programmes and household resilience in Malawi

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:43:44 +0100

One of the main arguments for implementing public works programmes (PWPs) instead of other social protection schemes such as cash transfers is that the assets created through these programmes themselves can generate medium- to long-term benefits. This is particularly important as the costs for supervision and the construction materials can account for up to 70 per cent of programme budgets. Despite this, there is scarce empirical evidence on PWPs’ effects through the “asset channel”: indeed; most studies have focused solely on the traditional “wage channel”. To bridge this gap, this paper examines whether and how assets created under Malawi’s Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) – a programme recently implemented by the government of Malawi and funded by the World Bank – strengthen the resilience of households to climate shocks such as droughts and floods. The paper relies on case study analysis using primary qualitative data based on focus group discussions and key informant interviews with different stakeholders at the national, district and community levels. Interviews were conducted during fieldwork in September 2024 in two southern districts of Malawi highly affected by climate change. The analysis is complemented by site visits and quantitative survey data on asset quality. By combining these methods, we find that the CS-EPWP generates durable, community-maintained assets, which in turn enhance households’ capacity to cope with and adapt to climate shocks. In particular, land-based assets provide multiple benefits for both households and communities, while forest-based interventions are expected to generate similar long-term gains, though further research is needed to confirm their (long-term) impacts. To maximise the impact of climate-smart public works programmes, policymakers and donors should align asset creation with climate objectives and adopt participatory approaches to ensure their relevance, maintenance and long-term sustainability.

Sophia Schubert is an independent researcher.
Dr Donald Makoka is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in Malawi.

Powerful but dysfunctional? The Group of 77 and UN multilateralism

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:13:35 +0100

The G77 represents the Global South in the United Nations (UN). It holds a two-thirds majority and exercises significant influence in the General Assembly, while also being party to North–South tensions in the UN. Nearly all intergovernmental processes at the General Assembly, particularly those related to economic and financial issues, are marked by protracted and frustrating negotiations that affect the UN’s ability to develop solutions to global challenges. Despite its influence in the General Assembly, little is known about the G77’s internal processes. This article addresses this gap by examining the group’s decision making and how it shapes multilateral negotiations and outcomes in the General Assembly. It introduces an ideal-type model of intra-group interest aggregation and assesses how this function unfolds in the G77 and with what effects on UN negotiations. Drawing on group politics literature and interviews with UN delegates, the article demonstrates that while the G77 can leverage its numerical strength, there are noteworthy deficits in the group’s function of aggregating interests. Specifically, the limited inclusiveness in the group’s decision making, the dominance of a few members and the lack of informed input can undermine effective multilateralism and reinforce North–South tensions.

New rationalities, inner logic, and hope for sustainable future coasts

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:24:41 +0100

In the coastal zone, the triple planetary crisis manifests as accelerating losses and changes and increasing challenges and risks for people and livelihoods. Acceptance of a future existential crisis compels the urgency of corrective action to cause an inverse positive societal response to bend the negative trajectories of loss and damage. The rate and extent of corrective societal action (policies, laws, practices, knowledge, etc.) should at least keep pace with the projected rate of loss and environmental degradation. This urgency and acceleration of action are major societal challenges, especially considering the overwhelming evidence of impacts. In this paper, we offer three propositions for accelerating urgent actions and fostering innovation in coastal research and management, focusing on emerging trends and foundational changes. Scientists need to (1) reflect on the performativity of their research and perceptions of neutrality in anticipating the future of coasts; (2) think and act equitably in local and global partnerships; and (3) improve their engagement and willingness to innovate with society. This is not a call for linear or incremental change, but a call for the radical. The relationship between society and science drives progress and shapes our collective future.

Welt ohne Zentrum: wie Deutschland umdenken muss

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 12:01:54 +0100

Deutschland stellt sich thematisch zu breit auf in einer sich neu ausrichtenden Weltordnung. Das zeigt sich besonders in der Entwicklungspolitik, die als Instrument deutscher Außenpolitik und internationaler Zusammenarbeit dort eingesetzt werden sollte, wo Wirkung realistisch nachgewiesen ist.

A world without a center: how Germany must rethink its approach

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:59:13 +0100

Germany is spreading itself too thinly across too many issues in a world order that is undergoing realignment. This is particularly evident in development policy, which, as an instrument of German foreign policy and international cooperation, should be used where its effectiveness has been realistically proven.

