Essays Archive

17 February 2011
The debate on what, if anything might replace the MDGs in 2015 is starting to emerge. One might imagine three stylized options – more of the same, something that builds on…
07 February 2011
Executive Summary A global agreement on binding emissions reductions is unlikely, but progress against climate change can still be made through a patchwork of initiatives and…
02 February 2011
To honour Professor Claus Offe, the Hertie School of Governance held a symposium entitled Liberal Democracy in Hard Times: Transitions, Dilemmas, and Innovations on the 22 March…
29 October 2010
In an echo of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s famous “TINA” maxim from the 1980s, UK Chancellor George Osborne, presenting the outcome of the…
04 October 2010
The WTO is ineffective in addressing the needs of the current trading system as evidenced by the inability of its members to agree to the expansion of the WTO remit to cover some…
27 September 2010
“In the gap between Washington’s and Jerusalem’s views of Iran lies the question: who, if anyone, will stop Iran before it goes nuclear, and how?”…
18 September 2010
The crisis which exploded in 2008 has been and continues to be much more than a physiological economic downturn, Indeed, it is a political and not only an economic crisis.…
22 August 2010
“Something unusual seems to be happening in Pyongyang and it’s probably time to think about the future a bit more seriously. We are heading towards serious changes,…
24 June 2010
In its conventional use, “civics” refers to the familiar constellation of rights and responsibilities emanating from citizenship in a nation-state. But what about…
09 May 2010
The concept of the World Risk Society (Beck, 1998) is often associated with major disasters and accidents. And indeed, safety from the forces of nature can no longer be taken…