It’s time for the EU to re-assess its relations with Russia: Instead of hesitating between engagement and containment of its biggest neighbour, Europe should consider a strategic pause with Moscow.
Patent registration, scientific citations and R&D policies: How the emerging powers Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa demonstrate the path of uneven development.
Corruption is one of the greatest dangers to democracy. But current policies often don’t pay out. Anti-corruption efforts must focus more on civil society actors instead of governments.
Civil society in South Africa is vibrant – yet fragmented, underfunded and often under government auspices. But new initiatives in education and health show a new thinking about effective civic engagement.
Is this the key to fiscal sustainability? In contrast to what is said by some EU officials and the U.S. Tea Party, higher taxes tend to coincide with lower deficits and low debt, Craig J. Willy writes.
Boon or Bane? Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", stirs controversy. The technology offers temporary economic incentives, but also poses huge environmental risks, argues Alison Singer from the Worldwatch Institute.
Helmut Reisen, until recently head of research at OECD Development Centre, talks about the economic and social affairs of the BRICS countries and the reasons why South Africa is no longer a model for sustainable development.
New technologies can be useful tools for improving voter and registration rights when framed by strong institutions. A pilot project in Norway shows how this might work.
Mira Kamdar from the World Policy Institute in New York about democratic governance and women safety in India and the country's challenges of global warming.
In the post-Communist Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, democracy has become the only game in town. But how well is it played, and who plays it best?
Milos Zeman, a strong supporter of European integration, will be the next president of the Czech Republic: an opportunity to examine the relations between his country and Western Europe. Does the Iron Curtain still exist?
The benchmarks of the integration of immigrants are diverse. Antonia Sohns examines migration policies in the OECD and argues for more efforts in education, employment and civic engagement.
In New Zealand, a widening gap between the rich and the rest threatens many of the country's greatest strengths, writes Max Rashbrooke, who argues for a new settlement of welfare.
From economic success to health and social inclusion: education is a key element in many fields. Justine Doody examines education as cross-governmental priority for policy making in the OECD.
Do democracies promote sustainable policies better than autocracies? Yes, argues our author: Despite the partial success of autocracies in some fields, investigations show an overall advantage for democratic states.
The future of the Eurozone is deeply entwined with the political and economic relations of France and Germany. Yet while the Franco-German consensus is essential, it remains elusive.
While the leaders of the BRICS demand leeway on environmental protection, their people favour conservation. Environmental diplomacy remains a key tool for the emerging economies to impact global governance.
Guy Berger, Director of the Division for Freedom of Expression and Media Development of UNESCO, about the role of media and education for sustainable governance in South Africa.
In Turkey, the need for reform is large – as is the country’s capacity to implement these reforms. So, how effectively does governance in Turkey serve the needs of present and future generations?
On environmental issues, cyberactivists in Russia are filling the void of state indifference and failure. Russian civil society is getting stronger, writes FutureChallenges blogger Masha Egupova.
In China, social media and blogs are essential for dealing with state censorship and control. But the official media is changing too, writes FutureChallenges blogger Dandan Wang.
In India, true sustainable governance can only come from an informed and educated electorate, reports FutureChallenges blogger Ajinkya Pawar.
History, politics and a lot of anger: FutureChallenges blogger Jan Hofmeyr analyses South Africa's education crisis and argues that skills development is vital for the country’s sustainable governance.
FutureChallenges blogger Elis Dos Anjos looks at education policy in Brazil and finds that success at school still largly depends on students' social and economic background.
SGI's new study “Sustainable Governance in the BRICS - Initial Findings” examines policy making in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Five bloggers from FutureChallenges to tell us what they think about it.
In the European salons of the 1920s, the intellectual avant-garde developed basic ideas that would inspire public opinion and political processes. Today, the Facebook community Salon Virtuel is carrying this idea to the internet.
Three traditional poles of the capitalist global economy – Japan, Europe and the U.S. – seem to compete for the largest public debt. Who’s the most fiscally irresponsible, and why?
Chile – the world's largest copper producer – is one of the economically most unequal countries in the OECD. Mining governance remains essential to abate social tensions and avert an energy crisis.
Annette Heuser, Director of the Bertelsmann Foundation North America, and Daniel Schraad-Tischler, SGI Project Manager, discuss INCRA – a new international non-profit credit rating agency.
In Greece, the crisis is leading to an ever increasing chasm between rich and poor. The austerity measures imposed by the EU are also contributing to growing social injustice. How much saving can the country cope with?
The magazine Der Spiegel recently singled out the Sustainable Governance Indicators as „the most ambitious experiment in comparative politics since Aristotle’s time“, Adrian Steinert from SGI Team reports.
Western dominance of global financial and political institutions is about to end if the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have anything to do with it. Their fortunes will certainly affect the world economy.
While people rely less and less on traditional media data blogs serve as a new guide through the information jungle. Craig J. Willy presents some of the most influential data blogs today.
The SGI project measures and compares the policy success of states. A comparison of press freedom in Hungary and Germany shows how it works.
The Sustainable Governance Indicators examine the political challenges of the 21st century. SGI News spoke with Daniel Schraad-Tischler and Najim Azahaf from SGI about the project and the latest developments.
In search of an effective multinational strategy to combat global warming many people are looking towards Europe. The old continent can’t provide a universal model but certainly inspiration for successful climate policy.
Antonia Sohns of the Worldwatch Institute discusses initiatives in the wake of the Rio+20 conference: Good governance is key to successful climate negotiations.