Policies for accelerating sustainability transitions: bridging insights from transition studies and policy studies

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 01:57:48 +0100

Pressing environmental and societal challenges, such as the climate crisis and social inequality, demand policy interventions to steer and accelerate sustainability transitions. This chapter highlights four key intervention areas: providing direction to transitions (directionality), fostering innovation (niche support), phasing out unsustainable practices (regime destabilisation), and coordinating transition processes (coordination). We outline their theoretical rationale in transition studies and offer interdisciplinary insights from policy research. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we present 15 concrete policy interventions to transform production and consumption systems. Evaluating these interventions with empirical findings from leading transition journals, we highlight research opportunities at the intersection of public policy and sustainability transitions. Given the resistance and contestation around transformational policies, we aim to foster interdisciplinary exchange on how to accelerate sustainability transitions.

Unveiling the Weave: social cohesion in African post-colonial state- and nation-building

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:02:55 +0100

This chapter explores the role of social cohesion in African post-colonial state- and nation-building. It argues that understandings of social cohesion, rooted in pre-colonial traditions and concepts, were central to political and intellectual debates during decolonization in the 1960s and remain relevant today. Drawing on ethnophilosophical sources, such as oral traditions, proverbs, and communal practices, as well as social theories of African humanism and socialism, this chapter identifies core African notions of interconnectedness, collective responsibility, and the common good. Concepts including ubuntu, ujamaa, harambee, and other local philosophies illustrate how interdependence, identity, lineage, and community well-being shaped both traditional societies and post-independence political visions. African leaders and intellectuals invoked these ideas to legitimize distinctive paths of development, often contrasting them with Western models of statehood and individualism. At the same time, tensions arose between local, national, and pan-African identities, and between communal ideals and the practicalities of mass societies. By situating these debates historically and conceptually, this chapter demonstrates that social cohesion has been a constitutive element of African state- and nation-building and offers insights into contemporary challenges of inclusion, identity, and unity across diverse societies.

Inequality and social cohesion in Africa

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:00:28 +0100

This paper analyses both theoretically and empirically, the relationship between inequality and social cohesion, where social cohesion is conceptualized as a multi-faceted phenomenon encompassing three core attributes: trust, inclusive identity and cooperation for the common good. These attributes operate along two dimensions: the horizontal and the vertical dimension. First, it provides an overview of the empirical evidence regarding the relationship between inequality and the three attributes of social cohesion. While inequality is likely to have a negative effect on all three attributes, the intensity of the relationship may depend on some key mediating factors. The empirical analysis focuses on Africa, given the scarce evidence for this continent. As expected, it shows that countries with higher income inequality usually have lower levels of social cohesion, measured by an aggregate index. This negative correlation holds when the three attributes of social cohesion are examined separately; however, the intensity varies. It is stronger for trust than for identity and cooperation. Further analysis indicates that a clear negative relationship between inequality and social cohesion attributes is visible only when the focus is on the horizontal dimension of social cohesion.

Humanitäre Hilfe

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:05:42 +0100

Die humanitäre Hilfe ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil des auswärtigen Handelns der Europäischen Union (EU). Seit den 1990er-Jahren wurde sie schrittweise weiterentwickelt und mit dem Vertrag von Lissabon (2009) fest im EU-Vertragswerk verankert. Mit der Generaldirektion Europäischer Katastrophenschutz und humanitäre Hilfe (GD ECHO) existiert eine eigene Institution, die für das Politikfeld zuständig ist. Sie unterhält ein weltweites Netzwerk von Expert:innen, welche die Umsetzung der humanitären Hilfe in Kooperation mit Partnerorganisationen wie den Vereinten Nationen und NGOs koordinieren. Die Unabhängigkeit der humanitären Hilfe von der Außenpolitik ist ein wichtiges Prinzip des humanitären Völkerrechts. Gleichzeitig gibt es vonseiten der EU aber auch Bestrebungen, die humanitäre Hilfe stärker mit anderen Bereichen der Außenpolitik zu verzahnen. Inwiefern dies gelingt, wird sich in den kommenden Jahren zeigen.

