Interview With Cheng Cheng (APSACO 2019)

The Brazilian economy is stuck in a so-called middle-income trap—growth that stalled long before Brazil caught up with the living standards of the highly industrialized countries. After exhibiting a stellar performance in the decades before the 1980s, the economy has since been unable to sustain growth for long periods. The predicament can be summarized using a medical analogy: Brazil has been suffering from both productivity anemia and public sector bloat. On the one hand, it hasn ...

This report was originally published on hss.de   This report presents an analysis and recommendations regarding EU-Africa relations with a focus on the green transition and energy, the first priority area of the EU’s Comprehensive Strategy with Africa. It aims at identifying the areas in climate and energy policy in which jointly owned cooperation is possible, and how the partnership, ultimately, can unlock mutual benefits. Specifically, the report examines global challenges prese ...

Like many countries of the Global South, South Africa espouses an independent, non-aligned approach to foreign policy. This approach has been criticized during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as a superficial excuse to be ‘soft’ on Russia. Deeper reflection and analysis however, points to a finely calibrated multi-alignment strategy, which allows South Africa to secure its national interests while carefully balancing relations with the United States (U.S.), European Union (EU) and ot ...

The headline itself was not surprising: ”Egyptians face peril at sea in dangerous new Exodus to  Europe”. The path, from hidden Egyptian ports to a neighboring Libyan landing spot and then to the Italian coast, has been tempting thousand Egyptians years ago, but recently, and apparently ever since, reported Ruth Michaelson in the British “Guardian” (December 18, 2022), the escape route has been “resurrected”, more than 20,000 Egyptians arrived last year in Italy via Libya, about thr ...

Addressing inequalities in all their forms has emerged as one of the major global challenges faced by numerous countries across the globe, particularly in Africa. In a context where Africa faces many pressing challenges that are the subject of much analysis (Sarbib et al. 2022), there is a clear gap in conducting comprehensive reviews focused on inequalities, partly due to the lack of available data. Inequalities, which are both consequences and partial causes of poor development o ...

La dernière série de coups d’État en Afrique subsaharienne cache-t-elle un spectaculaire retournement contre les processus politiques fondés sur le principe électoral qui avaient été engagés dans les années 1990 ? Pour sept pays concernés (Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinée, Mali, Niger, Soudan, Tchad), la prise du pouvoir par les militaires signe la fin d’un cycle, celui de la tentative de démocratisation par l’élection, et l’entrée dans un nouveau cycle, à l’issue inconnue ...