Frieden und Entwicklung

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:12:05 +0100

Das Kapitel analysiert die wechselseitige, jedoch nicht deterministische Beziehung von Frieden und Entwicklung. Defizite in der Entwicklung erhöhen Konfliktpotenziale, während Gewalt Fortschritte rückgängig macht. Frieden führt jedoch nicht automatisch zu hohem Entwicklungsniveau, ebenso wenig garantiert Entwicklung dauerhafte Stabilität. Zentrale Faktoren sind inklusive Institutionen sowie Gleichheit. Die viele Jahrzehnte währende Programmatik, Frieden und Entwicklung gemeinsam zu denken, verliert an Bedeutung. An ihre Stelle treten sicherheits- und verteidigungspolitische Prioritäten.

Beyond projects: the role of development partners in institutionalising renewable energy innovations: lessons from the Global South

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:23:49 +0100

Renewable energy has seen rapid uptake, particularly in the Global South. Solar energy projects have boomed in recent years, but uptake by countries is uneven. Beyond geophysical conditions, technological innovation, market dynamics and donor-driven “lighthouse projects”, political institutionalisation has played a critical role in decarbonisation. In this policy brief, which is based on extensive research from Global South case studies, we argue that political institutionalisation is key to determining whether and how innovative solar initiatives become stabilised, scaled up, and mainstreamed.
Drawing on the research project Institutionalizing Low Carbon Development in the Global South (INLOCADE) and expert contributions from a follow-up IDOS workshop, this policy brief synthesises comparative policy-relevant findings on how institutionalisation unfolds in various emerging economies of the Global South, including Brazil, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
Key messages:
• Political institutionalisation – understood here as an enduring change of formal and informal rules and practices towards low-carbon development – is essential for making renewable energy projects sustainable by embedding them in conducive, stable governance frameworks. Isolated, donor-driven initiatives are at risk of provoking resistance and backlash, and of fading away once external support ends.
• Multiple pathways for institutionalisation exist. State leadership, subnational action, alliances between development partners and communities,
and crisis-driven coalitions can enable institutionalisation under different conditions. Policies should be tailored to the institutional realities of each context rather than using one-size-fits-all models. Similarly, development partners should assess local realities and adapt their strategies accordingly.
• Distributive justice and participation must be actively supported. Political institutionalisation can lead to inequitable outcomes and reinforce exclusionary practices. Development partners should take a proactive role by aligning their interventions with inclusive and equitable approaches to ensure support for marginalised groups leads to socially just transitions, not just box-ticking.
• Crises can be opportunities. Energy shortages and climate shocks can disrupt fossil-fuel lock-ins and open the door to innovation. Development partners need flexible instruments and strategies to help translate crisis-driven experiments into durable institutional change.
• Development partners are catalytic, not deci-sive. They can accelerate change by providing finance, technical expertise, and legitimacy, especially when working with domestic actors beyond national governments. German and EU development cooperation should place greater emphasis on strengthening domestic institutional enviro-ments, including regulatory stability, administrative capacity, and actor coalitions that embed projects in lasting policy and organisational change. This helps ensure donor interventions contribute to sustained low-carbon transitions beyond initial project cycles.

Dr Joshua Philipp Elsässer is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy (C3E) of the Brussels School of Governance.
Prof em. Dr Harald Fuhr is a Professor Emeritus of International Politics at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Potsdam.
Anna Fünfgeld is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Hamburg; Mercator Professorship for Sociology.
Prof Dr Markus Lederer is a Professor of International Relations at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
Dr Jens Marquardt is a Research Associate in the Research Group “International Relations” at the Technical University of Darmstadt.
Dr HyunAh Yi is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Comparative Governance, Korea University, and an Associate Researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).

Can reminders promote regular pro-environmental behavior? Experimental evidence from Peru

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:14:44 +0100

Pro-environmental behavior, such as recycling, often needs to be regular to be effective, and interventions to encourage behavioral change may therefore need to be repeated; yet, little evidence exists on the optimal time pattern and frequency of such repeated interventions. To fill this gap, we investigate the impact of mobile text reminders on households’ recycling behavior in urban Peru by randomly varying the exposure length and continuity of reminders. We find that reminders increase both the likelihood that households start to recycle and the frequency of recycling among households that already did so before the intervention. The effects are stronger when reminders are repeated over a longer period. Our findings suggest that both limited attention and habit formation matter for recycling behavior, and that low-cost mobile text reminders can effectively support regular pro-environmental behavior.

Sustainable finance, reflexive law, and the epistemic infrastructure of financial markets

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:29:07 +0100

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has introduced several policy measures to better align financial markets with sustainability goals. So far, these policies have mainly aimed to improve how information on the sustainability impacts of investments is collected and transmitted. Policymakers hope that adjustments to the epistemic infrastructure of financial markets will lead to a shift in investments that translates into transformational change in the real economy. The EU’s sustainable finance policies often follow a reflexive law approach and confine themselves to setting procedural and organisational norms. This article analyses the potential and limitations of this approach and argues that sustainable finance policies must be sufficiently detailed and binding to avoid the risk, associated with reflexive law policies, of granting too much discretion to agents with vested interests detrimental to the governance aims. However, detailed and binding policies do not fully realise the advantages in dealing with highly complex and dynamic situations that are often ascribed to reflexive law policies. While sustainable finance policies that address the epistemic infrastructure of financial markets are for various reasons still important, their potential and advantages compared to other governance approaches should not be exaggerated.

Wie China sich die Disruption der internationalen Ordnung zunutze machen kann

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:08:25 +0100

Bonn, 09. März 2026. Aktuelle weltpolitische Verwerfungen erweitern den Gestaltungsspielraum der Volksrepublik – und verlangen eine intensivere Auseinandersetzung mit China.

Für die Volksrepublik China ist bei Weitem nicht alles rosig. Die Krise des chinesischen Immobilienmarkts klingt nicht ab, die Binnennachfrage schwächelt und eine rapide alternde Bevölkerung bereitet der Regierung in Peking Kopfzerbrechen. International fordern die volatile Zollpolitik der US-Regierung und Spannungen zwischen den Großmächten die chinesische Wirtschaft heraus. Trotz einiger Trümpfe – Stichwort seltene Erden – hätten exportabhängige Sektoren bei einem eskalierenden Handelskrieg viel zu verlieren. Gerade erst wurde im Nationalen Volkskongress das niedrigste Wachstumsziel der letzten 30 Jahre ausgegeben.

Weltpolitisch jedoch könnte es für die Volksrepublik momentan kaum besser laufen. Während sich die Weltöffentlichkeit mit Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine oder den US-Militärschlägen gegen Iran beschäftigt, betont China die zentrale Rolle der Vereinten Nationen für eine stabile internationale Zusammenarbeit. Verglichen mit Donald Trumps oder Wladimir Putins Feldzug gegen zentrale Prinzipien der Nachkriegsordnung erscheint Xi Jinpings China als multilateraler Musterschüler. Chinas Nähe zu Moskau ist dabei für viele kein Grund, der Volksrepublik Vorwürfe zu machen. Während in westlichen Staaten erst seit Kurzem der Wegfall der USA als Sicherheitsgarant debattiert wird, kritisiert China schon lange die hegemoniale Rolle der US-Regierung. Für die Volksrepublik soll eine reformierte Weltordnung vor allem eines sein: weniger abhängig von Washington und damit stärker ausgerichtet auf Pekings Interessen.

Internationale Zusammenarbeit chinesischer Prägung

China unterstreicht dabei, dass es selbst keine hegemoniale Kontrolle anstrebt – auch, weil die Durchsetzung von Hegemonie zu viele Ressourcen beanspruchen würde. Für die chinesische Regierung ist das Überleben des eigenen Regimes im Einparteienstaat von übergeordneter Bedeutung. Statt die Rolle des angeblichen Weltpolizisten von den USA zu übernehmen, strebt Peking eine stärkere – durchaus von China dominierte – weltweite Vernetzung an. Ein zentraler Hebel dabei ist Chinas Position als primus inter pares in der heterogenen Gruppe der „Entwicklungsländer“, die den Großteil der Weltbevölkerung stellen. Wirtschaftliche Verflechtung, Entwicklungszusammenarbeit sowie rhetorische Unterstützung für Belange des Globalen Südens sind dabei zentrale Instrumente in Chinas Werkzeugkasten.

Auf multilateraler Ebene zielen chinesische Reformvorstellungen nicht nur auf Machtverschiebung, sondern auch auf Veränderungen in prozeduralen und normativen Logiken. Die UN, wie China sie sich vorstellt, soll weniger von einer multilateralen Bürokratie und mehr von zwischenstaatlichen Entscheidungen geprägt werden. Teilweise überlappt sich das mit Präferenzen in Moskau und Washington. Normativ positioniert sich China dabei in Opposition zu einem guten Teil liberaler Agenden. Statt zivile und politische Rechte von Individuen zu stärken, versucht China, das kollektiv gedachte Recht auf Entwicklung ins Zentrum globaler Menschenrechtsdiskurse zu stellen. Anstelle einer Schutzverantwortung der internationalen Gemeinschaft sieht Peking die Nichteinmischung in interne Angelegenheiten als Grundlogik multilateraler Zusammenarbeit. Vom Umgang mit Protestierenden in Hongkong bis zur „Wiedervereinigung“ mit Taiwan gibt es eine Reihe von Anliegen, bei denen die Volksrepublik freie Hand haben möchte.

China als komplexes Gegenüber

Insgesamt erweitert die Disruption der lange von den USA dominierten Weltordnung den Raum, in dem China seine Präferenzen und Reformvorschläge positionieren kann. Ungeachtet aller Diskrepanzen hat dadurch auch für Europa die längerfristige Relevanz der Volksrepublik zugenommen. Erst Ende Februar meldete das Statistische Bundesamt, dass das Handelsvolumen der Bundesrepublik mit den USA im Jahr 2025 um fünf Prozent zurückgegangen und China wieder Deutschlands wichtigster Handelspartner ist.

Trotz der in vielerlei Hinsicht nachvollziehbaren Tendenz europäischer Regierungen, Peking als systemischen Rivalen zu sehen, werden so – wie schon jüngst bei Friedrich Merz‘ Chinareise – auch die Konturen Chinas als potentiellem Partner wieder stärker in den Blick genommen werden. Das verlangt nach einer differenzierten Herangehensweise, die Detailwissen mit strategischer Klugheit verbindet. Bei der viel beschworenen Chinakompetenz, die in Deutschland oft zu wünschen übriglässt, geht es nicht nur um das Erlernen der chinesischen Sprache. Es geht auch um eine breitere gesellschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit China als Land und der chinesischen Regierung als globalem Akteur.

Vor diesem Hintergrund muss der traditionelle Fokus auf die politische, wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Auseinandersetzung mit den USA dringend erweitert werden. Sowohl in Deutschland als auch in anderen Ländern, die sich nach wie vor als Teil des Westens sehen, scheint aktuell breiter Konsens zu herrschen, dass eine Neujustierung der internationalen Beziehungen vonnöten ist. China als komplexes Gegenüber sollte dabei einen zentralen Platz einnehmen. Das bedeutet, auch atypische Dialogformate auszubauen, Expertise in Forschung und Verwaltung zu bündeln und schon im Schulkontext der Beschäftigung mit China genug Platz einzuräumen. Und es bedeutet, durch konkrete Begegnungen mit Chines*innen eine Idee von der Vielfalt chinesischer Realitäten zu bekommen, die auch jenseits des Einparteienstaats und ungleicher Handelsbeziehungen Anknüpfungspunkte für ein kritisches globales Miteinander bieten können.

International democracy promotion across two waves: from support to protection

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:48:20 +0100

The Third Wave of Democratization's international dimension connects domestic democratization processes with the global spread of democracy after 1989. How has democracy promotion, a specific international source, contributed to the Wave of Democratization? And is scholarship well equipped to study the fundamental shifts in democracy promotion caused by the Third Wave of Autocratization? This article answers these questions from two perspectives. First, it assesses the relevance, patterns and effects of international democracy promotion between 1995 and 2024. Second, it takes a meta-perspective and identifies the main characteristics and blind spots of the study of international democracy promotion. Based on these insights, the article makes a conceptual contribution by distinguishing between democracy support and democracy protection. Furthermore, it defines the international scope conditions necessary for effectively promoting democracy during periods of autocratization. Finally, it proposes a new agenda for the study of international democracy promotion after the Third Wave of Democratization.